“You’re an Agile Coach? So basically you just run meetings and stick post-its on walls?”
I hear this often. Too often. Even a Professional Coach friend recently asked me what Agile Coaches actually do.
Let me be brutally honest: If that’s what you think Agile Coaching is, you’re not just wrong — you’re actively harming your organization’s potential.
Think I’m exaggerating? Let me show you what a real Agile Coach does.
Yes, we understand Scrum. Yes, we know SAFe. But if you think that’s what defines an Agile Coach, you’ve missed the point entirely.
A Scrum Master ensures the process works.
🟣 An Agile Coach transforms how your entire organization thinks and operates.
"Salim, what are you doing all day, because sometimes you aren't in our team, or we haven't seen you for a while..."
One day could be:
✔ Your certifications? Just a license to learn.
✔ Your processes? Often masks for deeper dysfunction.
✔ Your agile transformation? Possibly a theatre performance.
I’ve seen:
✔ Teams with perfect ceremonies but zero value.
✔ Organizations celebrating velocity while losing market share.
✔ Leaders claiming agility while operating in command-and-control.
A real Agile Coach doesn’t just make your meetings smoother. We:
✔ Challenge assumptions
✔ Transform mindsets
✔ Realign your organization
✔ Unlock real business value
Let me give you a concrete example:
An “agile” team came to me proud of their metrics: perfect rituals, high velocity, tool mastery.
Problem? They hadn’t delivered anything meaningful in months.
👉 The fix? No new framework. No extra ceremonies.
Instead, we:
✔ Confronted the fear of failure that was killing innovation
✔ Exposed the fake harmony hiding real conflict
✔ Reconnected the team with the actual value they were meant to deliver
✔ And more…
🎯 Result? They stopped doing agile. They started being agile.
Want to dive deeper into the difference between performing agile and living it? Read my previous article “Scrum Theater: The Dark Side of Agile Performances” here.
The Uncomfortable Truth If you think Agile Coaching is about post-its and meetings, you’re not just missing the point — you’re maintaining mediocrity.
An Agile Coach is a transformation agent: We challenge, provoke, and shift the way your org works at its very core.
Are you ready for real change — or just someone to run your stand-ups?
👇 Share your experience with Agile Coaching in the comments.
Hi, I’m Salim — professional & agile coach helping teams break free from misunderstood agile coaching and unlock real organizational transformation.