The Invisible Architecture of How Your Team Thinks
At a recent conference, I ran a simple but powerful exercise: past, present, future. It’s one of the exercises I regularly do with teams.
Everyone in the room, some 400 people were invited to rate themselves from 1 to 100 in each of those three modes and to stand and point to the direction of where they faced in terms of time.
Later in the day, there was a panel session with the Senior Leadership team where the audience could ask them anything. One audience member turned to the board on stage and asked:
“Would you mind sharing your past, present, and future scores across the board?”
One by one, each of them did.
The moment was light, but very revealing.
What it exposed wasn’t just personal reflection — it gave a glimpse into something rarely surfaced:
It’s the invisible architecture of how a team is thinking.
Each person sees the world through a different lens. Some people are anchored in the past. Some are very much in the present. Some are continually scanning the horizon and looking forward.
I think we underappreciated that everyone sees the world differently.
I think we easily fall into a default pattern of assuming that everyone around us sees the world more or less as we do.
They’re not.
And unless we’re reminded, we don’t see it, and we struggle to understand the incredible contribution each person has to make.
That’s the real power of this exercise. It’s not in the numbers, but in what they reveal. Biases. Priorities. Blind spots. The deeply human filters we rarely name.
Perhaps most importantly, it’s a reminder that the only way to truly understand how others in a team think is to stop and really listen.
To listen with curiosity rather than assumption.
Your Experiments
This week, let’s experiment with this idea to Reveal the Invisible Architecture of Thinking in Your Team
(Drawn from the Past–Present–Future framework in The Big Bold Mindset)
2-Minute Experiment: Solo Snapshot
Pause and score yourself with one number each (out of 100) for:
• How much of your focus is in the past right now?
• How much is in the present?
• How much is in the future?
Your total should add up to 100.
Then ask:
What does this tell me about how I’m currently thinking, working, and showing up?
Is this the balance I want or is it time to shift my focus?
5-Minute Experiment: Perspective Swap
Pair up with a colleague or friend and each share your past, present, future scores (out of 100).
Then ask each other:
• “What’s pulling you towards that particular time zone right now?”
• “What might I be missing if I’m spending so much time in [your dominant time zone]?”
This is a simple way to uncover differing biases and open up new perspectives.
15-Minute Experiment: Team Thinking Map
Invite your team to take 60 seconds to each score themselves. One number each for past, present, and future, totalling 100.
Then go around the room (or Zoom) and share.
Follow it with these questions:
• “What patterns are we seeing across the group?”
• “What’s driving where our focus lies?”
• “Is this the balance we need for the challenges ahead?”
This is a fast, easy way to map the team’s current mindset, and start better conversations about alignment and blind spots.