We all get confused about the difference between a Scrum Master (SM) and an Agile coach. Whenever a new terminology is introduced to us or a new role is introduced to us, we tend to draw the lines as far as responsibilities are concerned.
These terms have a great deal of power to set expectations for behavior. There are some of the responsibilities which are similar, the two roles are different in scope of their work.
Both Agile coaches and scrum masters provide support to the teams and organization. Agile coaches and scrum masters use similar techniques to guide, facilitate, and coach teams so that they absorb and use Agile methods, confront delivery obstacles and work together as a team.
Agile coaches work with all the teams, provide oversight and support to Scrum Masters, pursue the implementation of an organizational vision of Agile, works with executives and leaders. In both cases, the coach is external and is not a member of any specific delivery team. In order to effect change from the outside, the coach needs an extended exposure to Agile roles than a regular scrum master. A coach should have played all of the roles on an Agile team multiple times. They have the gravitas to influence without direct authority and from outside the team. They interact with a team or teams, and then let the team synthesize and internalize the advice. The Agile coach is typically the voice of Agile at an organizational level. This generally requires broader exposure and experience with Agile techniques, which is why many organizations use external consultants to play this role. The need for an Agile coach is generally transitory, specifically, they are needed when external injections of knowledge or energy are necessary to help ensure the application of Agile continues to evolve.
On the other hand, the scrum master is the team’s tactical coach (scrum defines the team as the scrum master, product owner, and the development team). Scrum Master facilitates the team’s use of Agile values and principles and protects the team from the influence of others. Scrum masters are the voice of the framework at the team level which team decided to implement.