Not what to do. Who to become.
Chris Williams has spent nine years and more than 500 episodes talking to Agile coaches, scrum masters, and team leaders about the work behind the work. The focus is less on frameworks and practices than on the character, voice, and business sense a leader needs when roles start shifting under them.
PRESS PLAY
Chris Williams opens Badass Agile the same way every week. Greetings team. Pull up a chair. It's good to see you. Nine years in and past 500 episodes, that ritual has become the show's spine, and the audience it addresses — Agile coaches, scrum masters, team leaders — is one Williams clearly counts himself part of. He states the purpose out loud most episodes: to create an elite tribe of leaders who serve their clients and communities by doing what matters and what works. The framing he returns to is that plenty of resources already explain what to do to be Agile, and almost none address who you need to become in order to lead teams. Solo episodes carry a single argument to its conclusion. One takes on what coaches don't do enough of, and lands on spending real time with the business rather than waiting to see what happens next. Another confronts the noise around AI, including the observation that coaches on LinkedIn have relabeled themselves as AI experts more or less overnight — predictable, Williams says, because Agile itself drew the same mix of true believers and opportunists when it was the growing wave. He talks about growing up in technology around the advent of the personal computer, and how that heritage taught the field to appreciate architectures and advances while its real job was converting those advances into value for organizations and communities. Interview episodes widen the frame. Kevin Sutherland, working in large-scale agility in the governmental and public service space, describes starting at Accenture in California around the time the Agile manifesto was being signed, and now tries things, breaks them, and rebuilds them in service of getting value to people who need it. Adam Smith of Tension, a user experience firm, comes on as a friend and fellow entrepreneur; Williams says he likes interviewing design people because their work reaches the end user, so they question things and poke at edges. Running underneath is a harder theme. Williams believes the employee-employer relationship is broken, that roles are drying up and pay rates are shrinking, and that the answer is to build something of your own rather than shrink to fit. He is transparent about acting on that himself, promoting a sixteen-week peer cohort he created and inviting listeners to reach out directly. Listeners should expect that promotional material in the opening minutes. Recent episodes have also been reflective — Williams openly weighing what the show becomes next, since nothing stays the same for nine or ten years. It is a plainspoken, sometimes pointed program with a strong sense of community, best suited to anyone whose job title includes the word coach and who has started to wonder how long that title will last.
Made for: Agile coaches, scrum masters, and team leaders who want the leadership and identity side of the work rather than another framework walkthrough. It also suits practitioners weighing independence — building their own practice instead of waiting on a shrinking role.
What sets it apart: Most Agile shows teach practices and process; this one argues about character, voice, and commercial self-reliance, and Chris Williams is direct about the field's uncomfortable trends rather than reassuring about them. Nine years of continuity gives it a tribe-like rapport that newer shows in the category don't have.
A place for elite leaders and teams.
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A blunt read on why Agile still stalls when leadership stays on the sidelines.
Chris Williams frames the 2026, 18th State of Agile annual report around a familiar leadership gap: only 15% of business and executive leaders are actively shaping Agile practices, even as organizations keep pushing for Agile outcomes with systems built for predictability rather…
A grounded talk about staying useful as AI and the market keep shifting.
The episode turns a familiar business fear into something practical: when the market shifts, the real job is staying useful. It lands best when leadership is framed as helping others through change rather than pretending to have certainty, and the point is backed by concrete…
Dave Borzillo presents better meeting facilitation as a repeatable system for leaders seeking alignment without direct authority.
Better meetings sit at the center of this Badass Agile episode, as Chris Williams has Dave Borzillo lay out a practical system for leading across an organization, often without direct authority.
Chris Williams brings back Adam Smith of Tension, a Toronto user experience firm, and opens with a blunt claim that AI has changed the economics of UX, product design, and development.
Host Chris Williams explores the concept of 'your practice' as a dedicated, consistent effort to improve craft beyond immediate outcomes.
Host Chris Williams interviews Dave Borzillo, a member of the Forge Genesis program, about building a product from Agile expertise.
Chris Williams reviews Digital.ai’s 2026, 18th State of Agile report and says 75% of organizations are holding or increasing Agile investment while 73% cannot report real value.
Chris Williams reflects on feeling depressed, bored with Agile and technology, and uncertain about the direction of the Badass Agile Podcast in 2026.
If opportunities are not passing downstream into our open mouths, we're going to have to create them.
Chris Williams explains how more than 30 years in technology led him to combine Agile, special-operator training, and Taoism and Stoicism.
This episode argues that Agile coaches need to spend more time talking directly to business stakeholders to better understand organizational needs and create value.
The host reflects on the future of agile leadership amid changing roles and market forces like AI, while promoting his business coaching program.
This episode features an interview with Kevin Sutherland about applying Agile methodologies at scale in government and public service to overcome complexity and deliver value.
This episode discusses why AI should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a threat for agile professionals, drawing parallels to past industry waves.
This episode features Adam Smith of Tension discussing how entrepreneurs and creatives can navigate AI disruption and lead through uncertainty by embracing risk, experimentation, and design thinking.
This episode explores the importance of developing a strong personal voice and leadership skills to capitalize on current cultural shifts and build something meaningful for oneself.
This episode features an interview with entrepreneur Paul LePage, discussing how he applied agile principles to build his IT business, Foundation BTS, and evolved from a technical expert to a business leader.
This episode introduces Dave Borzillo and discusses how Agile professionals can pivot to entrepreneurship amid a challenging job market by leveraging their skills to create profitable businesses.
This episode features alumni from The Forge program sharing their experiences and successes, discussing how the program transformed their leadership and coaching abilities.
The host interviews his friend Carl Oxholm about his new book 'The Biology of Leadership', discussing emotional intelligence, leadership concepts, and their personal connection.