In theory, a Scrum Master is already performing the role of an Agile coach within the Scrum Team and the wider organisation.
A great Agile coach is someone who has years of deeply immersed experience working with scrum teams, team dynamics and facilitation of events and meetings.
When you join the Advanced Certified Scrum Master course, it’s anticipated that you will have at least a year’s worth of experience as a Scrum Master. Enough experience to understand the challenges of the role and to benefit from the advanced learning the course provides.
Whilst the Certified Scrum Master course teaches you how to be a Scrum Master, the ACSM course builds on that foundation knowledge to transform you into a professional Scrum Master equipped with all the necessary tools and techniques to function as an apprentice Agile coach.
The course will introduce you to Coaching and Facilitation and provide you with the necessary tools and techniques to perform the role of a coach within your team.
You will learn how to coach product owners and development team members alike.
You will learn how to facilitate scrum events like retrospectives and help the team to reflect on what is working, what needs working and how they can incrementally improve with each iteration.
So, does the ACSM course prepare you to be an Agile coach?
Yes, it does.
As with all good things, the expertise comes from the application of what you have learned in the course in a working environment.
The simulations and exercises in the course are a great foundation to practice what you will be implementing in your working environment soon after the course.
If you think of Agile coaching in terms of an apprenticeship, journeyman, and mastery then the ACSM would put you squarely in the realm of apprenticeship.
You will take what you have learned and experienced in the ACSM course and apply it in practical environments until you have succeeded in mastering those elements.
The next step in your journey would be the Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master course which further builds on your agile coaching skillset and introduces you to professional Scrum Master tools and techniques.
After the Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master course, you would invest another year or so in your personal development before pursuing the Scrum Alliance Certified Team Coach and Certified Enterprise Agile Coach certifications as validation of your expertise and experience.
If you are interested in kickstarting your journey as an Agile coach, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master course page as well as our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master course pages.
You would also benefit from looking at the IC Agile Certified Agile Team Coaching course page.