Agile Driven Impact

In this Co-pilot episode of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Diane and Erich are joined by Dr. Jessica Crowley, Co-Founder of Agileon and Registered Scrum Trainer, to explore why making work visible isn't just a best practice — it's the prerequisite for everything else. Jessica brings firsthand experience from large-scale transformations, including a rail industry client who discovered they had five times more open projects than their actual capacity. The problem wasn't effort. The work was simply invisible. Whether you're running a grant-funded program or leading an enterprise transformation, this episode gives you a practical starting point. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

Most teams treat the product backlog like a to-do list. JJ Sutherland, CEO of Scrum Inc. and co-author of Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time, says it should be so much more. In this episode, JJ joins hosts Diane and Erich to break down how teams can use the backlog to set, own, and stay aligned to long-term priority goals — and how to make those goals visible to everyone, from your daily check-in to your board of directors. Whether you're leading a software team, a nonprofit program, or a community initiative, you'll walk away with practical tools to turn your backlog into a strategic engine for lasting impact. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this Pit Stop episode of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Diane and Erich break down why heroic efforts are a symptom of a planning problem, not a sign of team strength — and share three practical ways teams can minimize them, from sustainable capacity planning and limiting work in progress, to eliminating reliance on a single team member. A heroic effort happens when a team has to do extraordinary, unsustainable work to hit a deadline — the all-nighter, the weekend sprint, the one person who always saves the day. In the moment it feels like dedication. Over time, it's a fast track to burnout. If your team regularly scrambles to the finish line, this episode is for you. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this episode of Agile Driven Impact, we explore the vital connection between team well-being and performance. Joining us is Bethany M. Planton, Founder and CEO of bmpconsulting, a certified Grant Professional, and a Registered Scrum Master and Product Owner. Bethany shares her unique perspective on why team happiness is a leading indicator of success rather than a "soft metric." We dive into the relationship between team happiness and stress, discussing how leaders can move beyond traditional surveys to use well-being data as a serious performance management strategy. Bethany also offers practical, lightweight approaches to measure team health, foster psychological safety, and turn data into meaningful action to prevent burnout and improve team dynamics in mission-driven environments. GPA Publications: Burnout in the Grants Profession: An Initial Analysis BIGGER than Burnout: Strategies for Winning the Silent Battle Healthy Grant Professionals in the Real World BMP Consulting Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this Season 2 premiere of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Diane and Erich open up The Garage to tune up the engine of any great initiative: the team itself. They dive into how uncovering and celebrating the unique, individual skills of your team members transforms a group of people into a high-performance unit. Learn how to capture these distinct strengths directly inside a Team Working Agreement to build a system greater than the sum of its parts. This episode is proudly sponsored by Agile in Nonprofits. Visit www.agileinnonprofits.com to grab their free toolkits, download team templates, and subscribe to their free weekly email packed with actionable agile tips. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this crucial Pit Stop episode of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Diane and Erich tackle one of the biggest threats to momentum: unexpected urgent interrupts. They reveal the root causes of these distractions, explaining that most are due to a lack of visibility, not true emergency. Learn how to insulate your team by establishing a single point of contact to act as a shield against non-critical requests. The hosts provide a clear protocol for handling true emergencies and share techniques to ensure new requests are disciplinedly prioritized against your short-term goals, keeping your team focused and on track to deliver maximum impact. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this crucial Pit Stop episode of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Diane and Erich tackle a universal problem: the daily check-in (or stand-up) that always runs past its 15-minute time limit. They reveal why this meeting becomes a momentum killer and how to fix it by getting back to the core principles. Learn the two most important rules for protecting your time: stop solving problems during the check-in and strictly focus every statement on the shared short-term goal. This episode provides actionable techniques, like using a "Parking Lot" and visualizing your work, to ensure your daily coordination session is a quick, effective diagnostic, not a time sink. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this episode of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Diane and Erich tackle the critical skill of setting short-term goals. They share why relying on year-long plans is inefficient and introduce the power of the "Time-Boxed Focus"—a fixed period dedicated to a single, unifying objective. Learn how to stop being overwhelmed by a massive project and start gaining momentum by breaking your journey into manageable "test laps." This episode provides practical advice on how quick daily check-ins protect your focus and ensure your team is always driving toward impact. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this episode of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Erich and Diane dive into the "anti-patterns" that when present in a team practically guarantee a slow, ineffective, and demoralizing team environment. The discussion of the “anti-patterns” is meant to serve as a diagnostic tool for listeners to identify and avoid common pitfalls. These situations can work there way into Agile teams with the best of intentions, so your job is to help keep an eye out for them, and then work as a team to address them. The episode challenges listeners to identify one anti-pattern in their team and apply the corresponding positive pillar to people, visualization, or coordination to fix it immediately. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this episode of Agile Driven Impact, host Diane and guest Beth Archer, GPC, RSM, a professional who serves as both a part-time Scrum Master and team member, explore the unique dynamics of this dual role. They discuss the advantages, such as enhanced flexibility and a fresh perspective, alongside potential challenges like context-switching and the need for strong time management. A key segment delves into how professionals like Beth utilize AI as a brainstorming partner to overcome hurdles, refine problem-solving, and boost efficiency in the Scrum Master role, offering practical tips about integrating AI as a support. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this episode of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Erich and Diane focus on how Agile is about achieving outcomes like clear focus, better collaboration, and greater impact, not just adopting practices. They talk about how the true goal is a resilient team delivering real results. The discussion emphasizes both effectiveness and efficiency, detailing five core activities high-performing teams master: visualizing, focusing, interacting, measuring, and improving. The episode offers a practical challenge focusing on the five activities as options for fostering an agile mindset, reinforcing that true agility drives relentless improvement and delivers real outcomes for real people. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this episode of Agile Driven Impact hosts, Diane and Erich focus on the core Agile value of "Responding to Change over Following a Plan." They address the common fear of altering plans once set, using driving as a metaphor to illustrate how adaptation is the fastest and safest route to impact. The episode will guide listeners on identifying when changes are necessary and how to implement them effectively, concluding with a practical challenge to help them create adaptable plans. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this episode of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Diane and Erich Leonard bring you back into the "Agile Garage" to discuss the art of getting feedback from your team and your project's stakeholders. They explore the importance of working product over contract negotiation. Learn how to invite candid, meaningful feedback about whatever type of work product your team is creating. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this episode of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Diane and Erich Leonard bring you back into the "Agile Garage" to discuss the art of getting feedback from your team and your project's stakeholders. They explore the importance of working product over contract negotiation. Learn how to invite candid, meaningful feedback about whatever type of work product your team is creating. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

Drawing on their experience from building a race car and their professional careers, hosts Diane and Erich Leonard bring you into the "Agile Garage" for a focused pit stop on team dynamics. They discuss how to determine optimal team size and composition, emphasizing the value of having a diverse range of skills. Learn how to foster structured interactions and healthy debate to build a resilient, high-performing team that can drive a project to success. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In this episode of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Diane and Erich Leonard introduce the agile mindset as the core operating system for change-makers. Moving beyond buzzwords, they use relatable analogies from the racetrack to demystify principles like adapting to change and valuing collaboration over rigid plans. The hosts share how their Formula SAE advisor’s "enabling constraints" taught them to build resilience and trust the process. You'll learn how to adopt a "pit stop" mentality, viewing setbacks not as failures but as crucial feedback. This episode provides the philosophical foundation you need to navigate any project with confidence, empowering you to make smart, real-time adjustments and drive lasting impact. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact

In Episode 1 of Agile Driven Impact, hosts Diane and Erich Leonard take you back to where it all began: the intense world of college Formula SAE racing. 🏎️ They share their unique origin story, revealing how they developed a powerful, collaborative, and resilient mindset, building a race car under pressure—all without ever hearing the term "agile." This episode sets the stage for the entire series, connecting their firsthand experience of "unlabeled agile" to Diane's success in nonprofit grant writing and capacity building and Erich's decades of work in the transportation industry. Tune in to discover why these core principles are the secret ingredient to turning passion into measurable impact. Evolving your work, accelerating your impact