KatAnu Connect Podcast

Kate Megaw
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

Kate Megaw, Ryan Smith & Anu Smalley host a variety of discussions on Leadership & Agility!

  1. 5d ago

    Just Because AI Can, Doesn’t Mean It Should: The Human in the Loop and Why AI Transformations Fail

    AI can generate an answer in seconds. The harder question is whether it is the right answer to the right question, and what you actually do with it. In this episode, Kate Megaw, Anu Smalley, and Ryan Smith dig into what “human in the loop” really means, and why so many AI transformations are failing. Forbes puts enterprise generative AI failure near 95%, and RAND says more than 80% of AI projects miss. The pattern echoes the early Agile years: chasing a shiny tool without knowing what problem it solves. AI sees the data. Humans see the story behind it. The human brings context, ethics, and judgment, and stays the ethical guardian who catches the hallucination and the answer that is right for the wrong reasons. In this episode, we discuss: The human algorithm - turning AI outputs into real outcomes through context, ethics, and judgmentWhy AI sees the data but only humans see the story behind itAnu’s five workflow principles for human-led AI, including protecting the retro and naming a human decision owner for every recommendationWhy so many AI transformations fail, and how it mirrors the early Agile yearsAI-enabled vs. AI-native organizations, and why native winsUsing AI as a tool versus trusting it to run the businessChoosing the right tool for the job instead of defaulting to one model for everythingThe ethical guardian role - catching not just what AI gets wrong, but what it gets right for the wrong reasonsKnowing when to trust AI, when to challenge it, and when to override it Just because AI can do something does not mean it should. That is where humans come in. We are not using AI to replace thinking. We are creating more space for higher quality thinking for the human in the loop. Referenced in this episode: the documentary How I Became an Apocalyptimist (Daniel Rohrer), the Conan O’Brien podcast on how tools change but the task doesn’t, the New York Times feature on Box adding AI roles, and the AI-native shift discussed at the Miro Canvas conference.

    32 min

  2. Jun 1

    You Don't Have an Empowerment Problem. You Have an Ownership Problem.

    Leaders say their teams are empowered. The teams won't make a decision. Somewhere between those two sentences sits the real problem. This episode tackles the gap between the rhetoric of empowerment and the reality of approval-bottlenecked, micromanaged teams. Kate is joined from the Scottish Highlands by Anu Smalley and Ryan Smith for an honest look at why so many "empowered" teams quietly wait to be told what to do, why leaders struggle to let go, and what it actually takes to design autonomy into the system instead of just declaring it. Most organizations don't have an accountability problem; they have an ownership problem. Without ownership, accountability is just a polite word for blame. This conversation is a working tour through what changes that — the system shifts, the trust mechanics, the working agreements, and the daily moves leaders can make to stop rescuing and start coaching. In this episode, we discuss: The three-legged stool of trust — clarity, capability, and visibility — and how to spot which leg is wobbly when you feel the urge to micromanageWhy the system around a team has to absorb the shift in power before autonomy can take holdOrder takers vs. artisans, and how organizations train people out of ownershipWorking agreements that make trust visible: blockers surfaced in 24 hours, no surprises at Sprint Review, no scope-switching mid-sprint, and done means doneDecision-making guardrails that replace approval queues, including the team empowered to spend up to $200 against the core valuesTracking emergent work as the real accountability gap leaders rarely look atThe Pomodoro escalation pattern — solo, pair, team, stop and reassess — that ends hero culture and 4am debugging sessionsWhy leadership's two pillars are clarity of purpose and competence, not managing the workThe shift from "I know the answer" to "How can I help you find the answer?" Hope is not a strategy for empowerment. The goal isn't less leadership. It's leadership that creates more leaders. Referenced in this episode: Turn the Ship Around! by L. David Marquette, the Pomodoro Technique, and our recent episode You Don't Have a Strategy Problem: You Have an Execution Problem (Ep. 172).

    29 min

  3. May 25

    AI Stopped Being an Afterthought: Finding Calm in the Overwhelm and the Pivot Ahead

    event. Kate and Anu just wrapped a wild month on the road, and the message from both conferences was loud and clear: AI is no longer a bolt-on, it's the operating system! Fresh off Global Scrum Gathering Vancouver and Canvas 26 (Miro's user conference in San Francisco), Kate Megaw and Anu Smalley sit down with Ryan Smith to unpack two completely different conferences that delivered the exact same wake-up call. Inside: the highs, the lows, the pages of notes, and the calm that came after the dust settled. From the 80/20 flip to why AI-native beats AI-bolted-on, to the pivot Kate and Anu are making in their own business, this is a real, honest field report from two events and two very different rooms. If you're feeling the overwhelm too, you're not alone. Hit play. Take a breath. Let's find the calm together.

    35 min

  4. May 18

    Over-Talkers, Under-Talkers, and the Meetings Nobody Enjoys

    Every team has them. The teammate who turns a one-word answer into a five-minute monologue. The developer who has not said a word in three retrospectives. The Product Owner who "adds context" to every user story before anyone gets a chance to read it.  This episode is a high-energy, no-nonsense look at the over-talkers and under-talkers who quietly shape every meeting, and at the facilitation moves that turn a room of crickets and ramblers into a room of contributors. Expect a practical tour through the Explorer, Shopper, Vacationer, and Prisoner lens from Diana Larsen and Esther Derby's Agile Retrospectives, a fresh take on meeting personas like the Rambler, the Interrupter, the Silent Assassin, and the Ghost Participant, and a stack of techniques you can use this week: Sand timers in stand-ups. Parking lots that get used. Round-robin and popcorn share-outs. Intentionally crafted breakout rooms. Silent brainstorming. "Make space, take space" working agreements. And the most underused move of all, one-on-one coaching outside the meeting.The takeaway is simple and bracing. The goal of a great meeting is not equal talking time. The goal is meaningful contribution. Great facilitators do more than manage conversations. They create the conditions for better conversations to happen.

    29 min

  5. May 11

    Drop the Framework Theater. Deliver the Work.

    Organizations are still struggling to deliver what their customers want, when they want it, and the loudest question in delivery right now is whether agile and traditional project management are stronger together. Some Scrum practitioners are pursuing PMP certifications for the first time, traditional project managers are picking up the updated PMI-ACP, and the lines between Scrum Master and Project Manager have blurred in the marketplace.  Both disciplines bring real strengths. Forward thinking leaders are leaning into the blend instead of defending a camp. Most organizations are not picking sides anymore.  They are picking outcomes. The question is no longer "are we doing real Scrum" or "are we doing proper Project Management."  The question is whether your teams are delivering value, learning fast, and treating their customers like the heroes of the story. In this episode, we discuss: Why "Technical Project Manager" and "Scrum Master" have quietly become the same role on most job boardsHow the updated PMI-ACP is bridging traditional project management and agile leadershipThe hybrid skills organizations are hungry forThe leadership move that changes everything, regardless of title or framework

    30 min

  6. May 4

    Call It What You Want. Can You Deliver?

    The framework wars are over, and the only question that still matters is whether the work is landing in your customers' hands. This episode dives into the great convergence of project management and agility. Job titles are blending, PMI is leaning hard into adaptive approaches, and the new PMBOK reads nothing like the tablet of stone we used to study. The lines between Scrum Master and Project Manager have blurred in the marketplace, and forward-thinking leaders are leaning into the blend instead of fighting it. Most organizations are not picking sides anymore; they are picking outcomes. The question is no longer "are we doing real Scrum" or "are we doing proper Project Management." The question is whether your teams are delivering value, learning fast, and treating their customers like the heroes of the story. In this episode, we discuss: Why "technical project manager" and "Scrum Master" have quietly become the same role on most job boardsHow PMI and Agile Alliance moved from rivals to partners, and what the new PMBOK signals about the futureThe Shuhari path of mastery, and why so many teams skip straight to “ri” without earning itThe better questions leaders should be asking instead of arguing about labels

    27 min

  7. Apr 27

    You Don’t Have a Strategy Problem: You Have an Execution Problem

    High-performing organizations don’t just plan better: They shorten the distance between decision, action, and learning. This episode closes out the deep dive into the Manifesto for Enterprise Agility.  This week covers the three principles of execution: move authority to where value is created, deliver value frequently and make work visible, and sense early, learn quickly, and act with confidence. Most organizations don’t have a strategy problem; they have an execution problem.  Work moves too slowly, stays invisible, and sits disconnected from the people best placed to decide what to do next.  These three principles are the mechanics for fixing that. In this episode, we discuss: Why authority must travel with accountability if empowerment is going to be realUsing Management 3.0’s Delegation Poker to make decision rights explicitWhat ’making work visible’ really means beyond having a Jira boardWhy a Sprint Review should be a real show and tell, not a smoke-and-mirrors PowerPointHow sensing early shortens the gap between signal, decision, and actionWhy psychological safety, air cover, and a learning culture sit underneath all three principles

    26 min

  8. Apr 20

    Org Design for Agility: Guardrails, Flexible Funding, and Building for Adaptability

    Most organizations don't need more frameworks: they need fewer constraints. This episode continues the deep dive into the Manifesto for Enterprise Agility, this week tackling the three principles of organizational design.  From guardrails vs. gatekeepers to funding teams over projects, we unpack why the way most organizations are structured is quietly killing their agility. In this episode, we discuss: Why empowering teams starts with replacing gatekeepers with guardrailsThe case for funding outcomes and value streams, not projectsWhy efficiency is the enemy of adaptability and what to focus on insteadDelegation Poker and other practical tools for shifting decision-making cultureWhy your org design will stop your agility before your methodology ever will

    23 min
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About

Kate Megaw, Ryan Smith & Anu Smalley host a variety of discussions on Leadership & Agility!

Information

  • Creator
    Kate Megaw
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    179
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 KatAnu Connect Podcast
  • Show Website
    KatAnu Connect Podcast

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