How do you demonstrate the "Program Manager" differentiator to leadership?

Like you, I've always felt that program management was a more strategic role than a project manager, in the sense that because you're managing a program of projects, you can see things at a higher level.

I think it's important to emphasize that fact and include that program managers see more cross-functional work and can strategize across multiple projects vs. individual projects themselves?

As an example, I've been in situations where multiple teams are looking to build similar functionality but in two different systems or platforms. Being able to see that and propose the two teams combining resources to build a more holistic solution is way better than having individual project managers take this to completion and then have end users question why they now have two systems doing the same thing.

Dear
I’ve faced this skepticism before, and I usually focus on three key points:

1. Strategic Alignment: Program Managers ensure projects collectively achieve organizational goals, not just individual deliverables.
2. Value Delivery: Programs manage outcomes and benefits across projects, making sure the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
3. Stakeholder & Risk Integration: We coordinate dependencies, mitigate cross-project risks, and engage multiple stakeholders to maintain alignment.

The easiest way to prove value is with concrete examples showing how program oversight avoided duplicated work, reduced risk, or accelerated benefits.