The DRIVE Model: Speed Through Alignment & Teamwork
In my last article, Unleashing the Irreplaceable: How Multipliers Elevate Teams, I showed how true leaders don’t just manage work; they multiply capability. Multipliers create an environment where autonomy, collaboration, and empowerment become the norm. But inspiration without instruction is theater. If you want to operationalize the Multiplier mindset, you need a system. That system is the DRIVE Model.
The Root Cause of Breakdowns: Misalignment
Most breakdowns in your organization don’t happen because people aren’t smart, skilled, disengaged, or motivated. They happen because of misalignment.
Leaders talk about “teams,” but too often it’s still hero ball. Individuals chase credit, protect turf, and make decisions in isolation. Leaders disappear under the banner of “empowerment,” and team members wield autonomy like a shield against feedback. Everyone’s rowing, but in different directions.
And the cost is massive:
86% of executives cite lack of collaboration and communication as the #1 cause of workplace failures.
Misaligned teams cost some organizations $1.5M+ annually in wasted effort and lost productivity.
47% of workers say misalignment caused a project to fail.
This is what both dysfunction and failure look like. When leaders don’t ensure alignment before work starts, individuals collide, teams duplicate effort, and leaders end up defending breakdowns they never vetted in the first place.
“Giving autonomy doesn’t mean leaders are supposed to stand back and hope. We’re supposed to set our teams up for success. ”
We’re supposed to give people the autonomy to solve problems in their lanes, while ensuring their solutions complement, not conflict with, the work of others. That’s what real teamwork looks like. That’s what leadership actually means.
The False Promise: The Cult of Autonomy
The Cult of Autonomy masquerades as empowerment, but it’s killing teamwork.
Leaders think they’re “trusting their teams” by staying hands-off. Team members think they’re protecting independence by rejecting feedback as “micromanagement.” The result?
Chaos instead of accountability.
Collisions instead of collaboration.
Burnout-busy instead of business growth.
That’s not leadership. That’s abandonment.
The Proven Alternative: The Multiplier Mindset
Multipliers do the opposite. They elevate entire teams by combining autonomy, collaboration, and empowerment, the three ingredients every high-performing culture needs.
Multipliers don’t disappear and hope for the best. They engage. They create safety to take risks, they debate, they challenge, they invest. And because they align their teams before work begins, they accelerate execution without creating rework.
But good intentions aren’t enough. Even the best executives say they want collaboration and empowerment, but without a system to operationalize alignment, they slide back into silos.
That’s the gap the DRIVE Model fills.
Enter the DRIVE Model: Speed Through Alignment
The DRIVE Model is the system that enables the Multiplier Foundation. It operationalizes autonomy, collaboration, and empowerment in a way Fortune 500 teams can run with today.
D.R.I.V.E. stands for:
D – Define the Problem
Make sure it’s specific, measurable, and clear. No fuzzy definitions.R – Research Three Solutions
Don’t come to the table with a blank page. Do the work. Identify at least three viable paths forward.I – Identify the Best Option
Choose the solution that best meets the goal. Come with a point of view, not a shrug.V – Verify Alignment with Leadership
Vet the plan with your leader and stakeholders. Don’t go it alone.E – Execute (or Adjust) as Directed
Once aligned, move. Fast. If new information emerges, adapt without losing speed.
Create The 1-3-1: Driving Autonomy, Collaboration & Empowerment
The 1-3-1 is not a casual hallway conversation. It is a formal, documented leadership position, an emailed artifact, never a Slack or Teams message. Those informal channels are for quick alignment, Q&A, or clarifications. A 1-3-1, by contrast, is how we practice leadership in the open and show readiness for greater responsibility. When someone writes a 1-3-1, they’re putting their thinking on the record and taking a leadership position.
And here’s the key: every 1-3-1 is also preparation for the heavier Challenge | Opportunity exercise. The discipline of defining problems sharply, thinking through solutions rigorously, and tying everything back to the three pillars builds the exact muscles required to lead at scale.
1. Start by Clearly Defining the Problem.
A clearly defined problem is halfway to a solution.
Define the problem so sharply that anyone reading it immediately knows why it matters.
Get past symptoms to the root cause. “Late reports” is a symptom; the real problem might be unclear ownership or conflicting priorities.
Back it with evidence. Use real incidents, data, or specific examples that show the pattern and its impact.
Tie it directly to the three pillars: customer satisfaction, team member satisfaction, or profitability. If it doesn’t touch at least one of these without harming the others, it’s not a problem worth solving.
Keep it plain and specific, no jargon, no corporate fog, no acronyms.
2. Define Three Viable Solutions
Do the work. Don’t slap three half-baked ideas on the page.
Use the rule of 10’s to ensure you have done your diligence and exhausted the possibilities. If this takes more than an hour, you’re doing it wrong.
Select three viable solutions. That means that all three will get the job done.
3. Make One Recommendation
Take a position. Which option do you believe is best, and why?
Make your reasoning visible: what facts led you here, what assumptions are you making, and why does this option solve the root cause?
Tie your recommendation back to the three pillars. If the “why” isn’t compelling, the solution isn’t ready.
Anticipate the risks of inaction. What gets worse if we ignore this?
What Leaders Look For in Every 1-3-1
When you present a 1-3-1, your leaders are not just evaluating the proposal. They are evaluating your thinking. Specifically:
Clarity of Thought – Is the problem sharp, or is it fuzzy?
Connection to outcomes – Is it clearly tied to the three pillars?
Depth of Reasoning – Did you explore real options and surface trade-offs?
Tied to Business Outcomes – Did you create a crystal clear picture of how the solution will measurably improve the three pillars?
Clarity of thought is how we measure improved capability. A vague 1-3-1 reveals a lack of disciplined thinking. A sharp one shows growth. Over time, as team members repeatedly deliver well-reasoned 1-3-1s, they’re not just solving problems faster; they’re proving they are ready to take on larger challenges, like leading Challenge | Opportunity exercises.
Format for Submission
Subject: 1-3-1: [Problem Title]
Problem: [Specific, measurable definition of the issue. Include evidence and tie to the three pillars.]
Three Solutions:
[Option A – pros/cons, value classification]
[Option B – pros/cons, value classification]
[Option C – pros/cons, value classification]
Recommendation: [Your best option, reasoning, risks of inaction, tie to pillars.]
Verify Alignment and Execute
Step 1: Coaching Session with the Execution Leader
Once the 1-3-1 is finished, it is emailed to your Execution Leader, and a coaching session is scheduled. This step comes before anyone presents to stakeholders. The purpose is to sharpen thinking.
This coaching session is not theater. We don’t expect anyone to waste time creating a PowerPoint deck, memorizing lines or “selling” the idea as if it were a performance. Just read the document. You chose every word deliberately. Clarity is the point, not looking cool. Cool is for A-list actors. In business, clarity is what moves people. This is show and tell, not Romeo and Juliet. Share your screen, read through the problem, the three solutions, and your single recommendation exactly as written.
The Execution Leader’s job is not to polish grammar, buzzwords, or MBA vernacular. It’s to sharpen your thinking. Capability is measured in clarity of thought, not in how slick the presentation looks. If the problem, solutions, and recommendations resonate with the Execution Leader’s lived experience, you’ve earned your first follower. Their coaching creates even more clarity of thought, which refines the document and makes it land harder with the next audience.
Step 2: Stakeholder Review and Decision
After the coaching session, refine the 1-3-1 and email it to the stakeholders. Stakeholders include both the people directly impacted by the work and the person with the authority to green-light it. After emailing, schedule the Stakeholder Review Session meeting to include all stakeholders. Attach the 1-3-1 to the body of the invite.
The stakeholder review session is where alignment becomes commitment. Just like with the Execution Leader, this is show and tell, not theater. You read through the problem, the three solutions, and your single recommendation. After you finish, the session opens to questions. Stakeholders test assumptions, surface risks, and explore trade-offs. This dialogue is where alignment is forged.
The session ends with a decision. The stakeholder with authority, supported by the Execution Leader, gives a go or no-go. If adjustments are required, update the 1-3-1, re-verify alignment, and bring it back to decision. Once alignment and approval are secured, execute decisively. Execution begins only after clarity is established, alignment is tested, and commitment is secured.
Why It Matters
Every 1-3-1 is both a solution and a developmental rep. Each one solves problems for 120VC, for our clients, and sharpens clarity of thought, strengthens judgment, and builds the capability required to lead at higher levels. The more disciplined the 1-3-1s, the stronger the leader behind them.
And because every 1-3-1 is practice for the Challenge | Opportunity exercise, you’re not just solving today’s problems, you’re preparing for tomorrow’s transformations. Coaching 1-3-1’s is how we develop capability in our team members, and how we identify who’s ready to advance.
Ready to Drive Autonomy, Collaboration & Empowerment?
Misalignment is the silent killer of execution. The DRIVE Model ends it by hardwiring autonomy, collaboration, and empowerment into every problem, every solution, every decision.
But ideas don’t change organizations. Action does.
Your Next Move:
Send this article to your team today. Schedule a show-and-tell session this week. Don’t turn it into theater. There’s no need to create a slick deck, memorize lines, or “sell” the model as if it were a performance. Just read the article out loud. Clarity is the point, not looking cool.
Walk your team through the DRIVE Model and the 1-3-1 framework. Then open the floor to Q&A. Let them test assumptions, surface concerns, and probe trade-offs.
End the session with a decision: go or no-go. If it’s a go, commit as a team to implement the DRIVE Model in your organization. Put it in motion immediately, and watch how quickly clarity, alignment, and speed replace chaos, collisions, and rework.
Clarity isn’t optional. Alignment isn’t optional. Execution isn’t optional. If you want results, this is how you get them.
Series Note: This article is part of our Multipliers series. In the anchor, Unleashing the Irreplaceable: How Multipliers Elevate Teams, we introduced the foundation of the Multiplier behaviors, which are autonomy, collaboration, and empowerment, and the five archetypes that bring it to life: the Talent Magnet, the Liberator, the Challenger, the Debate Maker, and the Investor. This first follow-on, The DRIVE Model: Speed Through Alignment & Teamwork, delivered the system that operationalizes that foundation in daily practice. In the next article, we’ll tackle the first Multiplier behavior, How to Be a Talent Magnet, with the same fierce clarity and instructional rigor, so you can attract, align, and retain A-players.