Are You Growth Leaders?
Growth is like the oxygen of an organization, elevating ambitions, inspiring a sense of purpose, and feeding the culture to maximize shareholder value, attract talent, and foster innovation.
We can agree that 2020 was unlike any other, as our lives were upended by the pandemic, which affected every aspect of it. Both customers and businesses alike were forced to embrace new behaviours, including digital, working, shopping, and relaxing. There is no going back to the normal we all knew before the pandemic, as it is gone.
The historical shifts brought on by the pandemic have also fundamentally changed the leadership role for the road ahead.
Are you a Growth Leader? Here are some highlights that can contribute to being a growth leader:
Are You All In?
Growth is your top priority and sits at the top of your agenda. It is the central focus of everyone in the organization to create a common belief and language, which binds employees together to think about how they contribute to top-line growth. Growth leaders back up their faith with committed action; they have a clear vision and set impossible targets, forcing teams to strive for a more significant impact.
Are You Willing to Fail?
Growth leaders go beyond the task of delegating by instilling a culture that empowers people to make decisions, allowing middle managers and frontline employees to make crucial decisions. Growth leaders encourage risk-taking even at the minor level and celebrate rather than punish for trying because they know that things can go wrong and are willing to accept failure as an opportunity for growth.
Do Your Customers Come First?
Customers must be seen as people, not data points, and be central to all decisions. Customer insights and analytics are crucial to supporting growth, and growth leaders must go the extra mile by embracing design thinking and building empathy with the customer.
Do You Have Growth Stories to Tell?
Growth leaders know that purpose is power and that communication is about more than the what of growth; it’s the why. So, articulating a purpose beyond brands, categories, and businesses is an effective way for growth leaders to rally the whole organization by communicating clearly, creatively, and consistently. Growth leaders tell their stories to the outside world to motivate employees, shape investor perceptions, and convey customer aspirations.
Do You Give Control to Others?
As a part of leadership, encouraging people to make decisions and take risks without providing structure is just half the battle. Growth leaders explicitly give people decision rights and encourage business unit leaders who best know the customers and products to make critical decisions rather than senior management.
In conclusion, growth is a journey requiring the entire organization to adjust, optimize, and execute constantly. It starts with growth leaders having the right mindset to drive growth across the organization. Growth leaders are unafraid to close gaps in their business models and capabilities through partnerships or joint ventures, and organizations with the brightest prospects are those that know where to find pockets of growth, how to capture that growth now and in the future and how to build a growth engine for sustainable success for the road ahead.
