What is the difference between Agile Coach and Scrum Master role?

As the demand for Agile Coaches continues to grow, many wonder if the Scrum Master role includes coaching for Agile. While both roles share common competencies and aim to achieve organizational agility, they have distinct differences. The Scrum Master’s focus is on creating high-performing teams through coaching, mentoring, and removing impediments at the team level, whereas the Agile Coach focuses on creating high-performing Scrum Masters and removing impediments to agility at the organizational level. Both roles utilize techniques such as training, mentoring, coaching, facilitating, and enabling teams and individuals, but the scope of their work differs.

The Scrum Master is an essential part of the Scrum team, enabling them to deliver value by developing team members and creating an environment of transparency and collaboration. They are expected to resolve any impediments that may hinder the team’s progress. To learn more about the Scrum Master’s roles and responsibilities, check out our comprehensive guide.

On the other hand, the Agile Coach focuses on enabling organizational agility by working closely with Scrum Masters. As the atomic unit of agility is the team, the Agile Coach creates a collaborative environment at the organizational level and removes any impediments to agility. For more information on the Agile Coach’s roles and responsibilities, see our comprehensive article.

If you’re working as a Scrum Master and want to transition to an Agile Coach role, we recommend:

• Understanding the roles and responsibilities of an Agile Coach
• Developing the overlapping skills between Agile Coach and Scrum Master roles
• Taking our ICAgile ICP-ACC program to establish a strong foundation for an Agile Coach profile.