How an Agile Coach Faces the Challenge of a Non-Agile Manager
It’s a Tuesday morning, and all the new and pending work has started again for the week — another new day begins for him.
A short alarm rings on his mobile. He avoids checking it; he knows it’s 11am. With his keyboard, he’s typing and looking at his dual monitors — one with Team’s chat and the other with an Epic in Jira. He turns down and takes notes in his diary.
He hears the click of heels but ignores it. It’s an office environment; many people walk around. The sound keeps getting closer.
“Hi Rajesh, good morning. How are you?” A soft and friendly voice finally captures his attention.
Rajesh, an Agile coach who joined Apex Infosys three months ago, is in his 30s with extensive experience in Agile and Scrum.
He quickly turns toward her with a bright smile. “Hey Viji, good morning! I’m good. Just back from a daily scrum meeting, taking some notes for the ROSE team.” He gestures casually. “Tell me, how can I help you today?”
“Oh, nothing special. Can you come to my desk for a bit? Just wanted to chat.” Viji said.
Viji, also known as Vijayanthi, is a VP at the firm and Rajesh’s reporting manager. She’s been with the company for a decade and, despite having some Scrum certifications, holds a more traditional mindset.
Rajesh closes his diary and looks at her again. “Yes, of course. I’ll follow you,” he says, grinning as he clicks Ctrl + L on his keyboard, stands up, and grabs his phone.
“Hmm, what’s the news of the day?” He looks at his watch. “Timesheet submitted, no leaves pending, it’s not an assessment period, and the ROSE project is going well.” He bites his lips. “Hope my time is good?” He takes a deep breath and continues to her desk.
At her desk, Viji invites him to sit. “Raj, how are things on your end?”
“Viji, only the ROSE project is on my plate. Venkatesh, the manager, asks a lot of questions, but the discussions are going well. The teams are performing great. It’s been two months, so one more to go before handing over. I might need more than a month for a cooling period, though,” he says, gesturing the usual workload.
“Very good; I like your simple explanation,” she smiles. “How well do you understand our company’s culture?”
Rajesh looks at her, puzzled. “If you’re asking about how the company is treating me, then yes, I am happy, all good.”
Viji’s tone shifts. “Rajesh, I have received feedback that you have not understood the company culture and are enforcing Agile unnecessarily in your coaching, burdening the team.”
My advice is to stop emphasizing the process frameworks and start focusing on the company culture and mindsets. Get clear on the values you want to operate under and actually embody those values in every area of the company. — Selena Delesie
“Here we go,” he mutters under his breath. “Viji, let’s be clear. My purpose is to bring about this change and transform this line of business to adopt an Agile culture.”
She looks uncomfortable but maintains her stance. “Rajesh, you can’t force anyone to follow Agile; we have to work together in a way everyone likes.”
Rajesh’s mind voice echoes his frustrations. “I’ve tried so many times in the past two months to teach her Agile, but she’s not an Agilist, nor does she want to try anything new to understand me and my role.”
“Viji, if that’s the case, please discuss this with Mac, who manages all the coaches. As my manager, you can tell him your concerns,” he says, adjusting his posture.
“Viji, I coach only the ROSE team. I know you’ve spoken with Venkatesh or someone in the same line. We had a productive conversation yesterday, and he accepted our discussion points. I need clear feedback on where I went wrong to better serve you and your contacts,” he continues.
Viji remains silent. “Raj, don’t take it so seriously; I’m just sharing feedback.” She explained.
“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” ~Stephen Hawking
“Yes, but let me share my experience. These types of issues come with the job. I encourage you to ask whoever raised the concern if they discussed it with me first. Validate the feedback before bringing it to me. Our company wants to adopt Agile, and fixed mindset approaches are common hurdles. I want them to talk to Mac. Things will be different if you encourage that, and it helps me in my role.” Rajesh explains.
Both smile. Rajesh checks his watch. “Sorry, Viji, I have a meeting with the PO. Unless there’s anything else, I should head back.” She nods, and he returns to his seat.
He sits down, takes a sip of water, and looks at his face on the blank monitor screen.
“This scene is an excellent example of Agilists who have a non-Agilist as their reporting manager. Organizations must understand the importance of having the right people in reporting roles. Often, reporting managers and functional managers give conflicting commands. It is better for the functional manager to take control of all escalations rather than local reporting managers.”