Thread by @RonJeffries

So, lineage. Lots of love for that idea. But there's something there, I think, though being the son of Alistair wasn't quite what I meant by lineage, nor was it having touched the hem of Janes' garment.

The thing is this:

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The title "Agile Consultant" (or "Agile Coach") is pretty broad, and it seems to me that to properly wear it, one would need to be pretty broad both in corporate goings-on, and in the values, principles, and practices of the thing called "Agile".

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Now one could take the view that the term need not imply breadth. Maybe one qualified Agile Consultant really only knows about backlogs, stories, and the like. Another Agile Consultant only knows about test-driven development and pair programming.

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I don't agree with that view, because then all the Agile Consultants would need merit badges or stripes or something, so people could know what talents they're hiring.

And people /should/ b able know what talents they're hiring.

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Now at this stage in Agile, only two decades in, if you know what books a person found important, what teachers they most learned from, and so on ... and you trace that "what's important" back 2 maybe 3 steps, you get to someone that I happen to know, in person or work.

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And that tells me a lot. If your learning mostly connects back to wonderful people like Diana or Linda or Esther, that tells me a lot about what you're likely to value, and it would let me frame questions and discussion.

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If your learning connects back to wonderful people like Ward or Kent or James or JB or Jim, that tells me a lot and helps me frame our interview or my thoughts if someone asked me for them.

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Back to Alistair or Jim or Pollyanna? I'll expect a different angle and again it frames our chat differently.

Back to Bas and Craig? Another angle, another conversation.

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And so on. My thinking was (and is) that if we can start talking about what you valued in learning, I could connect it back to people whose work I know, and thus get a sense of your values, not just your book knowledge or ability to give good interview.

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In another ten years, those connections will be harder to trace ... and not many people could trace them even today. But I know these people, often in person, and through their work, so when we talk about your learning relationship with them, I can begin to know you.

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And if you're an "Agile Consultant", the people who hire you need to know you, because no one can do everything.

So I want to trace what I called "lineage", which some people decided meant knowing whether one of us fathered you. No.

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What I want to know is who are the parents and grandparents of the Agile ideas that you personally hold dear. I want to know who raised you, whose shoulders you stood on, who kicked you in the butt ... and most of all who you appreciate.

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If you tell me those stories, of how you learned, and if we can trace that learning back to early sources, whether Manifesto authors or precursors or independent inventors, then we can begin a deeper discussion.

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We can begin to understand and explore how you, M. Agile Consultant, fit into our current and future needs. We can get a sense of the skills you'll bring to bear, the practices you may suggest.

We can begin to understand each other.

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So perhaps (probably) "lineage" wasn't the best word. Maybe "heritage"? I don't know a word that quite serves to describe where one is in one's mind and heart, as described by the teachers and inspirations that one wants to highlight, with a connection to "Agile".

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I want to know ""where you come from" in the human and intellectual landscape, and "where you live now" in that landscape. And I think anyone claiming a title like "Agile Consultant" owes it to everyone to be clear about that.

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Thanks to many of you for helping me figure out what I meant. And thanks to others for your clever displays of condescension and condemnation. Those are always amusing to see.

😍

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