How the Backward Stance of Agile Coaches Damaged Agility

Throughout my life, I’ve had the privilege of serving as a hotline crisis counselor, a soccer coach, an agile coach, and a leadership coach. In each of these roles, the essence of coaching has remained the same: it's about guiding people through challenging situations, helping them unlock their potential, and driving outcomes that matter. But the way you coach—and the stance you take—changes depending on the context. This is why I believe the way agile coaches have been traditionally framed is no longer serving the needs of modern organizations.

Many business leaders today question whether agile even works or see agile coaches as mere facilitators with no direct impact on results. And part of this skepticism stems from a larger issue: many agile coaches have taken a backward stance. They’ve become passive observers rather than assertive leaders, guiding teams without stepping up to take responsibility for the overall transformation.

In my experience across different domains of coaching, whether helping people through a crisis, coaching young athletes to perform their best, or working with executives on leadership development, the most effective coaching always involves a balance of guidance, support, and, at times, directive action. Agile coaching should be no different.

The issue isn’t just that agile coaches have taken a backward stance—it’s that the concept of “agile coaching” itself has become too narrow. As someone who has coached in different capacities, I’ve learned that effective coaching adapts to the environment and needs of the people. Businesses today need coaches who can blend consulting and coaching, who can step forward to guide strategic outcomes while empowering teams to own their work.

I’ve seen firsthand what happens when coaches remain too passive. In one instance, I helped a client hire someone to lead their agile transformation. Despite the person’s  extensive experience as a coach, the transformation fell apart in part due to their reluctance to take a leadership role and drive the process forward. In another situation, a passive coach frustrated the business stakeholders, leading to complaints that the organization wasn’t moving fast enough. In both cases, the coaches’ backward stance contributed to stalled progress.

The skepticism around coaching often stems from the lack of measurable, attributable results. Anecdotally, I’ve heard that Capital One recently removed all its agile coaches, citing that they had achieved their agile goals. But this reflects a broader trend—leaders aren’t seeing how coaching directly contributes to outcomes like profitability, speed to market, or customer satisfaction.

As a soccer coach, you know whether the team is winning or losing. As a crisis counselor, you know if someone finds a way to navigate through a tough moment. The results are visible. In business, however, the role of coaches needs to be similarly results-oriented. Coaches must step out of the shadows, communicate their value, and demonstrate how their efforts contribute to key business metrics.

Just as I might adjust strategies mid-season as a soccer coach or help reframe a person’s mindset during a crisis, organizations benefit from regular coaching health checks. These external assessments allow coaches to evaluate how the organization is progressing and help teams make necessary adjustments to ensure continuous improvement.

Coaches conducting health checks provide an impartial perspective on team dynamics, processes, and outcomes—surfacing opportunities for refinement that internal teams might miss. These health checks can be a game-changer for organizations stuck in an “agile plateau.”

Across all the different types of coaching I’ve done, there’s one thing I’ve learned: sometimes, people need direct advice. Someone who worked extensively with Thomas Leonard and others to found the International Coaching Federation (ICF), once confirmed for me that consulting skills are crucial for professional coaches because sometimes, clients need you to tell them what to do.

In the fast-paced world of business, this is particularly true. Business leaders want clear, actionable insights that can drive results. Coaches must be comfortable stepping forward, blending coaching with consulting, and offering the direct input needed to achieve strategic goals.

The future of business coaching is about much more than agile coaches working with frameworks like Scrum or Kanban. The role of the coach is evolving to meet the broader needs of businesses. It’s no longer enough to just facilitate agility — coaches must help organizations deliver real business value. They must be comfortable guiding strategic conversations, providing feedback, and helping businesses navigate change, just as I’ve done in my different coaching roles.

The backward stance of many agile coaches has contributed to the perception that agility isn’t delivering the results organizations expect. However, it’s time for coaches to evolve beyond the "agile" label and take a more active role in driving strategic business outcomes. Whether coaching on the soccer field, during a crisis, or in the boardroom, the most effective coaches step forward, guide decisively, and take responsibility for results.

Coaching is no longer just about improving team dynamics or collaboration—it’s about aligning the entire organization to achieve measurable business success. For that to happen, coaches need to move from the background to the forefront, blending their skills to lead, consult, and coach in a way that meets the evolving needs of businesses today.