Are you surrounded by yes-people, or do you have a trusted circle of peers who challenge your thinking and push you to grow?
Every leader needs a collaborative group to provide candid feedback, support, and fresh perspectives on overcoming challenges to achieve high performance.
Pixar, known for its computer-animated feature films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Inside Out, attribute their consistent success to “Brain Trust” meetings. This process brings together diverse creative minds to provide brutally honest feedback on works-in-progress.
According to co-founder Ed Catmull, the underlying principles of the Brain Trust are:
- Candour and honesty – Members provide frank, unfiltered feedback without fear of repercussions.
- Peer-to-peer structure – It’s not a top-down review, but peers talking to peers.
- No authority – The Braintrust has no decision-making power over the film, allowing directors to maintain creative control.
- Focus on identifying problems, not prescribing solutions – They point out issues but leave it to the director to solve them.
- Diverse perspectives – Members come from different backgrounds and areas of expertise.
- Trust and psychological safety – There’s an environment where people feel safe to speak up and be vulnerable.
- Constructive criticism – Feedback is about the project, not personal attacks.
- Empathy – Members often have experience being in the director’s position.
- Flexibility and informality – The group composition can change based on the needs of each project and meetings have a relaxed, conversational tone to encourage open dialogue.
- Commitment to excellence – The goal is to push projects from “suck to not-suck” and root out mediocrity.
Do you have a supportive group that is your Brain Trust? If not, how might you start building one?
Trust me, your future self will thank you.
