CAE CAE Agile Leadership & Coaching 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary role of a servant leader in an Agile environment?
- Assigning tasks to team members
- Enabling and empowering the team to self-organize (Correct answer)
- Reporting progress to executives
- Writing user stories for the team
Correct answer: Enabling and empowering the team to self-organize
A servant leader focuses on removing obstacles and empowering the team to self-organize rather than directing work.
Question 2: Which coaching stance involves asking powerful questions to help a team member discover their own solutions?
- Teaching
- Mentoring
- Coaching (Correct answer)
- Consulting
Correct answer: Coaching
The coaching stance uses open-ended, powerful questions to help individuals discover their own answers rather than providing them directly.
Question 3: An Agile leader notices the team is consistently missing sprint goals. What should they do first?
- Extend the sprint length
- Increase team headcount
- Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes (Correct answer)
- Assign a dedicated project manager
Correct answer: Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes
Facilitating a retrospective allows the team to inspect and adapt by identifying root causes of missed goals collaboratively.
Question 4: What does 'leading by example' mean in Agile leadership?
- Having the most technical skills on the team
- Demonstrating Agile values and behaviors consistently in daily actions (Correct answer)
- Always completing tasks before the team
- Writing the most code
Correct answer: Demonstrating Agile values and behaviors consistently in daily actions
Agile leaders demonstrate the values and behaviors they want to see — such as transparency, collaboration, and continuous learning — through their own actions.
Question 5: Which leadership style is most aligned with Agile principles when working with a high-performing self-organizing team?
- Autocratic
- Laissez-faire (hands-off)
- Delegating with clear vision and support (Correct answer)
- Micromanagement
Correct answer: Delegating with clear vision and support
Delegating with clear vision and support gives high-performing teams autonomy while ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
Question 6: What is the key difference between a manager and an Agile coach?
- A manager focuses on team growth while a coach focuses on delivery
- A coach focuses on developing team capability while a manager focuses on controlling output (Correct answer)
- A coach assigns work while a manager facilitates
- There is no difference in an Agile organization
Correct answer: A coach focuses on developing team capability while a manager focuses on controlling output
An Agile coach develops the team's capability, mindset, and practices, whereas a traditional manager typically focuses on controlling and directing output.
CAE CAE Agile Leadership & Coaching 1
What is the primary role of a servant leader in an Agile environment?