Coaching techniques for Scrum Masters and Project Leaders

Coaching is not ‘motivational talks’ — it is concrete models and questions

Scrum Masters and team leaders hear ‘be the team’s coach’, but rarely get the tools. Which model should guide a development conversation? How does coaching differ from mentoring and advising? What question do you ask when the team waits for a ready answer? How do you coach a whole team, not just an individual? This two-day workshop gives concrete techniques, not generalities — participants practise them on themselves and in pairs on real scenarios from the world of Scrum teams.

What you will learn — models and techniques

• The GROW model (Goal–Reality–Options–Will) as the backbone of a coaching conversation and its use in retrospectives and 1:1 meetings
• Coaching vs mentoring vs facilitation vs advising — when to use which mode, and why mixing them weakens the effect
• Powerful questions — a taxonomy of opening questions, asking about options instead of problems, scaling questions
• Active listening on three levels (internal / focused / global) and recognising when you drop to the shallowest level
• The solution-focused approach (Solution-Focused, OSKAR) — working with the team’s resources instead of analysing causes
• Team coaching — coaching the system rather than the sum of individuals; contracting with the team and working with group dynamics
• Conflict resolution with coaching techniques — moving from positions to interests, mediation within the team
• Peer coaching and a development plan — how to sustain and grow the competencies after the training

Two days: from models to team practice

Day 1 — foundations: the role of the coach in a Scrum team, coaching models (GROW and Solution-Focused), building rapport and contracting, active listening, powerful questions, and facilitating development conversations.

Day 2 — application: team coaching, working with group dynamics and conflict, building motivation and engagement without ‘motivational speeches’, supporting self-organisation, case studies with scenarios, and peer coaching with a development plan.

About 60% of the time is exercises and scenarios from the life of Scrum teams — not a lecture about coaching, but practising the techniques. The training pairs best with the hands-on Scrum Master Toolbox workshop: coaching is the ‘how to talk’ layer, while the toolbox is ‘how to run Scrum events’.

With over 2,500 trainings in our offer, EITT is a trusted partner in competence development. Contact us — we also run closed coaching workshops for teams and leaders.

• Agile transformation