Having switched eight years ago to facilitating organizational change full time, I uncovered a technique for layering in Product and Agile coaching to make digital transformation efforts significantly more effective.

A couple of approaches commonly came into play as I was onboarding new clients. Over the years, I confirmed that clients who attempted previous transformation efforts would fall into one of these categories. While not overtly wrong, each had shortcomings that made the implementation and adoption more complicated, longer, and expensive.

Some organizations have tried implementing Agile and Product sequentially, doing one first and following up with the other. Organizations that went Agile first could deliver work but then had issues prioritizing solutions and creating measurable value. Other organizations took a different approach by pursuing Product first and then attempting Agile. While they may have identified areas of opportunity to produce value, they needed help completing work and delivering it to the audiences they served.

If Product focuses on identifying the valuable problems to solve and Agile focuses on getting the solution into the hands of the audience served, then it stands to reason that when implemented together, Product plus Agile addresses the whole spectrum of issues encountered. These can become critical blockers to achieving a successful transformation. 

The engagements where I coached both Product and Agile methodologies together limited my ability to get in the weeds with the team and restricted my ability to elevate to support management and leadership strategically. I was either operating way too close to the ground, or too high up, and I was not able to be as effective as I needed to be at all organizational levels. 

In either of these approaches, something was missing from the landing: A knockout blow for a successful transformation.

Stepping into the Ring

The best and most successful coaching experience happened when I was a Product coach paired with an Agile coach. Through these engagements, I discovered that where we applied joint Product and Agile coaching expertise, we amplified outcomes beyond the sum of their parts. In concurrently pairing an Agile coach with a Product coach, we addressed gaps in each approach for a more holistic and, therefore, comprehensive approach.

I like to think of this approach as a one-two punch. In boxing, it combines two punches, one from each hand, thrown in rapid succession. For example, immediately following a left-hand jab with a right cross. When applied to business, it is any solid or effective combination of two people or ideas in rapid sequence or a combination of two things with a quick or powerful effect.

It’s an applicable metaphor here because coaches must be able to quickly read the people in the ring, anticipate their movements, and know when and how to strike for the greatest impact.

The Undisputed Champion

Bout after bout, round after round, this joint coaching approach has been validated over a dozen times, and I can confidently say it is my secret sauce to successful transformations. 

Organizations can broaden their transformation while going deeper together by consistently and simultaneously addressing the two dependent disciplines of Product and Agile.

There are numerous vital benefits to this approach, some of which include:

• Better bang for your buck. Joint coaching is more cost-effective because you can shift the playing zone and cover more territory between two people. While in coaching pairs, we were able to support more products and teams at the same time than we could individually.

• Focusing on different roles allows you to have a sounding board and a partner to compare notes and devise a more effective coaching plan where you can activate based on your strengths and personality differences.

• It provides a means to divide and conquer, enabling the product coach to work upstream when needed, while the agile coach focuses more on the team level.

Getting to Fighting Weight

Why consider scaling with multiple coaching pairs? In short, you can “get it done” and accelerate your organizational transformation at incredible speed and scale. This approach creates more forward momentum, with more teams finding footing and seeing early wins, 

The sooner you get more teams into the ring, the sooner you can shift from proficiency to maturity. 

Tuckpoint is in Your Corner

Concurrently implementing both Agile and Product mindsets is baked into our DNA here at Tuckpoint, and is a core part of our transformation playbook. We can go the distance for you until the bell rings – and we have the stats to back up our claims. 

If you’d like to learn more about our successful organizational change work, send us a note.