SAFe-Agilist Leading the Change Practice Question
A large financial services company is midway through a SAFe transformation. The Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) has been established, and several Agile Release Trains are running. However, the LACE is spending most of its time organizing training sessions and managing the transformation backlog, while line managers continue to assign work by functional silo and measure individual utilization. The Chief Transformation Officer asks the LACE to refocus on the most critical remaining bottleneck. According to SAFe, what should the LACE prioritize?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that more training or certification will change management behaviors, when SAFe actually requires ongoing coaching of leaders to model the new mindset.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Shift focus to coaching leaders and managers to adopt Lean-Agile leadership behaviors and change their management practices.
The LACE must evolve beyond organizing training and managing backlogs to becoming a coaching entity for leaders and managers. When managers still assign work by silo and measure individual utilization, they are reinforcing the old culture. Coaching them to adopt Lean-Agile leadership behaviors—such as becoming teachers, leaders, and coaches—directly addresses the bottleneck and enables the transformation to stick.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Expand the transformation backlog to include more detailed training on SAFe principles for all employees.
Why it's wrong here
While training is important, the scenario indicates that managers are still operating in a traditional command-and-control manner. Adding more training without addressing leadership behaviors will not resolve the systemic conflict. SAFe cautions that training alone does not change culture; the LACE should focus on coaching leaders to model the new behaviors.
- ✗
Request that the Chief Transformation Officer mandate all managers to complete a SAFe certification within 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
Mandating certification does not guarantee that managers will change their day-to-day behaviors. SAFe stresses that leaders must be coached and supported to internalize Lean-Agile principles, not just complete a course. A mandate without ongoing coaching may create compliance, not commitment, and fails to address the systemic misalignment.
- ✓
Shift focus to coaching leaders and managers to adopt Lean-Agile leadership behaviors and change their management practices.
Why this is correct
SAFe emphasizes that the LACE must evolve from organizing events to coaching leaders and managers. Since managers still assign work by silo and measure utilization, they are reinforcing the old culture. Coaching them to adopt Lean-Agile leadership behaviors—such as becoming teachers, leaders, and coaches—directly addresses the bottleneck and enables the transformation to stick.
- ✗
Establish a new metric to track the number of training hours per employee and report it to the executive team.
Why it's wrong here
Measuring training hours is an output metric that does not address the core issue of managers not changing their behaviors. SAFe advises against using activity-based metrics as a proxy for transformation progress. The LACE needs to shift from event planning to coaching leaders, not add more reporting on training activities.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Scaled Agile exam blueprint
This SAFe-Agilist practice question is part of Courseiva's free Scaled Agile certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SAFe-Agilist exam.