Reflections
At the end of each chapter of our book, we included Reflections in the form of questions using the Reflect, Assess, and Do (RAD) format. These Reflections are for you to ponder, so grab a pen and a journal and take some time to contemplate! Our hope is that the Reflections help to guide leaders through the complexities of modern organizational management.
A peek inside
Every chapter of the book ends with a set of Reflections in our Reflect, Assess, and Do (RAD) format: a prompt to think back on your own experience, a question to honestly assess where you stand today, and a concrete action to try next. They’re built to be used again and again, whether you’re journaling solo over coffee, opening a 1:1 with a direct report, or kicking off a leadership offsite.
Here’s a preview from the first three chapters:
Chapter One
What Is an Intentional Organization?
Reflections:
- Reflect: Where have you set unreachable or lofty expectations with your team that leaves them without clear guidance on what they should do?
- Assess: What are the behaviors you say you don’t want in your team? How might you be complicit in these behaviors? What behaviors are you seeing in your team that you do want?
- Do: For each of the behaviors you don’t want, what could you do differently to set the right example? How can you better amplify or embody the behaviors you do want?
Chapter Two
Intentional Leadership
Reflections:
- Reflect: What are you doing in your team to shine a light on the hidden leaders and champions? What is a framework you have used recently with your team?
- Assess: Does leadership’s compensation hinge on a leader’s accomplishments or on their ability to support their team? How could you improve to reward leadership? What worked well with the framework you used? What didn’t work as expected?
- Do: How could you highlight your leaders’ and other individuals’ contributions even more? What is one thing you could adjust with the framework you used to make it more effective?
Chapter Three
Making Better Decisions
Reflections:
- Reflect: When you make a decision as a leader, what’s the information you need to make a good decision? What’s the process you’re using to make good decisions? Is that process transparent to the team? How are you sharing your decisions with them?
- Assess: The next time your team is working on a decision that impacts more than one team, observe the process they’re going through, who they consult, the feedback that people provide, and how the decision is made in the end. Does the reality you observe match how you imagined the process would run?
- Do: Does everyone in your team know what the company’s vision and key strategic initiatives are? What could you do to close the gap from them not knowing to them always having these priorities at the forefront of their decision-making processes?
Grab a pen and a journal, and enter your email below to get the full set of Reflect, Assess, and Do prompts for all eleven chapters as a downloadable PDF.
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Having more communication doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better communication.
The Intentional Organization book
Great products flow from diverse teams, deliberate processes, and a culture that nurtures different ideas and perspectives. With The Intentional Organization, you’ll learn how to create an environment that values people as humans rather than resources, solve the most common organizational problems in simple and practical ways, and find inspiration on how to lead your teams more effectively.
In a business landscape obsessed with hypergrowth and rapid scaling, this book dares to advocate for something revolutionary: building something that lasts. Through practical frameworks and honest reflection, Sara and Mathias demonstrate that true leadership isn’t about driving your teams harder—it’s about creating an environment where both people and profits can flourish sustainably—making this essential reading for anyone determined to develop teams and products that matter. —Jenny Herald COO
This book is about sweating the small stuff—and for good reason. Sara and Mathias, both founders and CEOs with proven track records, offer a wealth of ‘been there, done that’ insights. Their practical frameworks and real-world guidance make this book stand out as an invaluable resource for leaders at any level. —Maria Thomas CEO Sunday Health
In an era dominated by relentless hustle, this book invites leaders to slow down and reflect on what truly matters. Through practical frameworks and insightful reflections, Sara and Mathias guide you in cultivating teams that thrive without burning out. This is the roadmap to building companies where everyone flourishes. —James Turnbull CTO
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