Stratum is a leadership framework for building elite teams. It focuses on hiring the right people, evaluating them on core meta-skills, and scaling a culture of trust and clarity. Use it to identify, assess, and grow the behaviors behind outstanding collaboration.
This repository includes three fully scaffolded meta-skill domains, along with tactical tools, interview simulations, and flywheel case studies that bring them to life in real-world teams.
Why Stratum? Because great teams aren't built on tactics—they’re built on thinking, character, and trust, practiced daily.
Each domain includes 5 meta-skills, foundational documents, tactical playbooks, and live examples.
“Think clearly under uncertainty.”
| Meta-Skill | Link |
|---|---|
| First Principles Thinking | Break down problems to fundamentals |
| Decision-Making Under Uncertainty | Act without full information |
| Scenario Thinking | Anticipate multiple futures |
| Feedback Calibration | Integrate signal without distortion |
| Bayesian Updating | Revise beliefs based on evidence |
“Stand tall when it’s hard to.”
| Meta-Skill | Link |
|---|---|
| Strategic Patience | Wait with clarity |
| Resilience | Recover and recommit |
| Strength of Character | Act with integrity under pressure |
| Cognitive Decoupling | Think through emotion, not from it |
| Execution with Reversibility | Move fast with optionality |
“Shape perception, build belief, and lead without mandate.”
| Meta-Skill | Link |
|---|---|
| Trust-Building | Be counted on under pressure |
| Ability to Influence | Move people without power |
| Narrative Framing | Guide meaning and momentum |
| Tribal Intelligence | Read social signals and group norms |
| Confidence Calibration | Express what you know—and what you don’t |
- Engineering Playbook
- Product Playbook
- Operations Playbook
- Hiring Playbook — Structured interviewing guide using Stratum meta-skills as evaluation criteria
- Stratum Assessment Skill — Codex-format skill file for AI-powered meta-skill evaluation. Use with Claude Code or compatible AI assistants.
git clone https://github.com/Avyayalaya/stratum.git
cd stratum
npm install
# Set your Anthropic API key (needed for Agentic Assessment)
cp .env.example .env
# edit .env and add your ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
node cli/index.jsThe agentic mode replaces Likert self-rating with behavioral evidence. Instead of rating yourself 1–5, you answer real questions about real situations. Claude evaluates your answer against the skill rubric and returns a calibrated score + evidence summary.
What you get:
- A score profile across all 15 meta-skills (or 3 in quick mode)
- Role-weighted gap analysis (PM, Engineer, Operations, or General)
- A 4-week sprint plan with specific rituals pulled from the coaching playbook
- History saved to
~/.stratum/history.json— tracks progress over time
Why it's more accurate than self-rating:
- Removes Dunning-Kruger inflation — your answer is the evidence, not your self-image
- Scores are calibrated against the same rubric across all people
- Evidence text becomes your coaching anchor in 1:1s
- Apply the domain Diagnostics and Scenario Decks as advanced interview tools.
- Evaluate candidates against the Meta-Skill Framework to surface strengths and gaps.
- Run diagnostics regularly to measure progress and spot coaching opportunities.
- Debrief real projects using the flywheel case studies.
- Reinforce growth areas through the field notes and playbooks.
- Establish rituals from the playbooks so culture scales with headcount.
- Use meta-skill flywheels to onboard new hires quickly.
- Revisit diagnostics each quarter to keep hiring standards high.
Built by Parth Sangani — product leader, systems thinker, and leadership strategist.
Stratum is MIT licensed. Fork, remix, build teams with it, or integrate into your own coaching frameworks.
If this framework helped you—or you’ve adapted it for your org, team, or portfolio—reach out. Open an issue, suggest an improvement, or drop a note.
Every high-functioning team runs on invisible code. Stratum makes that code visible—and buildable.
#stratum #leadership #meta-skills #team-building #decision-making #trust #clarity