People Strategy Playbook
Timely insights and actionable people strategies for growth equity firms and the leaders of their portfolio companies.
The Growth Journey of a Founder CEO: “The Shadow of a Leader”
In the early stages of a company, Founder CEOs are closer to peers than bosses. Everyone is working around the clock to make the business work. Relationships are often personal and somewhat informal.
Navigating the Leadership Maze: A Guide for First-Time Managers (Part 2)
In our previous blog, we discussed three of the common challenges new leaders face: (1) Communicating with your team in a way that boosts engagement and productivity; (2) Delegating effectively; (3) Managing your time. In this blog, we are continuing our conversation.
Navigating the Leadership Maze: Tips for Struggling Middle Managers
We Over the past two years, I have seen a dramatic rise in the number of middle managers seeking coaching because they are overwhelmed and uncertain of how to effectively manage their teams. They are putting pressure on themselves, but they are also feeling dissatisfaction from their team and their senior leaders.
Lost in Translation: A Leadership Communication Conundrum
We all remember that old game of “Telephone” or “Pass It Down.” You whisper a phrase to the person next to you, they pass it on, and by the time it reaches the end of the line, “Three Blind Mice” has transformed into “Freeze, Pine, Rice.” The changes are amusing. Now imagine playing that game with your team’s goals and objectives. It’s not nearly as amusing, and could cost you both significant time and money.
Sharpen Focus: OKRs vs. EOS
As companies grow and scale, injecting accountability structures into the culture becomes critical. As Peter Drucker famously said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” Currently, two of the most popular goal setting frameworks are John Doerr’s Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) method and Gino Wickman’s Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).
What’s the Status of Remote Work in 2023?
One of the hot topics of 2023 in boardrooms and around leadership tables continues to be remote work. The pandemic is over, but companies are still struggling to attract their talent back to the office full time. I am often asked about the state of remote work and when this trend will end. (Spoiler alert: it will not.)
Why Do So Many Leadership Development Programs Not Get Results?
Hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of hours are spent worldwide on leadership development. Yet, study after study shows that most leadership programs don’t result in any meaningful improvement long term.
Where’s the disconnect?
Discovering the Top Three Skills Your Middle Managers Need
In the world of coaching and development, middle managers are gaining more attention. While executives and senior leaders often receive coaching, it's crucial to invest in the growth of middle managers too.
Applying the Growth Gauntlet
We created The Growth Gauntlet to help leaders build high performing and sustainable organizations. The framework charts the evolution of our Six Imperatives: Sharpen Focus, Calibrate Culture, Strengthen Leadership, Elevate Talent, Align Structure and Amplify Communication across four Stages of High Growth: Emerge, Operationalize, Grow, Explore & Expand. Over the years we have used this framework to guide investors and leaders in their growth journeys. Read more to learn a few of the ways that we have used the framework.
Amplifying Communication
Communication is the lifeblood of every company. It determines how aligned, productive, and healthy the company is. Communication provides and circulates the information needed for an organization to function, and areas where communication does not flow are inhibited from contributing. Effective communication channels can foster trust, relationships, innovation, and alignment. Open and candid communication can also help you successfully navigate unexpected challenges and take advantage of new opportunities.
Aligning Structure
“Structure follows strategy” is my mantra. Organizational structures, processes and systems exist to help you achieve your strategy. They provide clarity of roles and boundaries between functions. Processes are designed to advance work through the organization and push it out to clients/customers. Systems help us to track and measure progress so that we can optimize performance.
Three Ways to Elevate Talent
Your organization can’t outperform its talent. As you grow and your organization becomes more complex, it becomes necessary to level up your talent. Current employees may need to step up into new responsibilities and new hires with different skills will be required. There are essentially three ways to elevate your team.
Strengthening Leadership
An organization can’t outscale its leadership. Leaders are the load-bearing walls of a building. They are the infrastructure – and, as with construction, you can only scale to the size your infrastructure will support. As an organization grows, it must constantly strengthen its leadership infrastructure to support more growth.
Culture is the Boss
When a company is moving between stages of growth, strategic goals and desired results become more complex and difficult to reach. They often move in a different direction or require different skills and capabilities for the organization. In these times, culture needs to shift to support and drive success.
Sharpening Your Focus
Sharpening your focus seems obvious enough, but when your company has multiple opportunities and a host of growth-related challenges it can be hard to do. Plus, how you go about sharpening your focus changes at each stage of a company’s growth.
The Crisis in 3 Phases
We have all been swept up in a tsunami of change that hit us hard and fast and has left us disoriented, exhausted, and with miles and miles to swim before we’re back on dry land. As we look to the horizon and plot our course, we can expect to navigate this crisis in three phases.