Feeling stuck between the old ways and the new demands of the 21st century?

This is your guide.

Agile transformations fail at an astonishing rate, not because of the teams, the frameworks or the tools, but because of the leaders caught in the middle. The "Agile" you've been told to implement has created an untenable position, leaving you feeling like a bottleneck—trapped by endless meetings, misaligned metrics, and the pressure to deliver faster with no clear role.

This isn't a book of blame.

It’s your blueprint to escape.

Inside, I will help you dismantle the dangerous illusions holding you back and discover a new purpose. I’ll show you how to shed the mantle of micromanagement and become an indispensable servant leader—an architect of flow and a master of coaching. I will also provide the practical guidance to re-frame your role, empowering you to move from simply managing tasks to truly leading people in a high-performing, agile organization.

The future of Agile Organizations needs a new kind of leader. It needs you.

In this book, I cover these priority topics:

• Navigate Your New Role with Confidence: Understand how your job shifts from control and task management to coaching, mentoring, and removing systemic impediments.

• Become a Trusted Partner to Senior Leadership: Learn to influence a cultural shift from the bottom up and become the go-to expert on what truly works on the ground.

• Architect a Culture of Trust: Discover how to use your daily actions and communication to build psychological safety, foster a growth mindset, and create a culture where people thrive.

• Avoid Common Pitfalls: Identify the dangerous anti-patterns of failed transformations and learn how to proactively address them.

• Master the Agile Mindset: Understand that agility is a fundamental shift in thinking, not just a process, and make it your competitive advantage.

About the author

Having worked with global enterprises across sectors—including finance, pharmaceuticals, automotive, government, and energy—he has supported organisations such as BP, Jaguar Land Rover, AstraZeneca, Sony, HMRC, and Office Depot. Donald specialises in large-scale agile transformations, leadership development, and building the systems and cultures that support lasting agility.

A respected voice in the agile community, Donald has mentored Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and senior leaders, with a particular passion for helping organisations turn their “middle management” from passive participants into active champions of change. He is also the host of Agile MK, a community meet-up in Milton Keynes, where agile professionals come together to share learning and practice.

Don is an ICAgile Certified Expert in Agile Coaching (ICE-AC), SAFe Program Consultant (SPC), and Certified Scrum Professional – Scrum Master (CSP-SM). He combines deep technical understanding with strong people skills, offering a unique ability to bridge strategy and execution, leadership and delivery.