Stop Teaching "Perfect" Agile. Start Teaching the Real World.
Let’s talk about a pattern I see over and over again in Agile training and coaching:
We’re producing textbook experts in Agile and the way it “should be” who freeze the moment reality doesn’t match the diagram.
If your goal as an Agile coach or trainer is to help people grow, not just in certifications but in their actual careers, you’ve got to teach them how to handle what actually happens at work.
Because most jobs don’t run like a clean Jira board with clients willing to move tickets out of scope for every last minute requirement change, and most careers aren’t built in a vacuum.
You’re Not Training for a Lab Environment
Think about it like this: learning Agile in a controlled environment is like practicing fire drills in a calm hallway. Everything’s neat, labeled, and predictable. In the real world? The fire alarm goes off while you’re in a meeting, half your team is remote, your product owner is on PTO, and someone just changed the sprint goals without telling anyone.
It’s chaos. The people who succeed? They’re not the ones shouting, “But this isn’t in the playbook!” They’re the ones who stay calm, adjust, and lead their team out of the building.
Most Teams Aren’t in “True Agile” Situations
Let’s be honest… most companies think they want Agile, but what they really want is:
Fast delivery
Predictable timelines
Scrum ceremonies (they like seeing incremental progress)
And status updates that make execs feel in control
Agile frameworks weren’t built for rigid deadlines and fixed scope, but many jobs and projects were. That’s the issue. Sure we could talk all day about the issue of companies that aren’t Agile saying they are Agile but that won’t fix the immediate problem.
You can teach people Scrum, SAFe, or Lean all day long. But if you don’t also teach them how to survive in hybrid environments, how to balance competing priorities, or how to deliver under pressure without “true Agile”… you’re leaving them unprepared.
And frankly, that’s a disservice.
You’re Creating Evangelists, Not Professionals
When you only teach people the ideal scenario, you’re not building adaptive professionals. You’re building Agile evangelists. People who know how to spot what’s wrong, but not how to make it better.
It’s like training someone to cook with Michelin star ingredients and a perfect kitchen setup and then dropping them into a community potluck with a bag of rice, a slow cooker, and three mismatched Tupperware lids. If they can’t adapt, they’re not going to feed anyone.
Real work requires scrappiness. The people who shine are the ones who know how to make it work and not just the ones who can recite the Agile Manifesto by heart.
So What Should We Be Teaching in addition to Agile?
Here’s what would actually help people thrive in their careers:
How to manage fixed-scope projects using Agile tools
When it makes sense to flex between Scrum, Kanban, and even Waterfall
How to speak to execs who don’t care about velocity, they care about risk, delivery, and revenue
How to protect your team’s capacity and communicate delivery plans in a way that doesn’t feel like you're hiding behind jargon
How to deal with change that isn’t “inspect and adapt,” it’s just a VP who changed their mind again
Because that’s the job. Not the dream version, but the actual one.
For Aspiring Professionals: Here’s the Career Advantage
If you’re just getting started in your career, here’s what I want you to take away from this:
Mastering frameworks is great. But it’s only one part of the equation. The people who move ahead fastest? They’re the ones who:
Stay flexible
Translate between technical and business speak
Know when to push back and when to deliver
Understand Agile as a toolbox, not a religion
That’s how you get promoted.
That’s how you earn trust.
That’s how you go from “the project person” to a strategic player.
Agile isn’t a one-size-fits-all system. It was never meant to be. So let’s stop teaching it like it is. Whether you’re training teams or trying to grow your own career, the goal shouldn’t be “perfect Agile.” The goal should be confident, capable professionals who know how to lead in the messy middle the in-between zone where real work gets done, and careers are built.
