Reading Recommendations for future Agile Coaches?

Written By Allison Pollard

Photo by Rich Renomeron

I love to read and have been using Goodreads for nearly seven years to track books I want to read in the future--now my "To Read" list is nearly as long as my "Read" list! Needless to say, there are a lot of great books out there, and only so much time available to read them.

Recently Bob Galen and Allen Holub posted lists of books for folks getting started with agile, and there are great titles on both. It got me thinking about the knowledge needed for more experienced practitioners. A colleague once asked for recommendations that would support his growth from Scrum Master to Agile Coach, and here's the list I came up with:

  • Succeeding with Agile by Mike Cohn
  • Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins
  • Becoming a Technical Leader and/or Are Your Lights On? by Gerald Weinberg
  • Talk to Me by Sue Johnston  
  • Liftoff: Launching Agile Teams & Projects by Diana Larsen and Ainsley Nies
  • Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott
  • The Art of Agile Development by James Shore
  • Management 3.0 by Jurgen Appelo
  • Switch: How to Change When Things When Change is Hard by the Heath brothers
  • Drive by Daniel Pink

The list is a few years old. What books would you suggest?

Allison Pollard

Allison Pollard is a coach, consultant, and trainer who brings the power of relationship systems intelligence to go beyond tasks, roles, and frameworks to create energy for change. She engages with people and teams in a down-to-earth way to build trust and listen for signals to help them learn more and improve. Allison focuses on creating alignment and connection for people to solve business problems together. Her experience includes working with teams and leaders in energy, retail, financial, real estate, and transportation industries to help improve their project/product delivery and culture. Allison currently volunteers as program director for Women in Agile’s mentorship program. Her agile community focus is championing new voices and amplifying women as mentors and sponsors for the next generation of leaders. Allison earned her bachelor’s degrees in computer science, mathematics, and English from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. She is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), a foodie, and proud glasses wearer. Allison is a prolific speaker at professional groups and international conferences, including Scrum Gatherings and the Agile Alliance Agile20xx conferences. Allison is co-owner of Helping Improve LLC.

http://www.allisonpollard.com
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