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In this episode, host Ben Maynard is joined by Adam Josephs, the co-author of Risk Up Front, to explore the gritty truth behind high-performance teams and why rigour, not ruthlessness, is the key ingredient in complex, high-stakes environments.

If you’ve ever wondered why your team’s best intentions still lead to delays, late changes, or misaligned delivery, this conversation offers a refreshing and practical dive into the principles of execution discipline. Adam shares his “Sriracha Sauce” approach to teamwork—spicy, precise, and exactly what’s missing from your current playbook.

Drawing from decades of experience consulting for companies like Goldman Sachs and Microsoft, Adam discusses how upgraded conversations about commitment, integrity, and risk can transform how we lead, plan, and deliver. Plus, we get a sneak peek into Ruffy, the risk coaching AI that sounds a lot like your favourite comedian.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

• Why late changes—not bad intentions—derail most projects
• How to uncover “don’t know you don’t know” risks through structured conversations
• What it takes to bring clarity and ownership to team commitments
• The power of specificity in turning worries into action
• How engineering integrity into the small moments transforms culture

💥 Key Takeaways

• “Without rigour, you don’t get performance—you get chaos dressed as collaboration.”
• Accountability is a structure, not a personality trait
• Integrity starts with turning up on time and knowing what you’ve committed to
• Small acts of discipline create big shifts in team behaviour

🎯 Who This Is For

• Agile and product coaches working in complex, fast-moving environments
• Leaders looking to drive performance without micromanagement
• Product professionals who want fewer surprises and stronger delivery
• Transformation agents seeking practical tools to surface and address execution risks

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/

Product Agility Podcast

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

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In this solo episode, host Ben Maynard explores a shift in thinking that many coaches and leaders need to make: moving away from trying to fix teams and instead focusing on coaching for meaning. If you're involved in organisational change—whether as a product leader, agile coach, or transformation lead—this episode offers practical insight into why team-level improvements often fall short.

Using the story of Jack Phillips, the Titanic's senior radio operator, Ben reflects on what it means to act with purpose during moments of change. He draws a parallel to the challenges many organisations face today—where activity can mask the absence of genuine progress.

Ben shares three practical ways to reframe your approach to coaching and leading, helping you connect the day-to-day work of teams with a broader, more meaningful narrative that supports long-term impact.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

• Why team-level coaching doesn’t always lead to meaningful outcomes
• How to work with leaders to define and communicate purpose
• What to listen for when transformation feels stuck or misaligned
• The risks of focusing on output over organisational clarity
• Three practices for helping people reconnect with why their work matters

💥 Key Takeaways

• “Fixing a team is like fixing a leaking tap on the Titanic.”
• Meaning Drives Engagement
• Clarity Before Change

🎯 Who This Is For

• Agile and product coaches looking to expand their impact beyond teams
• Leaders seeking to create more coherence across strategy and delivery
• Transformation leads working to align change efforts with real business value
• Product professionals who want to anchor work in something more than backlog items

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/

Product Agility Podcast

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

Want to come on the podcast?

Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80

Send us a text

In this no-holds-barred solo episode, host Ben Maynard delivers a searing obituary for agile coaching — or at least, the version of it we’ve come to know. If you’re a senior leader investing in agile or a coach trying to stay relevant, this episode is for you.

Ben doesn’t just diagnose the decline of agile coaching — he traces its evolution, exposes the industry dynamics that killed it, and calls on both leaders and coaches to fundamentally rethink their approach. From certificate-driven consultancy models to the obsession with frameworks over outcomes, Ben argues that agile coaching lost its soul the moment it stopped delivering real business impact.

But all is not lost. This is also a rallying cry for a rebirth — one built on commercial empathy, contextual learning, and building real organisational capability.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

• Why agile coaching has become irrelevant in many organisations
• How large-scale frameworks and certification mills diluted the craft
• The difference between coaching theatre and meaningful transformation
• What leaders should really look for when hiring coaches
• The traits and behaviours of truly great, impactful coaches
• The hard questions coaches must ask themselves to remain credible

💥 Key Takeaways

🔥 “Agile coaching is dead. And we killed it.”

❌ Death by Framework

🛠️ Real Coaching Is Not Jira Hygiene

🎯 Who This Is For

• Agile Coaches wondering how to stay relevant in a post-framework world
• Transformation Leads tired of empty ceremonies with no measurable ROI
• CTOs, CPOs, Heads of Product & Tech looking for real business agility, not theatre
• Product Coaches & Leaders reflecting on their own impact

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/

Product Agility Podcast

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

Want to come on the podcast?

Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80