Wayne Gretzky. The “Great One”. Growing up in the midwest, I only had a passing knowledge of Canada’s favorite sport, Ice Hockey. But growing up, I knew of Wayne Gretzky. He led his teams to 4 Stanley Cup Titles. He was selected as Most Valuable Player 9 times. To be that good, no one could argue that Wayne Gretzky was knowledgeable about how to play Ice Hockey. I’m sure that is part of the reason why he tried his hand in coaching the Phoenix Coyotes.

But as a Coach, Gretzky had no where near the success he had as a player. After 4 years as a head coach, he had failed to take his team to the playoffs and had an overall record of 143 wins, 161 losses, and 24 ties.

Michael Jordan. In Basketball, he was a legend. During the 90s, he led the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA Championships. He was selected as an NBA All-Start 14 times. He holds the record for the highest career scoring average at 30.12 points per game. After retiring, he became an owner in the Charlotte Bobcats (later renamed the Hornets) and took over basketball operations.

But, the Hornets never achieved great success. But they do hold a special record of their own. During the 2011-2012 season, the team won only 7 games out of 66, a .106 winning percentage, the worst winning percentage in NBA history.

So what happened? Why did Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan fail? Did they not know enough about their respective sports?

What these coaches forgot or neglected was the coaching part of a Hockey Coach or Basketball Coach. They were clearly experts in their sport (and in the case of Michael Jordan, perhaps far more than you know), but where they have failed is on the Coaching aspect of their job.

As Agile Coaches (or Scrum Masters who are asked to ‘Coach’ our teams), we have to remember what the coaching aspect truly means. Our Agile expertise is useless if we cannot influence, show, and persuade individuals and teams on the agile values and practices.

When we meet with other Agilists, we often talk about utilizing the latest Agile Practices, techniques, or remind ourselves of the values and principles. But, as you consider your own growth as a Scrum Master or Agile Coach, don’t forget to strengthen your skills as a Coach.

If you don’t, you might end up with a team with a worse winning percentage then .106.