Steve Martin: When the Gospel of Agile Becomes a Barrier to Change

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"It took me a while to realize that that's what I was doing. I felt the reason wasn't working was them, it wasn't me." - Steve Martin

Steve carried the Scrum Guide like a Bible in his early days as an Agile coach. He was a purist—convinced he had an army of Agile practitioners behind him, ready to transform every team he encountered. When teams questioned his approach, he would shut down the conversation: "Don't challenge me on this, because this is how it's supposed to be." But pushing against the tide and spreading the gospel created something unexpected: resistance. The more Steve insisted on his purist view, the more teams pushed back. It took him a couple of years to recognize the pattern. The problem wasn't the teams refusing to change—it was his approach. Steve's breakthrough came when he started teaching and realized he needed to meet people where they are, not force them to come to him. Like understanding a customer's needs, he learned to build empathy with teams, Product Owners, and leaders. He discovered the power of creating personas for the people he was coaching, understanding their context before prescribing solutions. The hardest part wasn't learning this lesson—it was being honest about his failures and admitting that his righteous certainty had been the real impediment to transformation.

Self-reflection Question: Are you meeting your teams where they are, or are you pushing them toward where you think they should be?

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About Steve Martin

You can link with Steve Martin on LinkedIn.

Steve is an Agile Coach, mentor, and founder of The Agile Master Academy. After over 14 years leading Agile transformation programmes, he's on a mission to elevate Scrum Masters—building high-performing teams, measurable impact, and influence—and raising industry standards of Agile mastery through practical, evidence-led coaching. You can also find Steve's insights on his YouTube channel: Agile Mastery Show.