Joel tells the story of a team caught in the crossfire of a poorly executed large-scale agile transformation. While the CTO championed going agile, they quickly checked out, leaving the organization without clear direction or understanding of why they were adopting agile practices. The company measured success through output metrics like “number of teams trained” rather than meaningful outcomes. Joel worked with an exceptional team that had built their own collaborative workspace and was performing well, but external forces kept pulling them out of flow. Performance reviews created internal conflict, leading team members to focus on individual success rather than collective achievement. The team ultimately fell into their own traps, with everyone “focusing on themselves and throwing others under the bus.” Joel recommends balancing performance evaluations with 50% team-based and 50% individual metrics to prevent this destructive pattern.
Self-reflection Question: Does your team truly understand why they are using Scrum, or are they just going through the motions of the framework?
Featured Book of the Week: Start with Why by Simon Sinek
Joel credits Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” as a transformational influence on his coaching approach. The book’s central principle that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it” fundamentally changed how Joel teaches Scrum. He realized he had been teaching Scrum incorrectly by focusing on the mechanics rather than the purpose. Now Joel listens to this book annually and has shifted his focus to helping teams and organizations understand why Scrum matters and why it’s important. This shift from teaching the “what” to emphasizing the “why” has made his coaching significantly more effective and meaningful.
Joel also mentions the book Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins.
🔥 In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn’t just about innovation—it’s about coaching! 🔥
Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she’s caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t just about the product—it’s about the people.
🚨 Will Angela’s coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue.
About Joel Bancroft-Connors
Joel Bancroft-Connors is The Gorilla Coach — a Certified Scrum Trainer and Agile disruptor focused on sustainable value and effectiveness. With a background in product, project, and coaching, Joel blends sharp insights with practical tools to help teams thrive. He is a Miro power user and rocks curated classroom playlists.
You can link with Joel Bancroft-Connors on LinkedIn.
Zach Bonaker is Benevolent Trouble-Maker from San Diego. He’s an agile coach who specializes in bringing lean thinking to organizations and teams over varying sizes across the country. Zach builds relationships to help transform people, systems, and structures towards safer and faster ways of delivering high quality software. When he isn’t thinking about next-generation agile ideas, Zach can be found enjoying the sunny west coast weather and connecting with people all around the world. Follow 