ai and agile coaching

The Future of Agility: Looking Ahead to 2026

Over the past several weeks, I’ve explored some of the biggest shifts shaping Agile in 2025 — from the return to basics to the rise of AI-driven agility, from platform engineering to value stream thinking, from hybrid development approaches to hyper-collaboration and evolving roles.

Each of these trends points toward a single, unmistakable truth:

Agility isn’t about frameworks anymore — it’s about mindsets, outcomes, and adaptability.

As we look toward 2026, I see the Agile world continuing to evolve in three key directions: simplification, augmentation, and integration.

Let’s take a closer look at where we’ve been — and where we’re headed.

1. Back to Basics — The Simplification Revolution

We started the series with what I still believe is the most critical conversation: getting back to Agile basics.

Somewhere along the way, many organizations overcomplicated agility with layered frameworks, rigid ceremonies, and too many tools chasing too little purpose. But the best teams are rediscovering that simplicity works.

In 2026, I hope to see even more organizations stripping away the unnecessary and focusing on what truly matters: clear goals, empowered teams, continuous feedback, and incremental delivery.

We’ll see more leaders asking:

  • “What value are we delivering this sprint?”
  • “What’s getting in our way?”
  • “How do we make it simpler?”

Those are the questions that keep agility human — and sustainable.

2. AI as a Co-Pilot, Not a Replacement

The second major theme of this year was AI-driven agility, and this trend will only accelerate in 2026.

We’ve moved beyond the novelty phase. AI isn’t just assisting developers or automating testing — it’s helping coaches, product managers, and entire teams make better decisions.

In my own work, I’ve used ChatGPT to generate epics and user stories from raw ideas, saving hours of prep time and giving my team a strong foundation for backlog refinement. I’ve also piloted this with development and HR tech teams — and the results were impressive.

In 2026, I expect this to become common practice. AI will be a collaborator in the agile process — helping us synthesize data, predict risks, and visualize flow — while humans focus on context, creativity, and connection.

The real opportunity isn’t in automation. It’s in augmentation — using AI to free us from the busywork so we can spend more time on meaningful work.

3. Platform Engineering and the Rise of Outcome-Driven Ops

Another trend reshaping Agile delivery is the evolution of DevOps into Platform Engineering.

In 2025, this shift began to take hold — dedicated platform teams building self-service environments that empower developers and accelerate flow. In 2026, I believe we’ll see this model become the norm for large enterprises.

The key difference is cultural: Platform Engineering isn’t just about infrastructure — it’s about creating leverage. It’s how organizations ensure teams can deliver independently without sacrificing governance or security.

The best platform teams measure success not by uptime or deployments, but by developer experience and time to value — the outcomes that matter most.

4. Value Stream Thinking — The True “Definition of Done”

In 2025, we started reframing “done” to mean value realized, not just code shipped.

That mindset shift — from output to outcome — is profound. It requires courage from leadership and patience from teams. It also demands systems that make value visible, from idea to delivery to customer impact.

In 2026, I believe more organizations will adopt Value Stream Management as a strategic discipline. We’ll see metrics evolve from velocity charts to value metrics — like cycle efficiency, customer satisfaction, and innovation throughput.

The companies that think beyond quarterly numbers will continue to lead. As Simon Sinek reminds us in The Infinite Game, the ones that play for long-term impact are the ones that truly change their industries.

5. The Hybrid Future of Development

The debate between Agile vs. Spec-Driven Development (SDD) is fading. In its place, we’re seeing hybrid models emerge — blending the structure of SDD with the flexibility of Agile.

In 2026, I expect this hybridization to accelerate, especially as AI helps automate specification creation, traceability, and documentation.

It’s not about choosing sides anymore. It’s about choosing what works — a theme that runs through every part of agility’s evolution.

6. Hyper-Agility and Real-Time Collaboration

Teams are becoming faster, more visual, and more connected.

In my teams, we use Lucidspark over Zoom to run real-time collaboration sessions — mapping value streams, visualizing customer journeys, and creating epics on the spot. Lucidspark integrates with Jira and Confluence, allowing us to maintain a single source of truth from ideation to delivery.

In 2026, expect to see more teams working this way — embracing asynchronous collaboration tools powered by AI, and creating seamless bridges between brainstorming and execution.

We’re finally closing the gap between thinking and doing.

7. The Embedded Agile Coach

Finally, we’ve seen the role of the Agile Coach transform.

As I shared in the last post, moving from Scrum Master to embedded coach changed how I viewed the system. Instead of coaching teams in isolation, we began to coach the organization itself — surfacing systemic blockers, aligning strategy to delivery, and enabling agility at scale.

This trend will deepen in 2026. Agile Coaches will become strategic partners, helping shape culture, leadership behaviors, and operating models. They’ll use data, empathy, and AI insights to guide decisions that stick.

The future of coaching isn’t about enforcing ceremonies — it’s about cultivating environments where agility can grow naturally.

So, What’s Next?

If 2025 was the year of rediscovery — of returning to values, rethinking roles, and rehumanizing agility — then 2026 will be the year of integration.

Agility won’t live in a corner of the org chart anymore. It will be embedded in leadership, technology, culture, and operations. AI will be a partner. Platform teams will be enablers. Coaches will be catalysts.

And simplicity — the value we started with — will remain the north star.

As we move into this next era, I’ll continue to ask the same guiding question that’s defined my journey so far:

“What actually works for us, right now, in our context?”

Because that’s the heart of agility — not dogma, not frameworks, but discovery.

Here’s to 2026 — the year we stop talking about doing Agile and start fully being Agile.

From Scrum Master to Agile Coach: Embracing Systemic Change

In the early days of Agile adoption, the Scrum Master was the cornerstone of transformation — the facilitator, the servant leader, the protector of the process. The Scrum Master ensured teams lived the values of Agile, shielded them from disruption, and continuously improved how work got done.

But as organizations grow in scale and maturity, so must the roles that support them. Today, we’re seeing a natural evolution — from Scrum Master to Agile Coach, from team-level guidance to organizational enablement.

And that shift — when done with intention — changes everything.

The Evolution from Scrum Master to Agile Coach

When my team transitioned from Scrum Masters to Agile Coaches at my current company, I quickly realized the difference wasn’t just in scope — it was in perspective.

As Scrum Masters, our focus was at the team level: helping product teams deliver value predictably, facilitating ceremonies, tracking metrics like velocity and cycle time, and supporting the individuals doing the work. It was deeply rewarding, and it built the foundation for everything that came next.

But stepping into the role of Agile Coach expanded that view. We were now looking across teams — seeing how dependencies formed, how priorities were shaped, and how organizational structures either enabled or obstructed agility.

That wider lens helped reveal what I can only describe as “systemic friction” — the gaps, bottlenecks, and cultural barriers that no single team could solve on their own.

The work shifted from guiding a team to enabling the system.

The Embedded Coach Model

Our organization decided to pilot an Embedded Agile Coach model. Rather than keeping coaches separate as consultants or distant advisors, we placed them within the business units or programs they served.

This embedded approach bridged a crucial gap — coaches became part of the conversation where real decisions were made. We weren’t just teaching agility; we were helping shape the strategic and operational ecosystems where agility needed to thrive.

And that proximity changed the kind of value we could deliver.

We began spotting misalignments between strategy and execution — things you simply can’t see when you’re focused on a single sprint or release. We identified recurring systemic blockers that affected multiple teams, and we could trace them back to upstream processes, governance models, or unclear decision rights.

Because we were embedded, we had the context — and the trust — to address them.

Why Scrum Masters Still Matter

I want to be clear: this evolution doesn’t mean the Scrum Master role is obsolete. Far from it.

Scrum Masters are the heartbeat of team-level agility. They create safety, clarity, and flow for the teams delivering value every day. They’re the ones who turn theory into practice.

But as organizations scale, they need both perspectives — the Scrum Master’s focus and the Agile Coach’s altitude.

Think of it like this:

  • Scrum Masters optimize local performance — improving how teams plan, deliver, and learn.
  • Agile Coaches optimize global performance — improving how the system supports and amplifies those teams.

When those roles work together — with clear purpose and communication — the organization gains both speed and stability.

From Coaching Teams to Coaching Systems

As embedded coaches, we started paying attention not just to what teams were doing, but to why certain patterns persisted.

For example:

  • Were delays in delivery caused by unclear priorities or approval bottlenecks?
  • Were teams producing value, or just output?
  • Was leadership reinforcing Agile principles, or unintentionally rewarding old behaviors?

By gathering this data and observing across multiple teams, we could map the systemic causes of friction instead of just addressing the symptoms.

It’s a mindset shift from “fixing process” to understanding the ecosystem — and it’s what makes embedded coaching so powerful.

We also began to see how coaching could help influence culture at a strategic level. By bringing insights from teams into leadership conversations, we helped leaders connect business outcomes to the principles of flow, value, and experimentation.

In other words, we started closing the loop between strategy and agility.

Measuring Impact (and Learning Along the Way)

We’re still gathering data on the long-term impact of embedding coaches, but the early signals are strong.

We’ve seen more alignment between product and technology, improved visibility into value streams, and better conversations about tradeoffs at the portfolio level.

The shift also helped us identify capability gaps — areas where teams needed more support or where processes were unintentionally slowing delivery.

But most importantly, we’re beginning to think differently as an organization. Leaders are asking better questions. Teams are connecting their work to business outcomes. Agility isn’t just something we do — it’s something we’re becoming.

That’s real change.

AI and the Next Evolution of Coaching

AI is now emerging as the next enabler for embedded coaching.

Imagine being able to use AI tools to synthesize sprint data, identify emerging trends across teams, and visualize systemic blockers in real time. Tools like Jira and Confluence already offer AI-driven insights that highlight dependencies, sentiment, and flow metrics.

For an Agile Coach, that kind of visibility is gold.

It doesn’t replace the need for human intuition — it enhances it. AI handles the analysis, freeing us to focus on interpretation, conversation, and facilitation.

As we look ahead, the most effective coaches will be those who combine data-driven insight with human-centered coaching — using technology not to dictate change, but to guide it with empathy and precision.

The Mindset Shift

Ultimately, evolving from Scrum Master to Agile Coach — and embedding those coaches strategically — requires a mindset shift at every level.

It means moving from:

  • Team focus → System focus
  • Process enforcement → Value enablement
  • Local optimization → Global alignment
  • Short-term metrics → Long-term impact

It also means being comfortable with complexity — and recognizing that transformation is ongoing.

As an Agile Coach, I’ve learned that my role isn’t to have all the answers. It’s to help the system see itself more clearly, to make data visible, and to facilitate better decisions.

That’s where real agility begins.

The Future of the Embedded Coach

The future belongs to organizations that embed agility into their DNA, not just their processes.

And that’s what the Embedded Agile Coach represents — a bridge between strategy and execution, data and empathy, people and process.

In this role, we’re not enforcing frameworks; we’re cultivating environments where agility can thrive naturally. We’re connecting leaders to the realities of their teams, and teams to the purpose of their work.

That’s how transformation sticks.

Closing Thoughts

When I look back at my journey — from Scrum Master to Agile Coach — what stands out isn’t the title change, but the mindset evolution.

Moving from managing ceremonies to influencing systems has been both humbling and inspiring. Every day, I learn more about how small changes in structure and behavior can ripple across an organization.

And as I continue to watch, learn, and gather data, one truth remains clear:

Agility isn’t something we install — it’s something we grow.

The Embedded Agile Coach helps that growth take root — one conversation, one system insight, one mindset shift at a time.

That’s the future of agility. And it’s already here.