Admit it. We’ve all looked at our peer organizations that are hitting the ball out of the park with some envy.
We want to be that organization that is growing by leaps and bounds, struggling to meet demand, running a million miles per hour.
There’s an adrenaline to it, a barely contained chaos that appeals to leaders and entrepreneurs.
But we also know that high growth equals high uncertainty, and these companies definitely don’t have it made. There are real choices and real consequences to being in their shoes.
When I was graduating from college, I remember the prevailing school of thought for young women entering the professional world was: You’re so lucky! You can have it all! It sounded great and certainly felt empowering.
Well, over these many years of real-world experience, I’ve had to modify that belief a little:
Yes, I can have it all. But I can’t have it all at the same time.
This awareness of the need for balance has served me well as a business owner and leader, and when I’m working with my clients I try to get them to understand the value of balance as well. Specifically, that striking the right balance is the key to successfully managing an organization through periods of high growth.
Here are my four hacks to achieving balance in high-growth scenarios:
Balance work and life ... no, really.
This one really applies to you as an organizational leader. You have to define what work-life balance means for you personally. Because let's face it, during a period of high growth you’re going to miss your kid’s sporting events and family dinners, and you’re going to answer email and take conference calls on vacation. So determining what you can live with and how those sacrifices are helping you achieve your goals is important. For me, working hard is not a sacrifice as long as I achieve my ultimate goals. But if you don’t have clarity around your goals, lack of balance can really destroy your motivation and your attitude over time.
Balance the needs of the business and employees’ needs.
It can be tough to balance your employees’ needs for personal time off, raises and career advancement while you’re working to get your organization to the next level. Sometimes financial resources need to be spent on other initiatives rather than increased compensation. And sometimes employees need to work extra hours over extended periods of time even though it means less time off. These types of compromises aren’t going to be tolerated indefinitely, but if you’ve done a good job communicating organizational goals and have a clear strategy and consensus, it will help. In other word's, if everyone buys into the culture of growth you've created, finding this balance is easier because employees will understand that sometimes the needs of the business come before their own needs.
Balance day to day tasks and big picture strategy.
When you’re experiencing fast growth, it's easy to get mired in the daily grind and lose sight of the big picture. The challenge lies in building the right team so you can stop playing the role of COO and start being the CEO. This balance can be difficult because the tasks of the day may be urgent and right in front of you. But over time, fire fighting only allows you to survive to fight the next day. As your organization’s leader, you need to continue to focus on big picture and strategy if you want to ensure future growth and success.
Balance control and delegating.
In the early days of any organization the leader must wear a lot of hats to get the business off the ground. That's not a bad thing at all. It provides insight on every aspect of your business and that orientation and knowledge is helpful for moving an organization forward. But once the need to wear all those hats disappears, some leaders have a hard time shifting from doing to delegating and during high-growth periods it can be especially tempting to try to take back control because you trust yourself more than you trust your team. However, no growth-focused organization can meet its goals on the back of one person. So trust yourself to lead and trust your team to execute.
Ready for more growth hacks? Get my Planning & Resource Alignment Checklist and ensure you have the resources you'll need to achieve your organization's goals for high growth.
