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The high-growth handbook: Molly Graham’s frameworks for leading through chaos, change, and scale

Overview

Shownote

Highlights

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The high-growth handbook: Molly Graham’s frameworks for leading through chaos, change, and scale

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

Jan 04
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

Jan 04
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Molly Graham has worked for some of tech’s most effective leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Chamath Palihapitiya, and Bret Taylor. Today she leads Glue Club, a community for leaders navigating rapid scale, growth, and change. She’s best ...

Highlights

In this insightful conversation, Molly Graham draws on her extensive experience scaling organizations at some of the world’s most dynamic tech companies to share practical leadership frameworks that help individuals and teams thrive amid rapid change.
13:49
Giving away what you're good at is essential for growth in a scaling company.
19:22
If an emotion lasts more than two weeks, it's worth addressing with someone.
19:49
Holding on often leads to the worst version of oneself
23:25
The most interesting careers are winding, and control is not the key; it's about trying and seeing what happens next.
28:29
Fear of failure is a 'flashing green light' to take the risk
32:03
Calculate your financial runway to make informed decisions about time off work
34:29
Being a 'professional idiot' and asking dumb questions is a superpower for learning
41:21
Most team problems (about 80%) are due to structural or dynamics issues like unclear roles.
52:34
One goal should have one owner to ensure accountability and clarity.
1:07:13
Firing people isn't enjoyable, but leaders should recognize the need to do it quickly
1:07:50
Investing in high performers unlocks future company success
1:10:54
About 80% of company culture comes from the founder's personality.
1:24:18
Realized that building safe spaces for leaders is what I truly love
1:29:21
What matters most are the people you work with and what you learn

Chapters

Introduction to Molly Graham
00:00
Molly’s background at Google, Facebook, Quip, and CZI
04:28
The “Give away your Legos” framework
11:29
Managing your inner monster
16:44
When not to give away your Legos
19:49
Embracing a long career
21:28
The J-curve vs. stairs approach to career growth
23:25
The gift of knowing yourself
32:00
Learning to be a professional idiot
34:28
The waterline model: snorkel before you scuba
38:30
Six rules for creating strong alignment around goals
47:16
Rules of thumb for leading through rapid scale
57:15
Investing in high performers vs. low performers
1:07:49
Lessons from Zuckerberg, Sandberg, and Bret Taylor
1:10:54
Pivoting from ambition to purpose
1:21:15
Finding stability in instability
1:26:32
Final thoughts
1:29:44

Transcript

Lenny Rachitsky: You've worked with many very high-performing founder CEOs, Zuck, Sheryl Sandberg, Larry and Sergey. Google, Bret Taylor. Molly Graham: Google, when I was there, felt like two PhD students' paradise. Facebook felt like 19-year-old hacker's...