Blog 3 of 8: Inconsistent Training and Coaching: The Secret Saboteur of Agile Teams

illustration by Julie Featherstone

This is part three in our cheeky but insightful series breaking down the top eight Agile dysfunctions we’ve seen swing into action. If you missed the first two:

1. Resistance to Change in Culture and Mindset, been there, done that, ruffled feathers.

2. Poor or Superficial Agile Implementation, AKA Agile cosplay with no real transformation.

   
   

Now, we dive into dysfunction number three: inconsistent training and coaching. If you’re hungry for the rest (spoiler alert: they’re bananas), swing over to agilegoesape.com/blog and catch up on those u have missed!

Let’s be honest: if Agile was a jungle, many Product and Project Managers would be swinging blindfolded between vines, unsure if they're meant to lead, follow, or just not fall off.

Too many teams get stuck in a leafy mess of buzzwords, superficial coaching, and role roulette. It's not a skills issue, it's a clarity crisis. And it’s costing teams velocity, trust, and, frankly, the will to keep retro-ing.

At Agile Goes Ape, we’ve seen this circus up close and we’re here to help you stop juggling flaming Jira tickets and start climbing with purpose.

Here’s why inconsistent training and coaching is the silent chaos gremlin undermining teams and what you can do about it.

1. Role Confusion: Who's the Banana Boss?

PM, PO, Scrum Master... alphabet soup or job titles? When the lines blur, so do expectations.

The Pain:

• Teams unsure who's owning what

• PMs doing PO work, or vice versa

• Performance reviews that judge apples against orangutans

🦍 The Fix:

• Clear, visible role definitions shared team-wide

• Growth plans tailored to actual roles (not aspirational job boards)

• Open dialogue before signing contracts: "Am I managing projects, products, or everyone's lunch order?"

Real Talk: If you're doing 60% of a role you love, treat the other 40% as stealth upskilling. But make sure it's logged, known, and isn't forever unpaid extra credit.

Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline explores how shared mental models align teams. Without these, even well-defined roles crumble under miscommunication.

2. Inconsistent Agile Practices: Framework Fiascos

The Scene: Five teams. Five definitions of "Scrum." One confused CTO wondering why nothing aligns.

Examples:

• "Sprint" means 2-week rituals for Team A, but "faster delivery" for Team B

• Story points vs. hours vs. a shrug emoji

• "Done" means coded, QA’d, or launched, depending on who you ask

  
  

🦍 The Fix:

• Shared playbooks, not just shared ceremonies

• Align frameworks to maturity, not management whims

• Emphasise "why," not just "what"

In Agile at Scale, Terem explores 42 case studies. many derailed by mismatched frameworks. Agile User Experience Design reveals how even user first teams can fail without Agile fluency.

3. Low Confidence in Decision-Making: Who Moved My Milestone?

The Drama:

• POs afraid to prioritise

• PMs who defer to every exec like it’s The Apprentice

• Scrum Masters hiding behind retros

The Result:

• Bottlenecks

• Analysis paralysis

• A team that consults everyone... and decides nothing

🦍 The Fix:

• Coaching that builds judgment, not just ceremony skills

• Decision-making frameworks: RACI, DACI, or good old-fashioned ownership

Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow shows how gut instincts often trump reasoned choices. Sheena Iyengar’s The Art of Choosing explains how unclear ownership and too many options stall momentum.

4. Agile Theatre: The Banana Skit Nobody Asked For

The Symptoms:

• Stand-ups where no one stands up (or speaks up)

• Burndowns updated for show, not insight

• Retros with action items no one remembers

🦍 The Fix:

• Intentional ceremonies, not box-ticking

• Coaching that audits rituals for actual value

• Boards and metrics used as tools, not wallpaper

Lyssa Adkins’s Coaching Agile Teams transforms ceremonies from empty rituals into purposeful team practices. ideal for those stuck in performative Agile. is the go to playbook for making Agile rituals work, not just look good.

5. Resistance to Change: The Great Agile Shrug

What Happens:

• Waterfall warriors clinging to Gantt charts

• Designers nodding through sprints, then freelancing offline

• Managers mistaking control for clarity

🦍 The Fix:

• Change stories that inspire, not just instruct

• Leadership coaching that champions letting go

• Feedback rituals that aren't yearly confessions

Dr. Stefanie Puckett’s The Psychology of Agile Work brings behavioural science into Agile transformation because resistance isn’t always defiance; it’s often uncertainty.

6. Skills Gap: The Blind Spots Nobody Sees

Missing Links:

• PMs with delivery chops but zero discovery skills

• Devs not fluent in Agile basics

• Scrum Masters who facilitate like glorified note-takers

🦍 The Fix:

• Skills audits tied to real work, not just wishlists

• Training plans with actual follow-through

• Growth ladders that include learning, not just ladder climbing

Laura Re Turner’s Becoming Agile demonstrates how coaching shifts habits, not just job titles, to embed agility in everyday behaviours.

🦍 Bonus: Want real fixes, not just fixes on paper? If you want Agile Goes Ape frameworks for growth, frameworks, roles and responsibilities, templates for definitions of done and ready, Jira workflows to achieve this, decision frameworks like RACI and DACI, guidance on how to run good retros and agile ceremonies that fit your team’s personality and company make-up, writing good user stories, story mapping,  add your comment into the blog. I am happy to set up a free one-to-one or group workshop if we have lots of interest. Please let me know if you would benefit from any of the above framework templates based on real experience, tailored to your environment.

Conclusion: Consistency Isn’t Sexy, But It’s Effective

Consistency Isn’t Sexy, But It’s Effective Agile doesn’t die in dramatic failures. It dies in the tiny, daily inconsistencies that erode trust, clarity, and momentum. With targeted coaching, aligned practices, and clear role definitions, your team doesn’t have to suffer from Agile Theatre or get lost in the jargon jungle. Agile Goes Ape helps you cut through the confusion, build real capability, and swing from chaos to clarity. Because real Agile isn’t about what you say in a stand-up. It’s what you stand for when the work gets messy.

Agile Goes Ape Cheat Sheet

Top Signs of Inconsistency:

• Everyone has a different "definition of done"

• Decision makers defer everything "to the team"

• Teams mimic rituals but miss the mindset

Quick Wins:

🦍 Publish your role definitions and review them quarterly

🦍 Do a framework audit across teams

🦍 Run a "ceremony health check" sprint

Call to Action: 🦍 Ready to go from chaos to clarity? Let Agile Goes Ape help your team stop faking Agile and start living it.

References

• Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Penguin Books.

• Iyengar, S. (2010). The Art of Choosing. Twelve.

• Senge, P. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Doubleday.

• Adkins, L. (2010). Coaching Agile Teams. Addison-Wesley.

• Puckett, S. (2023). The Psychology of Agile Work.

• Turner, L. R. (2021). Becoming Agile: Coaching Behavioural Change for Business Results.

• Ratcliffe, L. & McNeill, M. (2011). Agile User Experience Design. Morgan Kaufmann.

• Terem (2021). Agile at Scale: Insights from 42 Real-World Case Studies.

FAQ

1. Why does every team seem to do Agile differently? Because without consistent training and coaching, Agile becomes a game of telephone. Everyone hears something slightly different.

2. Is role confusion really that big a deal? Yes. Misaligned roles mean misaligned expectations, which means...you guessed it, misaligned delivery.

3. How do I know if I’m suffering from Agile Theatre? If your team does the rituals but nothing improves, congrats, you’ve got front-row seats.