In this episode, we talked to Carla Krieger. She is a Senior Services Delivery Professional with vast experience as an agile global coach. Co-host of the Agile World Portuguese show and co-author of several books, including Business Agility Journey. She explained what makes a good agile coach and how to overcome challenges.

She explains how although this professional has gained a lot of attraction in the last few years, not everyone knows what an Agile Coach does. An Agile Coach helps organizations in lean and agile projects to oversee the development of agile teams to ensure effective outcomes; they are in charge of guiding and encouraging teams to embrace the agile mindset. She explains the difference between the three roles: Agile Team Coach, Agile Coach, and Enterprise Agile Coach.

Carla talks about how trying to transform an organization where people need to adopt new ways of working and thinking is not an easy task and how an Agile Coach can help. The Agile Coach will be responsible for stimulating lean system thinking in all different levels of the organization.

She believes a good Agile Coach needs to have strong communication and interpersonal skills and learn the company culture to help the organization achieve its goals. Listening and empathy are skills required to excel in this role.

Carla also explains the difference between the Agile Coach and Scrum Master. She recommends that before taking any certifications, it is vital to find the real purpose of why this role is being pursued. This will help choose from the vast range of training and offerings that the market provides. Also, having a mentor makes a big difference, and learning about lean and how to apply the principles of the agile manifesto.