THINKING AT ALTITUDE

When you’re in the early stages of building a company, it can feel a lot like playing a game of pickup basketball. Everyone is close to the action. You can call for the ball, cover for a teammate, and adjust as the game unfolds.

But as more players step onto the court, the game starts demanding something different. Success depends less on who can run the hardest and more on whether the team can read the play and respond together.

Company building works the same way.

Read more in Why Strong Leadership Teams Handle Complexity Better.

As founders, it can be hard to recognize when our company has outgrown the way it worked in the early stages. The team may still be working hard and talking about the right issues. But can they take a step back and think at the altitude the business now requires?

PERSPECTIVES

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team." — Phil Jackson

MARK MY WORDS

Most of us eventually learn that the first version of the problem is rarely the full version.

We’re wired to move quickly, which serves us well for a while. But we have to recognize when a situation calls for more sense-making before action. That takes discipline because our instinct tells us  to move, make decisions quickly, and keep momentum.

The Meta-U gives us a way to see how different leaders process the same situations. When the stakes are higher and the time horizon is longer, those differences can either pull the team in different directions or help the team get a better read on what's actually happening.

Better decisions start there. Not with agreement, but with a clearer view of reality.

TUNE IN

Why Leadership Is Never Aligned — feat. David Meyer
At the heart of the Meta-U is the idea that people don't experience reality in exactly the same way.

In this recent Founder’s Framework conversation, David Meyer shares a simple exercise he’s used with more than 100 leadership teams. Not once did every leader give the same answer about the company’s most important message.

[Watch the full episode on YouTube]

ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD

In case you missed it, here’s more from Founder’s Framework:

How Great Teams Turn Different Perspectives Into Better Decisions

Different perspectives don't have to create conflict. In this article, I explore how strong leadership teams use them to build a clearer understanding of what's really happening inside the business.

[Learn how strong teams think better together]

The strongest leadership teams see more because they're willing to consider perspectives beyond their own. Better decisions start with a fuller view of reality.