Is Agile Coaching enough for successful Agile Adoption?

On Agile Open 2010 I hosted an open space and I shared an idea on Agile Change Management. In the session I stated Agile Coaching is just a change style that is appropriate for a part of the Agile adoption. I started the session with a presentation on sharing some perspectives on Organizations. Gareth Morgan (*1) wrote an interesting book on metaphors off Organizations:

• organization as a Machine
• organization as a Organism
• organization as learning system
• organization as a political arena
• organization as a psychiatric hospital

Every metaphor has it’s on perspective on diagnosing organizations and interventions to change organization. Leon de Caluw√© (*2) wrote an interesting book on change styles; the colors of change. He used colours to summerize the different schools on organizational change management that go back to Frederick Winslow Taylor’s book; “The principles of scientific management” from 1911. De Caluwe states that every color has it’s on perspective on why something will change, it’s roadmap and pitfalls. In the following table all colors are summerized: De Caluwe also identifies 3 levels of intervention in an organization:

• organizational level
• departmental or team level
• individual level

Agile Coaching focuses on how to enable teams to get the best from Agile (*3). It focuses on learning, exercising and feedback. I think Agile Coaching is predominantly green-print change style with elements of red-print and white-print with interventions on the individual and team level. It’s great for making agile teams. Will it help adopt an organization? Will it help in overcoming resistance because groups notice the balance of power in an organization will shift? In a next post I will write more on Agile Change Management. (*1) Gareth Morgan : Images and identities of Organization (*2) Leon de Caluwe: Learning to change (*3) Rachel Davies and Liz Sedley: Agile Coaching