What’s Behind The Title?

During a recent dental appointment, the dental hygienist asked me what I did for a living. If I answered truthfully “I’m an Agile Coach”, I knew I would get a puzzled look and more questions. I was there on the clock for a cleaning and didn’t have time to explain. Besides, it would’ve been hard to do with dental instruments in my mouth.

So, I wimped out and said,

“I’m a Management Consultant”.

A sufficiently benign answer that means something and nothing at the same time. It worked. No follow up questions. Just crickets and the sound of the ultrasonic dental cleaner starting up in my mouth.

It got me thinking about why I tend to avoid using the title “Agile Coach” with the general public. Most people are familiar with what a Coach is. However, It would just take too much time to explain what “Agile” means to the uninitiated.

And then it occurred to me. Perhaps I should try to replace the label “Agile” with what I actually “do” in terms that anyone could understand. Without the pomp, circumstance and mystique surrounding the word “Agile”.

Let’s start with what I actually do and the expected outcomes of my work.

• I build relationships of trust with people and teams so that they can build relationships of trust with each other.
• I expose people and teams to different and alternative ways of working so that they increase their effectiveness and contributions to their organizations and customers.
• I teach people different ways of thinking and being so that they continue to grow and improve as team members and human beings.

So, with that in mind, what would be a more meaningful title than “Agile Coach”?

Here are some options:

1. Relationship Coach. Too easy to confuse with marriage counselling.
2. Ways of Working Coach. Simple and to the point.
3. Ways of Being Coach. No, I’m not mindfulness guru.
4. Effectiveness Coach. Effective at what?
5. Coach. Very simple yet nondescript.
6. Organizational Anthropologist. Technically accurate but perhaps a little pretentious.

Options that I can have fun trying out the next time someone asks me:

“So, what do you do?”