#123 Curiosity and Crust: What Sourdough Teaches About Agile with Tammy Gretz
Feb 27, 2025
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Tammy Gretz, an Agile and Design Thinking coach from Central Ohio, shares her insights on coaching, curiosity, and the intricate connection between agile practices and design thinking. She discusses the importance of fostering a culture of experimentation over compliance in business. The conversation takes a delightful turn as Tammy uses sourdough baking as a metaphor for patience and teamwork, highlighting how baking parallels the iterative nature of agile. Listeners will also enjoy her humorous take on pottery and the joys of learning through trial and error.
Effective agile coaching relies on fostering curiosity and partnership, empowering individuals to navigate their own growth processes rather than imposing solutions.
Successful coaching relationships hinge on mutual willingness for change, as a lack of readiness can lead to frustration for both the coach and coachee.
Embracing continual learning through experimentation cultivates a mindset that values failure as a learning opportunity, essential for innovation in agile practices.
Deep dives
The Role of an Agile Coach
An agile coach is defined as a partner who provides support through curiosity, asking questions, and fostering independent thinking. They aim to empower individuals or teams by guiding them through their own processes rather than prescribing exact steps or solutions. This coaching approach is crucial, especially in environments resistant to change, as it helps cultivate an atmosphere of self-reflection and accountability. The coach's role is not to be the expert who dictates but rather to cultivate a collaborative thinking space for growth and improvement.
Valuing Coaches and Change
Individuals often value coaching when they are genuinely interested in enacting change within themselves or their work environment. If a coachee does not seek change, the coaching relationship can feel forced, leading to frustration for both parties. Coaches face challenges when they are assigned to groups or individuals who are not prepared or inclined to receive coaching, making it essential to establish rapport and understand the team's readiness. The right context and desire for growth are critical for the coaching process to be effective and meaningful.
Coaching and Accountability
Accountability in coaching is a double-edged sword; individuals often desire the positive feedback of accountability while fearing the repercussions of failure. The phrase 'just tell me what to do' is often a symptom of a desire for guidance paired with an aversion to the responsibility that comes with independent decision-making. When teams operate from a place of compliance rather than creativity, it stifles innovation and exacerbates feelings of apathy towards personal contributions. Understanding this dynamic is vital to fostering a culture of responsibility and encouraging teams to take ownership of their work.
The Importance of Experimentation
Continual learning and experimentation are essential components of personal and professional growth. Engaging in new experiences, whether in cooking, coaching, or other activities fosters a dynamic learning environment where individuals can explore and innovate. This emphasis on practical application allows teams and individuals to transform theoretical knowledge into tangible results, which is especially true in agile environments. The notion of treating every challenge as an experiment enables a mindset that embraces failure as a learning opportunity while striving for better practices.
Micro-Learning Trends
Micro-learning has gained traction as a method for quick and efficient knowledge acquisition in today's fast-paced environment. This trend highlights a shift from traditional, lengthy training sessions to shorter, more focused content that is easily digestible for modern learners. While concise learning approaches can effectively stir interest, they should not replace comprehensive, in-depth exploration of topics. Balancing micro-learning with traditional methods ensures learners have both immediate takeaways and the opportunity for deeper understanding when needed.
In this episode, Jim sits down with Tammy Gretz, an Agile and Design Thinking coach based in Central Ohio. They dive deep into the nuances of coaching, the value of curiosity and partnership, and how these concepts relate to agile methodologies and design thinking. They also touch on topics like personal growth, learning through experimentation, and even the art of baking sourdough bread as a metaphor for empiricism and patience in agile practices.