When you work as an Agile Coach or Scrum Master, you spend much of your time helping others find clarity—their purpose, their rhythm, their better way of working. But sometimes you need that space yourself.
In September, I found it in Banff.
Arriving Early
The official Regional Scrum Gathering Banff ran for two days, but I’ve learned that arriving a day early is part of the magic of a gathering. Those first casual meetups before the sessions even start — catching up with familiar faces, sharing stories over coffee, and meeting the early arrivals from across the world — set the tone for everything that follows.
Banff’s mountains have a way of grounding people. Within a few hours, conversations were already deep: what’s working in our organizations, what isn’t, and how we can keep evolving as leaders and learners.
Mountains, Momentum, and Meaning
The gathering, organized by Elena Aminova, Brock Argue, and their incredible volunteer team, was two days of learning, laughter, and genuine connection.
I joined sessions that stretched my thinking in very different directions, from How EQ Supercharges AI Product Innovation, to Conflict Management, Decision Making Frameworks, and Adaptive Coaching: Humanizing Workplaces While Achieving Business Results.
Each one circled back to something I keep exploring in my own practice: how emotional intelligence and adaptive leadership aren’t merely soft skills — they’re the essential foundation of how organizations respond to change in a complex world that changes ever faster.
Coaching and Being Coached
One highlight was spending time in the Coaches Clinic, both as coach and as coachee.
Sitting across from a peer and co-creating clarity is humbling. We’re reminded that none of us ever “arrive.” We’re all still learning, experimenting, and stretching the edges of our comfort zones.
That’s also where I saw my own North Star reflected back: to model the same curiosity and adaptability I invite in others, and leading more through presence than persuasion.
Learning, Laughing, and More Learning
Between sessions came the conversations that make these events memorable — hallway chats that turn into retrospectives, and shared laughter over a game night that lasted longer than anyone planned. Those informal moments carry as much insight as any workshop.
Day two brought more hands-on experiences:
- Breaking Silos, Delivering Value: DevSecOps Adventures, simulating agile
collaboration in real time
- Sprints & Squirrels: Servant Leaders of Neuroblended Teams, a thoughtful
exploration of inclusion and neurodiversity
- 6 Ways You’re Using ChatGPT Wrong (and How to Fix It), a lively look at how
AI is reshaping our work as coaches and leaders
Each conversation and experiment reinforced the same truth: agility lives where learning and humanity meet.
Encouraged to Try
Being surrounded by people who teach, write, and lead with heart gave me a quiet nudge to experiment more myself — to write, to teach, and to share what I’ve learned from the teams I serve.
Banff reminded me that sharing the learning is part of the work. Each story becomes a small act of leadership — a way to help others find their footing in uncertainty.
As a result, my personal development backlog has received a few challenging and inspiring additions.
Recentring on Purpose
Leaving Banff, I felt reconnected with why I do this work: to help people and teams create meaningful results while enjoying the process — rebuilding trust between people, systems, and the purpose that connects them.
That means showing up with curiosity when things get uncertain and continuing to reinvent how I serve, staying calm in the storm so others can find clarity.
That’s the work.
That’s the joy.
The world still needs us — to model collaboration, to remove friction (in code and in relationships), and to create the conditions where people can do their best work and feel good doing it.
The Beauty of a Gathering
There’s something special about doing this work away from the daily grind. When we step out of our routines, the noise fades, and what remains is presence.
Gatherings are temporary spaces where hierarchy dissolves, curiosity takes over, and ideas flow freely. They provide the thinking space to notice patterns that are hard to see when you’re buried in sprints, meetings, and delivery cycles.
At a gathering, conversations flow differently. People listen longer. Reflection feels natural. The change isn’t only in the scenery. It’s in us, when we pause, connect, and imagine better ways forward together.
See you at the Global Scrum Gathering in Vancouver, May 3-6, 2026.
About the Author:
Joe Scherler is an Agile Coach and Delivery Lead based in Vancouver, Canada. He helps teams and leaders rebuild trust between people and systems, blending technical excellence with human-centered leadership. With more than 25 years of experience across development, product delivery, leadership, and coaching, Joe is passionate about helping organizations work with greater clarity, flow, and purpose.
