A Coaching Session

Following is a conversation I had with a new Scum Master that had me thinking about how coaching works. It’s not about telling people what to do but allowing them to figure out what needs to bo done. One powerful tool to do just that is changing perspectives. Reliving the facts as they happened but from a different angle may generate insights that open new opportunities for the coachee. Below is the conversation as I remember it. I hope it generates some insights for you as well.

SM: So what do you think about the sprint planning the other day ?

Coach: Well one thing I noticed, and I did mention it on the spot, the team was about to bend some process improvement rules they agreed on implementing during the last retrospective. Your role as a Scrum Master is to make sure that the team follows its own process so that they may inspect and adapt it if need be. If the team partially implements the process in some cases and fully in some others, than interpretation of the results is more difficult and it will be harder to see what to improve next. You want to be careful when introducing changes to a process so that you know what you will be inspecting in the end.

SM: Well you are right. Sticking to our decision not to include big or unclear stories in the sprint made us realise that we were accepting to tackle underspecified functionality. No wonder our estimates were off and we were not able to complete all the stories in the sprint.

Coach: Good. But what about you ? What do you think about the sprint planning meeting ?

SM: Well, one thing that bugs me is that team members don’t participate in the process.

Coach: Oh? What do you mean ?

SM: I mean they don’t seem to care or are not motivated. For instance, in our Scrum Masters group we thought it would be a good idea to let developers take turn at the Scrum Master’s role in the daily meeting so that they realize what we are dealing with. When I asked my team if one of them would like to take my place I had to wait for a long time before someone reluctantly offered to conduct the daily.

Coach: So you want them to feel what it’s like to wear your shoes ?

SM: It’s not that. It’s just that team members are not getting involved. You witnessed what happened at the sprint planning meeting. When I asked them if they were able to commit on delivering the sprint backlog, I didn’t get an answer.

Coach: Well your organisation has a culture in which developers have been told what to do, when and how to do things. The change to self organisation is not going to happen overnight.

SM: I know. That’s why I want them to get involved in the process but they don’t want to get onboard.

Coach: And why do you think the don’t want to get onboard ?

SM: I don’t know. And that’s why I’m asking you this because I’m running out of ideas.

Coach: So… What are you doing that’s impeding them from getting involved in the process ?

SM: I’m not sure I understand the question… What do you mean ?

Coach: When you are not getting the response you’re expecting from others it’s often useful to consider that you are the one causing them to act the way they do. This empowers to make some changes instead of waiting for others to change their behaviour.

SM: I’m not following you at all…

Coach: Ok. So let’s go back to that sprint planning meeting. Remember how the room was laid out and where everyone was sitting. You remember ?

SM: Yeah…

Coach: Let’s say you take John’s place. What do you see ?

SM: I’m really not sure where you want to go with this… But the only thing I see is that the monitor is too far away and its difficult to read.

Coach: Well that’s something to consider. And what are you doing in the meantime ?

SM: I’m updating the backlog and moving stuff around.

Coach: And how do you think John is perceiving this given the organisational culture ?

SM: I see… So we should probably use index cards that team members will be able to play with and update themselves.

Coach: Good! That way you solve two problems. By giving the team access to the sprint backlog you allow them to grasp more fully and own its content. They’ll probably feel more comfortable committing to it at the end.

SM (not really listening anymore): I can even update the backlog in the tool afterwards so that the flow is not interrupted. Thank you. That’s a great idea!

Coach: Well you know it wasn’t my idea. It’s yours. You just had to change your perspective on things.

SM (already leaving): Good. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Talk to you soon.

Coach (to himself): I’m not really sure what he saw exactly, but changing his perspective really allowed him to find new ideas on how to tackle this issue. This coaching stuff really works… I should blog this…