My experience with the Agile Change Agent certification as a Digital Change Coach

I have a degree in Business Informatics (Diplom-Wirtschaftsinformatikerin (FH)) and higher education at a university level in the fields of digital management, coaching & organisational consulting, among others.

I combine my professional experience in IT consulting, team design, coaching, leadership culture development & agile organisational transformation into a holistic approach that leads to a sustainable implementation of a digital transformation.

My work in companies has always been about bringing different departments or teams together for cross-functional collaboration with the aim of getting everyone working together on the right issues.

Today, as a Digital Change Coach, I help to create the conditions for digital change with a collaborative culture and organisational structure, and finally to bring the digital strategy to the operational level.

I stumbled across a promotion for an Agile Change Agent introductory event on the APMG website. The introductory event convinced me, and I registered for the course immediately afterwards.

On the one hand, I wanted to legitimise my practical experience from the change / transformation projects through an appropriate certification. A recognised certificate such as the one from APMG provides an orientation on the quality standard of the consultant or coach. On the other hand, I wanted to supplement my knowledge and service toolbox.

1. Organisation and preparation of the training

The training is based on the book by Melanie Franklin. Each of the participants received the eBook in advance with page references and other course materials for pre-reading. This enabled me to prepare well in advance and to go even deeper into the subject matter during the course itself.

In order to familiarise yourself with how to conduct the online exam, a practical test was given to help us understand the technique and question structure. The trainer went through the registration process in the online exam portal with us so that there were no technical hurdles, and questions about the exam process could be clarified in advance.

2. Content of the Training

The course deals with the purpose, planning and setting up of an agile change project. Special emphasis is placed on interpersonal aspects such as relationship building and change culture. The role of the Agile Change Agent comes out very clearly.

3. Melanie Franklin as a trainer

I learned a lot in this course; not only about how to implement an agile change, but also about the personal attitude of an agile change manager. You notice very quickly that Melanie has decades of practical experience in change management, providing many illustrative examples from practice. The course content was flexibly adapted to the level of experience and the needs of the participants.

Melanie lives what she teaches, which is really very inspiring. She created a trusting atmosphere within the group, so that we quickly felt comfortable and a great rapport soon developed amongst us all.

Thank you Melanie for the great time!

In this training the agile mindset is seen as the basis for the role of the Agile Change Manager. The Agile Change Manager themselves is a role model for the agile mindset, who creates an environment that promotes agile behaviour. Here I had high recognition value for my own work in carrying out agile transformations, which corresponds to my understanding of an agile change mindset.

If you want to plan and set up agile structural changes in an organization or a company and you are in a change role, this course is an inspiration and a great basis. The course is also beneficial for change managers who want to implement agile aspects into their work, especially for those who are looking to integrate their genuine interest for the needs of the change participants and customers. This course is quite perfect, because it is very benefit and needs oriented.