My Journey to CTC

In September 2023, I became a Scrum Alliance Certified Team Coach (CTC). This post summarises my journey. Hopefully you can learn something from it if you are applying but, almost certainly, your journey will be different. In this post I will explain why!

Applying to become a Certified Team Coach

At a high level, the path to apply to become a CTC is quite straightforward. The only prerequisite to apply is having an active, CSP-SM, CSP-PO or CSP-D

Certified Scrum Professional (SM/PO/D) certification is achieved through the following paths.

I first became a Certified ScrumMaster in 2013 through a 2-day course (by Axis Agile) attended in person with an exam at the end of the course. Working as a Project Manager at the time this course was instrumental in me eventually becoming a Scrum Master and then an Agile Coach.

With a desire to build on my Scrum Mastery skills …. as I really love Scrum because it delivers more value to customers and people working in Scrum are happier and more engaged, I was lucky to attend the Advanced Certified ScrumMaster course by Red Agile. There was overlap to what my mentors at the time were guiding me on, but it really solidified my learning journey.

Why stop there? I decided to continue with the journey by enrolling into the Certified Scrum Professional – ScrumMaster (CSP-SM) course (by Scrum with Style).I found becoming a CSP-SM thoroughly enjoyable, mainly because it wasn’t just sitting though a course and passing an exam. I had to demonstrate my learning through practice.

Luckily, I work for an organisation where there are lots of opportunity to learn, participate and experiment.

So, what next?

Because I enjoyed achieving the CSP-SM so much and I was working as an Agile Coach in a large organisation, for me, the natural next step was to become a Certified Team Coach (CTC) or Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC).

Most of my work as an Agile Coach is with teams and teams of teams and my natural tendency it to coach teams rather than C-suite and organisational transformation so the CTC seemed to be a perfect fit.

CTC Application Process

The process to apply is detailed on the Scrum Alliance website here:

https://www.scrumalliance.org/get-certified/ctc-certification/become-a-ctc

There are 3 important documents to review before you even start:

• https://www.scrumalliance.org/Media/Coaches/CTC_requirements.pdf
• https://www.scrumalliance.org/Media/Coaches/CTC_summary-of-expectations.pdf
• https://www.scrumalliance.org/Media/Coaches/CTC-application-instructions.pdf

If you think you are ready to apply, schedule a pre-application call. The tireless volunteers at the Scrum Alliance will give you expert advice on where you are on your journey and areas where you need to improve.

My CTC Application

• Hired a CTC coach to help improve my skills and generally help with the application process.
• In my pre-application call, I was given areas based on the Summary of Expectations on where I could improve and areas where I needed to start developing.
• I reported back to my CTC coach with the feedback I received, and we build a coaching plan.
• Over the next 6-9 months, I worked on bridging the gaps.
• I submitted my first application in November 2020
• My application response was “deferred for 6 months”.
• I again worked on areas where I was deemed “does not meet” and strengthened areas I personally felt I could improve.
• Had a little break here – my wife and I had a baby!
• I resubmitted my application in April 2023
• My application was successful!

My Learning

The CTC is a learning journey that going to take time, maybe up to 2 years. Use this time to reflect honestly where you are and where you want to be. Don’t be in a rush. Enjoy it!

Tips

• There is a wealth of information available – link to resources for CTC Candidates. I used this to drive my focus in areas that I wanted to develop.
• Luckily, I have access to a Percipio account through the organisation I work for – 90% of the recommended books and resources were available to be there. Saved my buying $’000 worth of books.
• Get involved in the Scrum Alliance community. Speak, organise, participate.
• Go to a Scrum Alliance Regional Gathering. Volunteer if you can.
• Go to a Scrum Alliance Coaches Clinic. Again, volunteer if you can.
• Practice professional coaching – GROW is fine.
• Be patient.
• Podcasts etc. with links (coming soon!)

I am now a CTC!

My journey took around 2 years. Not only were there COVID lockdowns during this time, my wife and I had our second baby!

The CTC gave me clarity and focus to achieve something big in my career. Now that I am a CTC, I miss the direction and focus it gave me. I initially felt it was an anticlimax and had “post implementation blues”.

One of my executive managers and mentors gave me pause to reflect when he stated, “Don’t discount the journey you have been on.”. It was true. It is important to celebrate what you have achieved.

Now that I have arrived and enjoyed the journey getting here, I am happy to stay for a while before taking on the next adventure. Reach out to me if you have any questions!