If your meetings and events feel flat, formulaic, or just plain exhausting, it’s time to shake things up.  In this lively, practical guide, we explore three meeting formats that actually work: Lean Coffee, Open Space, and World Café.  ...

Big personalities can bring energy, but when one voice takes over, the team loses out.  In this lively episode, we dive into practical ways to tame the talkers, without shutting them down.  Discover facilitation moves that give quiete...

Stop the Madness!  You’ve coded like a rockstar, but the sprint clock is ticking, and QA is still pounding away!  This episode tears down the biggest myth in Scrum: the phantom finish line.Is it "done" or...

Ready to finally Settle the Great Debate Over Bugs and Spikes (or at least get a coherent philosophy)?  We’re diving into the details with high-impact takeaways! Stop the confusion and start delivering—we'll clarify the essential di...

Backlog refinement (formerly “grooming”) isn’t a Scrum event: it’s an activity.  That’s exactly why so many teams either skip it, cram it in at the end of the sprint, or turn it into a rabbit hole of solutioning.  In this episode we u...

Retrospectives are one of the most powerful opportunities a team has to improve. Yet far too often, they’re skipped because “we don’t have time,” rushed through as an afterthought, or treated as a dull box-checking exercise.  Even worse, s...

The Sprint Review shouldn’t be a sleepy status update, it’s a high-leverage inspection-and-adaptation event that shapes what happens next.  In this episode, we break down what a great Sprint Review looks like, why developers should demo wo...

In this episode of the Leadership Growth Wheel series, Kate Megaw, Ryan Smith, and Anu Smalley unpack the often-overlooked domain of Operational Leadership. Strategy may set the direction, but without operational leadership, organizati...

The Daily Scrum is the shortest Scrum event and the most misunderstood. Too many teams turn it into a draggy 30-minute status update instead of the energizing 15-minute sync it’s meant to be.In this episode, Kate & Ryan break down ho...

Too many Sprint Plannings feel like marathons with no finish line.  In this episode, Kate & Ryan show you how to flip the script!  They break down practical facilitation moves to keep Sprint Planning crisp, collaborative, and conf...

Most people think facilitation means running a meeting, keeping time, or taking notes. But true facilitation is so much more - it’s about guiding groups toward purpose-driven outcomes, staying neutral, navigating conflict productively, and crea...

Kate and Ryan are joined by special guest Erin Mullens for a lively, honest conversation about the real world of Scrum Mastery. They explore how each of them found their way into the role, what truly energizes them about the job, and the frustr...

Live from the buzz of Agile2025, Kate Megaw, Anu Smalley, and Ryan Smith dive into the energy, insights, and shake-ups that had everyone talking. From the groundbreaking PMI–Agile Alliance partnership, to embracing AI as your co-conspirator, to...

Trust isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s the foundation of every high-performing team. In this episode, we explore why trust and reliability are inseparable—and how leaders can intentionally build both.  From creating psychological safety to ...

What does it truly mean to lead a team—without being “the boss”?  In this episode, we explore the Team Leadership domain of the Leadership Growth Wheel, diving into three essential skills: engagement, delegation with accountability, and em...

In this episode, we explore what it means to truly know where you're headed—and why you're heading there. From career shifts to personal crossroads, many of us operate on autopilot, doing what's needed instead of asking what we truly want. Join...

Agility isn’t just for software teams—it’s a way of thinking, leading, and living. In this heartfelt and insightful episode, we explore real-world lessons in agility from parenting to project management, from sticky notes to strategic pivots.

In this episode, Kate and Ryan unpack the real Scrum Master’s toolkit—and it’s not just post-it notes and Sharpies.  From mindset and agile knowledge to powerful facilitation techniques, they explore what it truly takes to lead effective t...

Scrum isn't just a framework—it's a mindset, a way of thinking, and a lens through which we see work, teams, and leadership. In this episode, Kate and Ryan dive into nine bite-sized pieces of wisdom—some from Agile, some from life—that reinforc...

Join Kate Megaw, Ryan Smith, and returning guest Anu Smalley as they dive deep into relational leadership - one of the eight domains of the Leadership Growth Wheel.  Discover why the myth of heroic leadership is holding organizations back ...

Self-organizing teams.It sounds simple. You give the team a goal, you create space for them to figure out how to achieve it, and then you get out of the way.In reality, very few teams achieve this level of autonomy, ownership, and...

Unconscious bias shows up whether we invite it or not—and it can quietly shape our decisions, conversations, and team dynamics.  In this episode, we explore the hidden forces that drive behavior, from blind spots and implicit assumptions t...

In this episode, we dive into one of the most frequently asked—and misunderstood—facilitation challenges: How do you remain neutral without sounding like a robot?  Whether you're a Scrum Master, leader, coach, or facilitator, neutrality ma...

Too many teams are stuck in execution mode—taking orders and building features exactly as outlined. But what if your developers, designers, and product owners had the psychological safety, ownership, and space to contribute bold new ideas?<...

In this episode of the Arclight Agile podcast, hosts Kate Megaw and Ryan Smith join special guest Anu Smalley to explore the strategic leadership domain of the Leadership Growth Wheel.  They discuss how effective leaders align organization...