CDA Agile Leadership & Coaching 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Disciplined Agile, what leadership style is primarily advocated for Team Leads?
- Autocratic leadership
- Servant leadership (Correct answer)
- Transactional leadership
- Laissez-faire leadership
Correct answer: Servant leadership
Disciplined Agile advocates servant leadership, where the Team Lead focuses on enabling and supporting the team rather than directing and controlling.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes the primary role of a Team Lead in Disciplined Agile?
- Assigning tasks and monitoring individual performance
- Making all technical decisions for the team
- Guiding the team and facilitating their process choices (Correct answer)
- Reporting team progress to senior management daily
Correct answer: Guiding the team and facilitating their process choices
The DA Team Lead's primary role is to guide the team in choosing and evolving their way of working while facilitating collaboration and removing impediments.
Question 3: What does 'shu-ha-ri' represent in the context of Disciplined Agile?
- A Japanese framework for agile scaling
- Three stages of learning and mastery in agile practices (Correct answer)
- A technique for managing product backlogs
- A retrospective format used in DA teams
Correct answer: Three stages of learning and mastery in agile practices
Shu-ha-ri describes three stages of mastery — 'shu' (follow the rules), 'ha' (bend the rules), and 'ri' (transcend the rules) — which DA uses to describe agile learning progression.
Question 4: In Disciplined Agile, which coaching stance is most appropriate when working with an experienced expert who needs minimal guidance?
- Directive coaching
- Facilitating coaching
- Mentoring coaching
- Collaborating coaching (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Collaborating coaching
When working with experts, an agile coach adopts a collaborating stance, working as a peer and leveraging the team member's expertise rather than providing directive guidance.
Question 5: What is the key difference between mentoring and coaching in an agile leadership context?
- Mentoring is more expensive than coaching
- Mentoring shares specific knowledge and experience while coaching helps people find their own answers (Correct answer)
- Coaching is only for technical skills while mentoring is for soft skills
- Mentoring is short-term while coaching is always long-term
Correct answer: Mentoring shares specific knowledge and experience while coaching helps people find their own answers
Mentoring involves sharing knowledge and experience from someone who has 'been there,' while coaching uses questioning and reflection to help individuals discover their own solutions.
Question 6: What is the primary purpose of psychological safety in agile teams as it relates to leadership?
- Ensuring team members feel safe from physical harm in the workplace
- Creating an environment where team members can speak up, take risks, and admit mistakes without fear of punishment (Correct answer)
- Protecting intellectual property created by the team
- Ensuring all team communications remain confidential
Correct answer: Creating an environment where team members can speak up, take risks, and admit mistakes without fear of punishment
Psychological safety, established by leaders, creates an environment where team members feel comfortable speaking up, experimenting, and admitting failures — essential for learning and innovation.
Question 7: In Disciplined Agile, what does 'enterprise awareness' mean for team members and leaders?
- Understanding the organization's marketing strategy
- Being aware of and aligned with broader organizational goals, strategies, and constraints (Correct answer)
- Knowledge of enterprise software architecture patterns
- Awareness of competitor activities in the market
Correct answer: Being aware of and aligned with broader organizational goals, strategies, and constraints
Enterprise awareness in DA means that team members understand how their work connects to broader organizational goals and consider the impact of their decisions on the wider enterprise.
CDA Agile Leadership & Coaching 1
In Disciplined Agile, what leadership style is primarily advocated for Team Leads?