Model the Mess means showing your real working state rather than hiding imperfections. “Good” looks like naming blockers openly, sharing early drafts, saying “I don’t know yet,” and inviting others into problem-solving before the cost of silence grows. Leaders who model the mess normalize honesty and speed up alignment.
This imperative drives two outcomes: higher transparency from leaders and less productivity lost to guessing or hiding problems. When leaders are honest early, teams move faster with fewer surprises.
Teams make decisions based on outdated or inaccurate information. Blockers grow quietly until they cause conflict or rework. Cross-functional partners lose trust when hidden issues surface late. Customers experience delays and missed commitments driven by avoidable surprises.
Alignment accelerates. People surface problems sooner and adjust quickly. KPIs improve: issue-surfacing speed increases, transparency indices rise, and escalation timing improves. Teams shift from reactive correction to proactive collaboration.
A leader preparing for a critical product review shared her messy draft instead of waiting for a polished version. The team quickly identified a flawed assumption about customer use cases. That early catch prevented a multi-week detour and redirected the project toward a more accurate solution.
To strengthen early truth-telling, explore Purpose 200: Make Usefulness the Point for focusing on what truly matters and Change 100: Escort the Truth for surfacing hidden realities. For cleaner downstream execution, see Decision Making 200: Test the Nod.
