Sets direction, challenges assumptions, and protects long-term value at the strategic level.
A senior body that sets direction, challenges assumptions, and protects long-term value. The council's job is not to chase momentum but to question whether the right bets are still the right bets — and to keep the system honest about what it is optimising for.
Typically composed of CTO, CFO, CDO or equivalent C-level leadership, the Reflective Council operates at the Strategy layer. They set OKRs, approve strategic pivots, and review portfolio-wide trajectory at Direction Reviews.
Their most important function is intellectual honesty: they must be willing to revise strategic commitments when evidence from the loops shows the world has changed. They do not specify HOW to achieve outcomes — they specify WHAT needs to move and trust the Portfolio and Execution layers to find the best path.
Key principles
- Sets direction and challenges assumptions.
- Protects long-term value over momentum.
- Questions whether the bets are still the right bets.
- Sets the OKRs the system traces back to.