I am currently working on a long-form article on the Profession of Agile Coaching, and I am considering a place to get it published, perhaps through the Scrum Alliance.
One of the threads that I pulled out of that piece and wanted to compose separately and share is around the value of a certified agile coach.
The Scrum Alliance Certified Agile Coach program (CAC, recently re-branded to denote the CEC and CTC as a subset of the guide-level certifications listed at the bottom of this page on the SA site) is arguably the most rigorous and, in my humble opinion, the most well-respected accreditation program for agile coaches. It comprises the Certified Team Coach (CTC) and Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC) designations. While the numbers for these certifications are small now, the illustrious co-CEO and Chief Product Owner of the Scrum Alliance, Howard Sublett, has proclaimed an Everest-goal of 5,000 Certified Agile Coaches in the next five years. (To give you a sense of it, I recently achieved the CEC designation after a nearly 4-year journey as the 119th certificant (see my shout-out post about it), preceded by achieving the CTC designation as the 109th certificant). You can see the community is quite small now, but we hope to grow much larger in the future as we put more energy into defining the profession of agile coaching and into mentoring others along the path.
I have been thinking a lot lately about the value proposition of a certified agile coach, partly for my own brand and business with Inspired Iterations, but also in response to the trend of agile coach certification programs cropping up in the industry.
The Journey
What makes the certified agile coach program so illustrious is the rigor behind it. Both the CTC and the CEC will take years to be ready for. It starts with additional certification along the Path to CSP program (to become a Certified Scrum Professional (CSP)) and then demands:
- Demonstrated experience as an agile coach in a variety of domains (industries/organizations)
- Demonstrated coaching skills and coaching mindset
- Expertise as an agile practitioner
- A peer-reviewed process from a distinguished review team across the global agile community
- Evidence of mentorship and mentoring others
- Active participation and leadership in the Scrum Alliance, and the agile community in general
In addition to the great detail on the Certified Agile Coach program landing page, this summary of expectations document does a nice job of outlining and then comparing the requirements for each certification.
To achieve the designation of Certified Agile Coach by the Scrum Alliance, I have shown depth and breadth of all aspects of agile coaching as a profession. I have done this through years of professional development, years of experience with agile in organizations, in a variety of industries and types of organizations (validated by client reference), active participation and leadership in the agile community, and much personal introspection and growth. I then have demonstrated this expertise before a committee of peers with even more mastery of the craft. I also pay all of this knowledge and expertise forward by actively mentoring the next generation of certified agile coaches.
An Agile Coach’s Worth
Let me be clear about something here, I am not advocating certifications for their own sake. Sure, some agile certification offerings give you an introductory lesson in a concept that may help you or your clients with (a scaling framework, for example), and that can be a great launching point for further exploration, learning, and experimentation on your own. Yet, I believe certifications are an indicator (and only that) of a coach’s worth. The true test of an agile coach is when you put them in front of a group of teams or an organization and see how they work with humans and human systems in pursuit of agility. But if you are looking for a place to not only prove your worth as an agile coach but also make sure you get the skills you need to be effective, the Scrum Alliance Certified Agile Coach program is the best there is. One alternative might be the ICAgile Expert in Agile Coaching. It has similar rigor of self-learning and peer-reviewed competencies, but the support and mentoring system is not as robust as with the Scrum Alliance.
There are surely other ways, though, to show your worth as an agile coach. I would also add client references as a strong source of validation of your value. As you move from engagement to engagement, consider asking a team or a leader with whom you had a really fantastic coaching relationship to write a quick summary of what they gained from your coaching. You may be able to bring this to a potential future client, and at the very least, it would be a great tool for self-reflection as you seek to improve your approach to coaching. Consider also your collaboration with other agile practitioners on an agile coaching engagement, or in the agile community. Are you seeking out people who might serve as a mentor, help your brand, or perhaps just create an opportunity for you to learn? If you are the smartest/best agile coach in the room, find another room. Finally, look for opportunities to share a case study with your client organizations to the agile community. Organizations looking for a path to agility are eager to hear how others’ have done it before them, particularly in the same industry. If you can contribute to an experience report or case study about your current engagement, you will be doing us all a favor.
Wrapping up
The Certified Agile Coach program is the standard for agile coaches. It is the only program that demands the kind of competency rigor, self-reflection, demonstrated experience, and community contribution that organizations need and frankly should demand from an agile coach. If you think your organization could benefit from this expertise, learn more about contacting a Certified Agile Coach for Business Agility. The CAC program also offers the most robust mentorship from the community along the way. I am thrilled to see the Scrum Alliance put some more branding around this term and to help the community grow far beyond its current size. I have made a commitment to help others succeed on the path to coaching toward becoming a Certified Agile Coach. Reach out to me sometime if you want to learn more.
Until the Next Iteration . . .
Jason