I have realized lately that many people are afraid of agile because they feel like it's a complete rip-out and replacement of what they currently know. In other words, the internal dialogue goes something like this: "I am learning agile. What does that mean for me? Oh I have to learn how to do agile engineering practices that seem strange and weird. I have to learn how to do release and iteration planning that involves everybody. I might need to pair with a peer to help me make better decisions, and you know, I really should deliver high quality product every sprint. Gee, I don't know how to do that."

What these folks don't realize is that they DO know how to do this. Are proper coding disciplines of stabilize before adding change really anything new? Is peer or code review any surprise that it works? Is it so strange to plan a 30-day sprint (or project phase) with a team following an agenda that you've carefully prepared? These are probably not new techniques for you.

What I encourage you to do is make a list of all the things that you currently do as a traditional manager or team member that brings you success. Is it the 25 years of experience you bring to the plate? Is it a keen sense of risk identification that sets you apart? Maybe it's your impeccable skills of persuasion. I urge you to identify what you're already good at and play up those skills. Likewise, identify the things that you know you need improvement upon and create S.M.A.R.T. goals to improve those skills. This list of improvement becomes your own personal improvement backlog.

Just because you're learning agile doesn't mean that you throw the baby out with the bath water. So much is about learning to apply what you already know in a different context or at different times and different depths.

Some ideas for your own personal improvement backlog: List your strong skills, rate them 1 to 10, have your team or peers rate you, identify SMART goals to increase your rating by 2 points, measure three months from now
List your areas of improvement, rate them 1 to 10, have your team or peers rate you, identify SMART goals to increase these areas by 3 points; measure three months from now

Keep measuring yourself every three months. Identify new areas of improvement as you go, and don't forget to reflect on the improvements you've made along the way! List out the steps you took to improve, as well as the measured results. I've always found it helpful to have a mentor as well.