Our Coaching Approach

Our Coaching Approach

Artisan coaches have one goal: Sustainability.

We help organizations, teams, and individuals help themselves.
Artisan Agility believes strongly in INSPIRED TEAMS and PASSIONATE LEADERS. Our coaches:

  • Assess what’s currently happening by talking with team members, leaders, and managers;
  • Observe how teams and individuals work together;
  • Understand how processes and tools are used to support the work.

Then, we begin the work to offer the best approach to help everyone continue their growth and achieve their goals. Our founder, Jim Schiel, has always said that the primary job of a manager or leader is to remove themselves from the critical workflow. We believe coaches play the same kind of role — assess, observe, support, and coach with the goal of making the individual, team, and organization self-sustaining.

FREE ACCESS:

Artisan Agility’s Resource Library

Browse our videos, articles, and downloadable course materials.

Normally available ONLY to Artisan students, we’re offering these resources to you for a limited time!

Satisfaction
Guarantee

We’re so confident in our coaching techniques that if you don’t believe any progress has been made in the first 90 days, we’ll offer you a full and complete refund of your coaching fees.

We’ve offered this guarantee for several years, but nobody’s ever had to take us up on it!

Our 3 Types of Coaching

Organizational
Coaching

Achieve strategic objectives, enhance leadership capability, and create culture change.

Team
Coaching

Involves group talent and introducing new ideas to improve a team’s total performance.

Individual
Coaching

Offers skills, tools, and encouragement for any individual to define and realize their specific goals.

Organizational Coaching

Align on Agile

All too often, Agile Development is seen as something you “DO” as opposed to something you “ARE.” Organizations attempt to “implement” Agile instead of changing the organization to BE Agile. Our coaches clarify what Agile REALLY is.

Focus on Value

We show you how to focus your product development efforts on improving business value and creating the greatest return on investment while keeping your customers (and regulatory agencies) happy.

Create an Agile Organization

Agility at the organizational level is a new experience for most companies. Our coaches can show you how to make little changes in how your organization works that can make BIG differences in cost, schedule and quality!

Improve Workflow

The biggest challenge most product development teams face isn’t technology nor changing requirements. The biggest challenge teams face is HOW they do the work. Our coaches will show your teams how to streamline their workflow and get MORE done in LESS time.

Understand What’s Happening

Many organizations are so overly complex that measuring performance, productivity, quality and value generation is nearly impossible. Our coaches can show you how to unwind the confusion, bring clarity to reality, and allow you to effectively fine-tune your organization.

Push You Forward

Organizations suffer two weaknesses: They go out of their way to avoid making mistakes, but make the wrong choices and waste time as a result; they also resist experimentation as a way of learning. Our coaches help you embrace methods that push the organization forward.

Team Coaching

Role Alignment

Just like a sports team maps out plays, we help your team navigate new roles and assignments in Scrum, Kanban, or XP. What does a manager do? What’s the responsibility of a Scrum Master? When the roles are used correctly, the team works more effectively.

Consistency Without Complexity

Teams frequently adopt behaviors that make it very difficult to get work done in a consistent and predictable manner. Our coaches help teams strip away complexity, learn new habits and create a predictable cadence for your development efforts.

Teams That Can Do The Work

The best teams are the ones that have the skills they need to get the job done and, when they don’t have the skills, know how to get them. We’ll teach your teams how to work together to create the skills balance they need, all the time, to get the job done.

REAL Team-Building

Too often, teams are “created” by getting people together in a room and announcing that they are a team. Real teams need ground rules, working agreements and more. Our coaches will help you define an approach for properly forming ANY team.

Individual Coaching

Product Ownership

Owning a product is like having the keys to your dream home, but Product Owners frequently find themselves thrust into a role they don’t completely understand. Artisan coaches help Product Owners work with development teams to create clear, effective and user-centric Product Backlog Items focused on business value.

Being a ScrumMaster

Being a ScrumMaster is a difficult job. It’s rarely understood how powerful the role is and how a great ScrumMaster can helping teams become INSPIRED. Our coaches help ScrumMasters understand how to be a great servant leader, how to help teams and organizations be effective and how to have fun while doing it!

Agile Leadership

Managing and leading in an Agile organization takes new skills and an understanding of complex adaptive systems created by self-organizing teams. Artisan coaches help management teams understand how to be successful in a way that leverages the innate power of your development teams.

REAL Team-Building

Too often, teams are “created” by getting people together in a room and announcing that they are now a team, but real teams need ground rules, working agreements and much more! Artisan coaches will help you define an approach for properly forming ANY team and positioning them for success.

Testimonials

Here’s what some of our clients had to say about us:

Ruthy P.Ruthy P.
17:22 03 May 23
Jim is a fantastic instructor! The two-day Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) Certification Course with him was challenging and rewarding. He had an incremental way of teaching the course that starts with the fundamentals of Agile and Scrum, perfect for beginners! I enjoyed the group projects of creating a product that helped us to get a feel for what it would be like in this space. He is passionate and super knowledgeable about these topics and cares about his students, ensuring that you understand the material. I highly recommend Jim for all your certification, training, and consulting needs!
Vinita JetleyVinita Jetley
01:01 23 Mar 23
The trainer Jim is very knowledgable. He was able to answer all out questions and kept us engaged in the 2 day training.
yeodayeoda
16:16 26 Dec 22
Learned so much about the Scrum principles and roles for an effective Scrum team. The two day training course was a great use of time and I have already begun sharing with other friends in different organizations. Thanks Jim and Artisan Agility!
Leila KaylLeila Kayl
15:36 02 Nov 22
Jim was an excellent instructor.The course content was thorough and the interaction with Jim and the others taking the course was great. I was very well prepared after this course to pass the certification.
Christopher SmithChristopher Smith
19:02 11 Aug 22
Attended remote training session. Instructor Jim Schiel was knowledgeable and made the subject timely and interesting. I will be attending future events.
Jim was my instructor through this course. He was outstanding and everything he taught was compared to real life examples. This Company and their Instructors are worth the price of learning.
Michelle FrazierMichelle Frazier
13:11 16 Jun 22
Artisan Agility provided excellent training. The content was great and he provided real life scenarios that help align how SCRUM can help move concept to realization
Amanda MasonAmanda Mason
19:57 30 Mar 22
I just took the Certified Scrum Product Owner course virtually and it was super organized and informative. I'm able to take what I've learned and apply it to my daily responsibilities for better success of my project, team members, and customers.
R GrantR Grant
14:13 26 Feb 22
Jim was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Pacing of the class time was great. Content was applicable at work. Would definitely take another class with Artisan in the future.
js_loader

Schedule a Call


Recent Blog Posts

  • The Team Accountability Blueprint

The Accountability Blueprint: Driving Team Excellence

Creating a culture of accountability is essential for driving team excellence. In this blog post, we outline the blueprint for building accountability within your team. From setting clear expectations to providing regular feedback, learn the steps to foster a sense of responsibility and commitment. Discover how accountability can lead to higher performance and a more cohesive team environment.

  • Team exercising adaptability by replanning in the face of change

The Adaptability Advantage: Preparing Your Team for the Future

In today’s fast-paced world, adaptability is crucial for survival and success. This post highlights the importance of cultivating adaptability within your team and provides strategies to help your team become more flexible and resilient. By preparing your team for change, you can ensure they are equipped to handle any challenge that comes their way and stay ahead of the curve.

  • Boosting team performance through collaboration

The Collaboration Catalyst: Boosting Team Performance

Collaboration is the key to unlocking your team’s full potential. This blog post delves into the importance of fostering a collaborative environment and how it can lead to enhanced productivity and innovative solutions. Learn actionable tips to boost collaboration within your team and create a culture where everyone thrives and contributes their best.

  • User feedback about Sierra Agility development is important to us!

How User Feedback Shapes the Future of Sierra Agility

User feedback is essential in shaping the development and continuous improvement of Sierra Agility. This blog post explores how your insights help us enhance Agile workflows, prioritize feature updates, and create a user-centric platform. Discover the impact of your feedback on our recent features and learn how to share your valuable experiences to influence the future of Sierra Agility. Your voice matters, and together we can build a better Agile tool for all.

What’s New in Sierra Agility and How It Can Benefit You

Discover how Sierra Agility transforms Agile practices with its cutting-edge AI-driven features. Our Intelligent Product Backlog Ordering simplifies backlog management by prioritizing tasks based on value, size, and precedence. This innovative tool ensures your team focuses on the most impactful work, enhances productivity, and streamlines workflow. Experience the ease of automated prioritization and efficient sprint planning with Sierra Agility, empowering your team to deliver high-quality results with confidence. Explore more and elevate your Agile workflows at sierraagility.com.