Depthfinding: From Leadership to Stewardship
In this miniseries, we’re exploring Depthfinding—an easy-to-grasp framework designed to help leaders and teams solve their gnarliest cross-functional challenges.
This week, Rodney and Sam dive into one of the most pivotal (and misunderstood) aspects of the framework: stewardship. Depthfinding is built on the idea that organizations are like oceans, not aquariums. That means leaders have to show up in an entirely new way—not as a boss, a hero, or a disciplinarian, but as someone responsible for the ongoing health of a complex system.
Embracing stewardship can be an uphill battle thanks to the ghosts of leadership past and the inner work required to show up well in complexity. But when facing down uncertainty, building the conditions for resilience and learning to steward across each Depthfinding zone offers a new way forward.
Get the PDF Rodney and Sam talk about in this episode
Download the Depthfinding guide to get the template and examples of how to use it.
Want to learn more about Depthfinding? Head here: theready.com/depthfinding
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Mentioned references:
"Intelligence vs information age"
Jack Welch
Model T assembly line efficiency gains
Henry Ford quote about hands: The Future of Management, by Gary Hamel
connection between Gantt chart and slavery
Frederick Winslow Taylor
MRI study about how power impacts your brain
Employee Owned Trust (EOT)
00:00 Intro + Check-In: What is an underrated condiment?
03:46 Stewardship is how to put Depthfinding into action
08:32 Leadership ghosts of the industrial age: Henry Ford and the org chart
15:10 Leadership ghosts of the information age: Jack Welch and cult of personality
20:11 De-centering leaders and re-centering the organization for the future
23:50 Stewardship in the Midnight Zone playbook
28:13 Leaders modeling Midnight Zone moves is critical
30:29 Stewardship in the Twilight Zone playbook
35:46 Stewardship in the Sunshine Zone playbook
38:13 Stewardship in the Sky playbook
43:40 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share this episode with your colleagues!
This episode's theme music is Yaggadang by BG & Coyote Radio.
Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of Coupe Studios.
At Work with The Ready
Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin have helped teams around the world adopt more modern ways of working and on At Work with The Ready they’re sharing the inside scoop with you, too. Whether you’re struggling with a carousel of ineffective meetings, annual strategy sessions that go nowhere, or decision-making churn that never ceases, they’ve seen it all and are here to help. In each episode, they'll break down common workplace challenges and show you the moves—both big and small—to start making real, lasting change. (Formerly “Brave New Work” with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans)
- No. of episodes: 228
- Latest episode: 2025-05-05
- Business Entrepreneurship Management
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