Course Outline
Agile Foundations & Leadership Mindset
Session 1: Why Agile Matters (90 min)
- Exploring the modern business landscape: volatility, complexity, and the need for innovation
- Understanding Agile: core principles, mindset, and empirical process control
- Achieving business value: speed-to-market, quality, customer-centricity, and risk reduction
- Workshop: Mapping your organization's current challenges to Agile value drivers
Session 2: Challenges of an Agile Leader (90 min)
- Comparing traditional vs. Agile leadership models: command-and-control vs. enablement and service
- Common transformation pitfalls: siloed adoption, misaligned metrics, and resistance to change
- Navigating uncertainty: decision-making in complex environments and the limitations of predictive planning
- Case Study: Analyzing leadership breakdowns in real-world Agile transitions
Session 3: Complexity & Empiricism in Leadership (90 min)
- Understanding complexity theory for organizational leadership
- Applying empiricism in practice: using transparency, inspection, and adaptation as leadership tools
- Shifting from planning to probing: conducting safe-to-fail experiments and iterative delivery
- Simulation: Leading a complex product discovery scenario using empirical decision loops
Session 4: Leaders Grow Agility: Enabling & Scaling Teams (120 min)
- The leader's role: clearing impediments, fostering autonomy, and aligning incentives
- Building psychological safety, trust, and coaching vs. managing
- Introducing Scrum and Agile frameworks as organizational enablement tools
- Group Exercise: Designing an empowerment strategy for a multi-disciplinary team
Developing People, Measuring Agility & Scaling
Session 5: Developing People for Sustainable Agility (90 min)
- Coaching frameworks for Agile leaders: GROW, ORID, and situational leadership
- Building T-shaped, cross-functional capabilities and continuous learning cultures
- Recognizing and rewarding Agile behaviors vs. traditional output metrics
- Workshop: Creating individual development plans for POs, SMs, and team members
Session 6: Measuring & Guiding Agile Product Delivery (90 min)
- Focusing on metrics that matter: outcome-based vs. output-based measurement
- Health indicators: velocity, predictability, quality, flow efficiency, and team well-being
- Feedback loops: reviews, retrospectives, and product metrics dashboards
- Exercise: Designing a lightweight Agile measurement system for your organization
Session 7: Scaling Agility Across Teams (90 min)
- Aligning multiple teams to a shared product vision and strategic objectives
- Coordination patterns: Agile Release Trains, Nexus, and enterprise backlog alignment
- Avoiding scaling anti-patterns: over-engineering, bureaucracy, and loss of empowerment
- Case Study: Structuring cross-team alignment without losing Agile agility
Session 8: Capstone, Certification & Next Steps (120 min)
- Capstone Simulation: Leading a mini-agile transformation initiative (diagnose, plan, measure, scale)
- Reflection, peer coaching, and personalized action planning
- PAL I certification pathway, retake policy, and Scrum.org learning resources
- Open Q&A and leadership commitment pledge
Requirements
Audience
- This course is designed for managers and individuals in leadership roles, including Product Owners and Scrum Masters, who aim to enhance their organization's ability to respond to market opportunities, competitive pressures, and innovation prospects.
Testimonials (4)
Jim's real life experience was evident and the fact that he is still working with teams keeps him current with the problems encountered. The activities were interesting and we appreciated the frequency of breaks. Delivery of the course was confident and good humoured too.
Leanne - Welsh Revenue Authority
Course - Professional Scrum Master I | PSM I (accredited training course with Scrum.org exam and certification)
I enjoyed Craig's enthusiasm and open-mindeness . He brought good vibes explaining a complex topic and I gained value for my current job from this training.
Alexei Starostine - EY GLOBAL SERVICES (POLAND) SP Z O O
Course - Professional Scrum Product Owner I | PSPO I (accredited training course with Scrum.org exam and certification)
I liked the break outs and the chance to work with my peers taking the course. I also liked the small group we had although I understand this is not the norm
David - Home Office
Course - Professional Scrum Product Owner II
Paul was a fantastic trainer. I enjoyed his style of teaching and delivery pace