really? I own nothing, I do nothing

[D.André Dhondt]

For a while now I've been calling myself an agile coach... but I'm starting to really wonder if that's true.  I don't have multiple simultaneous clients, I get involved in the project and people management tasks with my clients, and I tend to push for specific outcomes, which leads people to give me ownership... it's flattering, which is probably why I do this.... but... it's not very coach-like.

Happily, my circle of colleagues in the Agile Philly realm are helping me see this.  I'm ok with the mantra, "I do nothing"--in the chicken sense, I'm not on the line for delivery--but I also have to own nothing?  Really?  Does anyone else here have trouble letting go of it *ALL*?

What, um, does a coach do then? Is it a focus on helping people see things from another perspective? Is there more?

--
D. André Dhondt
mobile: 215-805-0819
skype: d.andre.dhondt

twitter: adhondt   http://dhondtsayitsagile.blogspot.com/

Support low-cost conferences -- http://AgileTour.org/
If you're in the area, join Agile Philly http://www.AgilePhilly.com

[D.André Dhondt]

There's a couple other things I need to add for context--

• one of my managers told me years ago that I exhibit strong "pride in ownership"
• I believe that one reason people value me on teams is that I drive things to completion
• I'm very type-A, goal-driven

The fear I have is that all this adds up to making coaching not my thing.

At the same time, here's why I want to be a coach--

• I want to build things bigger than I can build myself
• in Weinberg's words: "It's always a people problem". I like learning about team dynamics, and believe I'm a good change agent
• software construction, in and of itself, is not all that captivating for me any more. I get a lot more satisfaction when people give me feedback that I helped them feel valuable or important

So I'm in a phase of 'rapid maturation', I think.  What do you think, based on what I've said so far?

[Yves Hanoulle]

2011/6/10 D.André Dhondt <d.andre...@gmail.com>

There's a couple other things I need to add for context--

• one of my managers told me years ago that I exhibit strong "pride in ownership"
• I believe that one reason people value me on teams is that I drive things to completion
• I'm very type-A, goal-driven

The fear I have is that all this adds up to making coaching not my thing.

At the same time, here's why I want to be a coach--

• I want to build things bigger than I can build myself

Seems like you know have a way to do that by taking ownership.

Is there another way of doing that you want to explore?

• in Weinberg's words: "It's always a people problem". I like learning about team dynamics, and believe I'm a good change agent

please say more why you are a good change agent

• software construction, in and of itself, is not all that captivating for me any more. I get a lot more satisfaction when people give me feedback that I helped them feel valuable or important

how do you do now? 

So I'm in a phase of 'rapid maturation', I think.  What do you think, based on what I've said so far?

I think you are pretty open and ready to explore this.

 

On Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 10:57 AM, D.André Dhondt <d.andre...@gmail.com> wrote:

For a while now I've been calling myself an agile coach... but I'm starting to really wonder if that's true.  I don't have multiple simultaneous clients, I get involved in the project and people management tasks with my clients, and I tend to push for specific outcomes, which leads people to give me ownership... it's flattering, which is probably why I do this.... but... it's not very coach-like.

Happily, my circle of colleagues in the Agile Philly realm are helping me see this.  I'm ok with the mantra, "I do nothing"--in the chicken sense, I'm not on the line for delivery--but I also have to own nothing?  Really?  Does anyone else here have trouble letting go of it *ALL*?

What, um, does a coach do then? Is it a focus on helping people see things from another perspective? Is there more?

--
D. André Dhondt
mobile: 215-805-0819
skype: d.andre.dhondt

twitter: adhondt   http://dhondtsayitsagile.blogspot.com/

Support low-cost conferences -- http://AgileTour.org/
If you're in the area, join Agile Philly http://www.AgilePhilly.com

--
D. André Dhondt
mobile: 215-805-0819
skype: d.andre.dhondt

twitter: adhondt   http://dhondtsayitsagile.blogspot.com/

Support low-cost conferences -- http://AgileTour.org/
If you're in the area, join Agile Philly http://www.AgilePhilly.com

--

Yves Hanoulle 
Phone 00 32 467 43 38 32

Skype YvesHanoulle
Blog: www.Hanoulle.be
Agile Games: http://www.AgileGames.org 
Coaching Question Of the Day: http://twitter.com/Retroflection

[Dale Emery]

Hi André,

What, um, does a coach do then? Is it a focus on helping people see things from another perspective? Is there more?

Perspective, yes. Slightly more generally: I guide attention.

When coaching individuals: A great deal of this is offering another perspective. The style I've developed is also largely about helping people to see things from their own perspective—that is, helping people to notice their own relevant thoughts, feelings, and other internal experience. Mindfulness.

In groups, I largely attend to the group's process, their way of working together. As people work in groups, they attend mostly to the content of what they're doing, and less to the process. I help to make connections between what they're doing and the results they're experiencing.

I also advise about how to do what they're doing. But mostly I help them advise themselves.

Dale

--
Dale Emery
Consultant to software teams and leaders
Web: http://dhemery.com

[Dale Emery]

Hi André and Yves,

So I'm in a phase of 'rapid maturation', I think.  What do you think, based on what I've said so far?

I think you are pretty open and ready to explore this.

I think so, too. Your awareness is a good sign.

Dale

[scott.duncan]

On Jun 10, 11:19 am, D.André Dhondt <d.andre.dho...@gmail.com> wrote:

>    - I believe that one reason people value me on teams is that I drive things to completion
>    - I'm very type-A, goal-driven
>    - I want to build things bigger than I can build myself
>    - I like learning about team dynamics, and believe I'm a good change agent
>    - I get a lot more satisfaction when people give me feedback that I helped them feel valuable or important

So this sounds a lot to me like someone who can be a good manager in
the more traditional, but not negative, sense.

Now the first two items are things othe managers might find vbaluable
in you because they want that sort of thing rather
than an actual coach. This is something I always have a struggle with
when I take on coaching assignments. I have
more than once interviewed potential clients who talk the talk about
coaching, but then, once I am on site, clearly want
someone who is a development manager. I have heard the phrase "drive
things/the team to completion" a good deal in
such situations.

The next two things sound like someone who really wants to work with
teams of people rather than in their own little world
which is good both from an Agile and traditional perspective.

The last item can be he sign of a good coach but very much the
feedback youi'd want as a successful manager, too.

[On a totally unrelated topic, I spent 6 years in Philly during my
college days bak in the mid-late '60s. Great time to have
been there in a lot of ways. A lot of "community" feeling, but the
city was going through significant changes that lasted
well into the next decade.]

[George Dinwiddie]

Andre,

Yes, I have trouble letting go. I have to continually remind myself.
But I do let go (with occasional lapses). I also have to frequently
remind the client that it is their problem and ask what will they do
when I'm gone?

Sometimes doing something is the thing the client needs at the moment.
It's not coaching, but sometimes it seems right to help remove some
burden while they're struggling with others. This is a temporary thing.
I don't own the situation.

You might be interested in this from The Mindful Coach by Douglas K.
Silsbee:

Table 4: The Voices and Their Aspects

Master
• Maintains self-awareness
• Listens with focus and presence
• Models learning and growth
• Embraces the client with compassion and respect
• Chooses which of the operational Voices to use at a given time

Partner
• Establishes and honors an explicit structure for the coaching
relationship
• Makes explicit, clear choices with the client about the coaching process

Investigator
• Asks questions that deepen a client’s understanding of the situation
• Helps the client articulate desired outcomes
• Asks the client to generate courses of action

Reflector
• Provides direct and honest feedback
• Directs the client’s attention toward his/her capabilities and potential
• Encourages self-observation and reflection

Teacher
• Provides “expert” information, tools, and language
• Challenges and stimulates client’s thinking process

Guide
• Encourages the client to take action
• Offers options and/or recommends courses of action

Contractor
• Establishes clear agreements about actions
• Explores and resolves client doubts and hesitations
• Follows up with client about agreed-upon actions

I found this book really helpful for thinking about the different things
I do as a coach. This list is a useful reminder, but probably a little
confusing or misleading without reading the book.

- George

--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
* George Dinwiddie * http://blog.gdinwiddie.com
Software Development http://www.idiacomputing.com
Consultant and Coach http://www.agilemaryland.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Jon Kern]

cool stuff, george

jon
blog: http://technicaldebt.com
twitter: http://twitter.com/JonKernPA

George Dinwiddie said the following on 6/11/11 12:00 AM:

[D.André Dhondt]

On Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 1:54 PM, Yves Hanoulle <Mai...@objectsoft.be> wrote:

• I want to build things bigger than I can build myself

Seems like you know have a way to do that by taking ownership.

Is there another way of doing that you want to explore?

Yes, but it's no longer about a product--it's about "the team".  I've been able to help some groups turn into teams, others not.  I'd like to get better at evaluating, quickly, which groups I can have an impact on.

 

• in Weinberg's words: "It's always a people problem". I like learning about team dynamics, and believe I'm a good change agent

please say more why you are a good change agent

Hmmm.  In multiple organizations I've been able to prioritize some concrete or abstract goal (like halving cycle time, reducing work-in-progress, reducing bug & regression statistics), and achieve it--through small but persistent side conversations with various team members.

[D.André Dhondt]

Said I; >What, um, does a coach do then? 

 On Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 3:02 PM, Dale Emery <da...@dhemery.com> wrote:

  > I guide attention.

Well stated!

Does that mean you're visiting multiple teams throughout the day? Most of the other coaches I've met at conferences stay with a client for anywhere from days to a couple months, then move on to the next client.  The trouble I have with that is I think it's the long-term effect I have on teams that's the most important--but there's not enough work for me to do to stay focused on coaching if I only have one client after the first 6 weeks of immersion--even for groups of 100 people or so.  I'm trying to build my business to have multiple clients simultaneously, I'm just impatient ;)

 

-- 

[D.André Dhondt]

On Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 5:31 PM, scott.duncan <scott....@gmail.com> wrote:

So this sounds a lot to me like someone who can be a good manager in

the more traditional, but not negative, sense.

Thanks, Scott.  I have to admit I'm torn about career paths.  For the moment, though, I think I'm working on becoming a better coach because I think I'll have a better quality of life -- more autonomy.

[D.André Dhondt]

On Sat, Jun 11, 2011 at 12:00 AM, George Dinwiddie <li...@idiacomputing.com> wrote:

Yes, I have trouble letting go. ...

 

You might be interested in this from The Mindful Coach by Douglas K. Silsbee:

Thanks, George--I've added this to my book list.