Process Thinking

At Level 2, you're starting to actively work with processes, not just follow them. You adapt workflows to fit the task, notice friction points, and suggest small changes that make the team's life easier. You see how your work connects to others and begin to think about efficiency, clarity, and consistency. You don't need to overhaul the system—but you're learning how to improve your corner of it.

Key Behaviors

  • Flags inefficiencies or inconsistencies in team workflows
  • Proposes small improvements to tools, docs, or handoffs
  • Adapts existing processes thoughtfully when needed
  • Updates personal or shared checklists based on experience
  • Connects day-to-day tasks to upstream/downstream steps

Common Struggles

  • May optimize locally without seeing global impacts
  • Can skip collaboration when changing shared processes
  • Might get bogged down in process details at the expense of progress

Success Indicators

You know you're successful when you:

  • Work within existing processes while identifying and testing improvements
  • Bring up issues constructively and with ideas for resolution
  • Improve shared documentation or workflow tools
  • Understand how your changes impact others before implementing them

Mindset Shift

From:

"How can I work more efficiently?"

To:

"How can we work better together as a system?"

Questions to Ask Yourself

  • Who is affected by this process—before and after me?
  • What's the real purpose of each step?
  • Is the process helping us meet our goals—or getting in the way?

Build These Habits

  • 1
    Keep track of process friction you encounter repeatedly
  • 2
    Socialize small changes with others before rolling them out
  • 3
    Reflect on process pain points during retrospectives or 1:1s

Seek Feedback

  • "Does this process still serve us well?"
  • "Have I made any workflow changes that surprised or confused others?"
  • "What's one habit I could improve to reduce friction for the team?"

Signals You're Ready to Level Up

  • Teammates trust you to tune or clarify workflows
  • Your changes reduce confusion, errors, or wasted time
  • You help others understand and engage with shared processes

Focus Summary

  • Smooth the path
  • Tune the system
  • Improve the work

At Level 2, process thinking is about proactive improvement. You notice what isn't working—and you care enough to fix it, even when it's small.