I have no idea why they call it “camp.” It’s held in summer, there are games and it’s fun. But you’re unlikely to get a sunburn at Agile Coach Camp. And there are no spiders – though we did build a web – literally and metaphorically.
The weekend attracts people whose role is to help introduce new ways of working, primarily in software development. Communication is at the heart of the work of the agile coach as he or she helps teams work in more human-centric ways. Coach camp invites them to bring ideas and questions to discuss with colleagues in a conference framework called “open space.”
The French term for “attend” is “assister.” At ACC, participants truly do “assist.” We’re not watching a presentation; we’re part of a dialogue. I am rarely in a situation where so many people are listening carefully to what others are saying. Nor did anyone seem to be trying to impress anyone. (This crowd may be hard to impress.)
If I have learned one thing in my career as a communicator, it’s that getting our ego out of the conversation creates room for the heart and the brain to participate. But how do we do that? I think we stay curious. Curious about what is happening. Curious about the people we are talking with. Curious about what we can create if we stay curious together. That’s the spirit I see in the agile community. Curiosity about making things work. Curiosity about making things better. Curiosity about making things fun – or, at least, sane.
We begin life curious. “How?” and “Why?” define our lives as children exploring the world. We lose something special when we’re rewarded for having the right answers, rather than asking the right questions.
As someone new to “Capital A Agile,” but experienced helping employees and organizations respond to change, I know that curiosity is one of the enablers of agility. Change is about entering the unknown, stepping through a new gate onto an unexplored path. We can’t have the answers until we ask the questions. And we have to be comfortable with not knowing.
I’m reminded of the first proficiency I learned in my first coach training: “Navigates via curiosity.” It’s not listed in the Agile Manifesto or its Principles. But it may be the secret to agility – or maybe the secret to life in this crazy age.