About this episode
Solving the Agile Executive Support Problem
There is a statistic in the Agile community: the number one reason Agile initiatives fail is a lack of executive support. We see this stat, we nod our heads, and then we proceed to complain that leadership just “doesn’t get it.”
But CEOs and executives aren’t sitting around wondering how to make YOU and your team more effective. They are worried about revenue, market share, and survival. If you don’t have executive support for your initiative, it’s not because they don’t care; it’s because you haven’t given them a compelling reason to care.
Executive support is something WE have to take responsibility for soliciting. The problem is that most Agile practitioners have zero experience driving high-stakes conversations with people in power. We are great at talking to teams, but we freeze up when it comes to the C-Suite.
So, how do you fix this? You don’t do it by waiting for the next quarterly review to make your case. You do it by practicing in public.
The “Muscle” of Influence
Speaking to power is a skill, not a talent. Like any muscle, it needs resistance training to grow. You need to get in the habit of having a strong point of view on what Agile success actually looks like, and you need to start marketing that opinion aggressively.
Here’s what I did. I took a specific, tactical approach to building this muscle: Start doing LinkedIn Lives.
This isn’t about getting “likes.” It is about two critical outcomes:
Clarifying Your Message: When you commit to broadcasting your expertise, you force yourself to articulate your thoughts clearly. You stop hiding behind jargon and start speaking in value.
Building an Audience that trusts you: By hosting a platform, you create a space where you can invite leaders, stakeholders, and people of influence to join you. It changes the dynamic. You are no longer the person begging for five minutes of their time; you are the host offering them a spotlight.
Stop Wishing for Executive Support. Claim it.
If you want executive support, stop treating Agile like a methodology and start treating it like a product you have to sell. When you market your POV publicly, you build credibility. You build trust.
Most importantly, you practice the art of holding your ground in a conversation. By the time you actually need to pitch an initiative or ask for executive support to your internal leadership, you won’t be nervous. You will have had that conversation a dozen times already on your livestreams.
Don’t wait for permission to be a leader. Turn on the camera, state your case, and build the executive support you need to change minds and create Agile success.
