They are not the same!
Conflation – Definition
the act or process of combining two or more separate things into one whole, especially pieces of text or ideas.
the process or result of fusing items into one entity; fusion; amalgamation.
I was listening in on a discussion the other day between two coaches. One raised the point that there was no place for practicing therapy in professional or life coaching. They emphasized that there was a line to be drawn between coaching and therapy.
That is—professional coaches were not therapists, and they shouldn’t go there. And it was a challenge because coaching often “butted up against” therapy, so it required self-awareness on the part of the professional coach to—
Thoroughly understand what professional coaching is;
Understand its core competencies and boundaries;
And when sensing that the conversation was moving into therapy, they stopped coaching and referred their client to a qualified therapist.
I understood that perspective myself. And I even thought of an extension to it…
Even if the coach was also trained as a therapist, I think it still makes sense to honor the boundaries between the two and not oscillate between these two very different practices, coaching vs. therapy, with your clients. Primarily due to being consistent within your professional practice while not confusing your clients.
Why am I talking about professional coaching versus therapy? Because the same logical view can (and should) be applied to professional coaching and Agile Coaching.
Agile Coaching
I will use a few frameworks to establish what Agile Coaching is. You can use the Agile Coaching Competency Framework (~2011) or the Agile Coaching Growth Wheel (~2018) as reference points.
Within each of them, they define various competencies that an Agile Coach should have, develop, and leverage in their professional journey.
In simple terms—Agile Coaching includes professional coaching or is a superset of professional coaching skills. A skilled Agile Coach needs to be able to navigate many competencies in service to their clients, not just one or two.
Professional or Life Coaching
In this case, I’m referring to trained and/or certified individuals who have embarked on an International Coaching Federation defined professional coaching path. This deep and broad professional skill can take a lifetime to master.
It’s also a very focused skill with a core set of tenants and approaches that, for example, do not support giving advice or providing leadership.
In simple terms—while professional coaching is a wonderfully complex and powerful activity, it is far too narrowly focused to be Agile Coaching.
Stop Conflating the Two!
Here’s the rub, as in the professional coach versus therapist discussion, I would recommend that—
If you are a professional coach, IMHO, you should stop doing Agile Coaching. Why? Because you only have a small part of the competencies required to be a good Agile Coach. And because you probably lack the deeper domain skills and experience to step into other stances. Instead of conflating the two, lean into your professional or life coaching and grow there. Embrace it. In other words, stay in your lane.
And if you’re an Agile Coach, you’ll want to strengthen your respect for and skills in professional coaching, but you don’t want to become too enamored with it. You must realize that it’s just one of many skills you need to grow, strengthen, and leverage in service to your clients. And that you need to bring your hard-gained software product development domain experience to bear in your coaching. You’ll never have the depth of skills of a focused professional coach, so stay in your lane.
Wrapping Up
The key reason I’m sharing this view is that I think the conflation is doing three things—
Creating loads of confusion—confusing the coaches on both sides, their clients, and the professions in general.
Diluting our skills and value-delivery—there’s a clear ICF definition of professional coaching and Agile Coaching via the Agile Coaching Growth Wheel. When we oscillate across them, we risk skill dilution and mediocrity, directly impacting our client effectiveness and value-delivery propositions.
Harming the profession of Agile Coaching—many professional coaches move into Agile Coaching, thinking they can do it without extending their skills and competencies. This directly harms the profession!
So, choose to be a Lion (Professional Coach) or an Eagle (Agile Coach), but realize that Griffins don’t exist, and you can’t be both!
Stay agile, my friends,
Bob.