Strategic Leadership: Aligning Vision, Values, and Decision-Making

05/19/25 • 31 min

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 organizational vision and values with daily operations, implement human-centered change management, and develop consistent decision-making frameworks—all while keeping team engagement at the forefront.

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Inspecting and Adapting Your Way… Back to Waterfall?

Agile teams don't usually plan to return to waterfall ways of working — it happens slowly and subtly. In this episode, Kate Megaw and Ryan Smith unpack the signs that a team is sliding back toward waterfall, why it happens, and most importantly, what leaders and teams can do to course-correct. Learn how to stay true to Agile principles even when organizational pressure, leadership turnover, and old habits start pulling you backward.

Next Episode

From Order Takers to Innovators: Sparking Ideation Within Scrum Teams

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, Kate and Ryan dive into the often-overlooked topic of ideation within Scrum teams. They explore what it takes to shift from passive delivery to active co-creation, sharing real-world examples of how empowered teams improve both product outcomes and team engagement.