The document outlines 8 principles for effective Agile coaching as developed by the Spotify Ads R&D Agile Coaching team. The principles are: 1) Build relationships with both project teams and senior leadership for insight and influence. 2) Focus on long-term systems and habits over short-term wins. 3) Enable others rather than becoming operational. 4) Involve existing leaders in problem-solving. 5) Balance quick wins with addressing underlying issues. 6) Let coaching strategy follow business strategy and needs. 7) Collaboration between coaches is more effective than silos. 8) Intentionally share work to influence change, not just organically.

1. 1
8 guiding principles for Agile
Coaches (or change agents) from
the Spotify Ads R&D Agile Coaching team
Jason Yip
Senior Agile Coach, Spotify
@jchyip
https://jchyip.medium.com
jchyip@gmail.com, jyip@spotify.com

2. The Agile Coaching team in Spotify
Advertising R&D came up with 8
principles for coaching
effectiveness.

3. These principles are derived from
what has seemed to work and what
hasn’t over 5 years.

4. I’ve adjusted the language to be more
general and added some more details
to compensate for lack of shared
context.

5. Guiding Principles
You are more impactful with both team-level
AND senior leadership relationships.
Team-level efforts have limited impact in the face of large systemic issues.
Increase influence by building trust and shared context with leaders but
maintain sight of issues teams face to uncover areas of potential impact.
Results are for the short-term; systems and
habits are for the long-term.
There is necessary work to contain immediate problems but you will not
have sustained, long-term improvement without addressing broader
systems and habits.
You should not become operational.
Help set up and improve systems and habits but don’t become
operationally responsible for systems and habits. Your goal is to enable and
build capabilities in others.
Involve existing leaders (formal and informal)
in brainstorming and implementation.
Leverage leaders with passion, positional authority, and influence.
Too much time spent on quick wins limits your
ability to have a sustained impact.
Prioritization and limiting work in progress are keys to success.
Coaching structure follows coaching strategy;
coaching strategy follows product/business
strategy.
Be responsive to the needs of the organization. Don’t be tied to a specific
coaching structure.
Coach collaboration is more effective than silos.
You have more impact if you build enough shared context that coaches
(and allies) can support and influence one another.
Sharing your work should be intentional, not
just organic.
Share ideas, results, and problems in a structured way in order to
influence change.

6. You are more
impactful with both
team-level AND senior
leadership
relationships. 6

7. Team-level relationships give you
insight into what's actually happening.

8. Senior-level relationships give you
influence to do something about it.

9. You should not
become operational. 9

10. Enable others, move on to the next
problem.

11. Too much time spent
on quick wins limits
your ability to have a
sustained impact. 11

12. Spending all your time on quick wins
means insufficient time on underlying
systemic issues.

13. Coach collaboration is
more effective than
silos. 13

14. Teamwork improves Agile Coaching
too!

15. Results are for the
short-term; systems
and habits are for the
long-term. 15

16. Results contain; systems and
habits address underlying issues.

17. Involve existing
leaders (formal and
informal) in
brainstorming and
implementation. 17

18. Existing leaders have influence and
power. Involve them.

19. Coaching structure
follows coaching
strategy; coaching
strategy follows
product/business
strategy. 19

20. “Structure should follow strategy”
also applies to coaching teams.

21. Sharing your work
should be intentional,
not just organic. 21

22. Just doing the work is not enough
because influence is required to be
able to initiate larger changes.

23. Guiding Principles
You are more impactful with both team-level
AND senior leadership relationships.
Team-level efforts have limited impact in the face of large systemic issues.
Increase influence by building trust and shared context with leaders but
maintain sight of issues teams face to uncover areas of potential impact.
Results are for the short-term; systems and
habits are for the long-term.
There is necessary work to contain immediate problems but you will not
have sustained, long-term improvement without addressing broader
systems and habits.
You should not become operational.
Help set up and improve systems and habits but don’t become
operationally responsible for systems and habits. Your goal is to enable and
build capabilities in others.
Involve existing leaders (formal and informal)
in brainstorming and implementation.
Leverage leaders with passion, positional authority, and influence.
Too much time spent on quick wins limits your
ability to have a sustained impact.
Prioritization and limiting work in progress are keys to success.
Coaching structure follows coaching strategy;
coaching strategy follows product/business
strategy.
Be responsive to the needs of the organization. Don’t be tied to a specific
coaching structure.
Coach collaboration is more effective than silos.
You have more impact if you build enough shared context that coaches
(and allies) can support and influence one another.
Sharing your work should be intentional, not
just organic.
Share ideas, results, and problems in a structured way in order to
influence change.