RTE Coaching and RTE Competencies

Question 1

What is servant leadership in the context of the RTE role?

Accepted Answer

Leading by prioritizing the growth, autonomy, and effectiveness of the ART rather than directing and controlling individuals

Answer

Serving the executive team's administrative needs

Answer

Being available to developers for code reviews

Answer

Taking over responsibilities from Scrum Masters when they struggle

Question 2

What is the difference between coaching and mentoring in an Agile context?

Accepted Answer

Coaching helps individuals discover their own solutions through questions and reflection; mentoring shares expert knowledge and experience directly

Answer

They are the same; both involve giving advice

Answer

Coaching is for teams; mentoring is for individuals only

Answer

Mentoring is used only during onboarding; coaching is ongoing

Question 3

What is psychological safety and why does the RTE care about it?

Accepted Answer

The belief that one can speak up, take risks, and make mistakes without fear of punishment — essential for team learning and innovation

Answer

A legal framework for workplace safety

Answer

A personality test used during team formation

Answer

A compliance requirement for regulated industries

Question 4

What is a 'Communities of Practice' (CoP) and how does the RTE support them?

Accepted Answer

Voluntary groups of practitioners who share a common interest and collaborate to improve skills and practices, supported by the RTE through facilitation and resources

Answer

Formal project teams managed by the RTE

Answer

External user groups for customer feedback

Answer

Compliance review committees for regulated industries

Question 5

What is the RTE's role in supporting Scrum Masters?

Accepted Answer

Coaching and developing Scrum Masters to be effective servant leaders for their teams, sharing best practices and removing organizational impediments

Answer

Replacing Scrum Masters when teams underperform

Answer

Approving all Scrum Master decisions before implementation

Answer

Assigning Scrum Masters to teams based on performance rankings

Question 6

How does the RTE apply systems thinking to ART challenges?

Accepted Answer

By understanding how the ART, its teams, and the broader organization interact as a system, and addressing root causes rather than isolated symptoms

Answer

By analyzing individual team member performance

Answer

By mapping software architecture dependencies

Answer

By reviewing technical debt metrics across the codebase