Hubris

I have three quick stories to share…

A somewhat experienced agile coach approached me for mentoring. We had two coaching sessions, after which we realized that there was nothing I could help them with. They were already far ahead of me, at least in their minds. So much for being open to coaching.

I met with a conference director who asked for feedback from a group of speakers. For every idea that came up, we heard—“Yeah, we tried that, and it didn’t work,” so the feedback slowed, dribbled, and stopped entirely. So, much for being open to feedback.

I was talking to a CST, and they were incredibly stuck in “what the _book_ says” about what they were teaching. They were closed to options, alternatives, experiments, practicing what they taught, etc., when it came to the book. They had even stopped gaining real-world experience while diligently teaching “by the book.” So much for being open to continuous learning.

And I could go on and on with more examples…

What’s the point?

If I ever get this full of myself, where I don’t—

• Realize how much I don’t know,

• Welcome and embrace feedback,

• Get pickled or don’t walk my talk,

• Or otherwise, become too full of myself.

I invite you to slap my head—several times if necessary—to snap me out of myself and reflect on my coachability.

Stay agile, my friends,

Bob.

Related to this is an article I wrote on Coachability – https://www.agile-moose.com/blog/2023/4/25/coachability