Achieving hypergrowth: It's all about the people

Achieving hypergrowth: It's all about the people

Does anyone else love it when a well-established and respected institution publishes an article that better sums up a genuine need they serve? ?I could not have put in better myself: "Achieving hypergrowth: It's all about the people"

Entrepreneurs, Leaders, fellow Learning & development practitioners, HR professionals, how does it resonate with you??

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Leadership shifts to gain/grow your competitive advantage as you scale.

This reminds me of the words of Marshall Goldsmith ?“what got you here won’t get you there” in his book with that very title.? A great book on personal change, if you’ve not already read it.

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Here is the article https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/achieving-hypergrowth-its-all-about-the-people?stcr=5F69C7B12D1049A3B43AF6EBA1E45B0E&cid=other-eml-alt-mip-mck&hlkid=8a2a4b2f798d41309c7fbf68ba1f283d&hctky=15707725&hdpid=ca8e1a53-3310-4e3b-96a5-d0d41e60a685

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Here is what stood out for me and some questions for you to ponder:

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Thinking ahead what talent do you really need?

?"Founder CEOs know that talent is a key building block of organisational success, along with strong leadership, a common purpose, and a performance-oriented culture. But many are less clear about how these building blocks may need to be restacked or shifted as the start-up evolves: How (and how many) people, processes, behaviours, and skill sets need to change as the company expands?"

Are you and your team ready to make the changes as you prepare for or enter the next exciting phase scale up growth?

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"The research revealed important lessons about the talent, leadership, purpose, and culture needed for successful scaling—as well as the role that constant communication plays in all four of these areas. These lessons may be instructive not just for fast-changing tech companies but also for start-ups in a range of industries that are trying to preserve their cultures and ensure profitable growth."

... enjoy the article ...?

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How must we up-skill and attract the right leaders?

The article makes a clear distinction between growth leaders and operational leaders - sounds familiar to a conversation I had the other day, although I did not use those exact phrases.

?"A survey of nearly 900 institutional venture capitalists (VCs) shows that the quality of the management team is a bigger factor in their investment decisions than the product or technology in play. The research also shows that these VCs attribute the ultimate success or failure of an investment more to the health and functioning of the management team than to the business."

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How do you maintain a common sense of purpose as you rapidly grow?

As a company grows, founder CEOs must find repeatable ways to highlight the “why”—embedding the purpose inside their employee value propositions, onboarding processes, and communications practices. Indeed, all the founder CEOs we spoke with said they integrate elements of the “why” into all their conversations with employees as a part of regular performance reviews, and emphasize the importance of strategy, values, and culture in all facets of corporate life.

?"A survey of nearly 900 institutional venture capitalists (VCs) shows that the quality of the management team is a bigger factor in their investment decisions than the product or technology in play. The research also shows that these VCs attribute the ultimate success or failure of an investment more to the health and functioning of the management team than to the business."

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Is our culture a source of competitive advantage?

?"For more clarity, they should define the behaviours and values the organization needs to do the things only it can do. Founder CEOs and their teams should be role models for those behaviours and values, and the organization should build formal reinforcing mechanisms"

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What changes do you need to make to leadership and team communications to ensure you all rise together?

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“Even in the best scale-up situations, employees’ and teams’ opinions and perspectives on priorities and how to tackle various growth objectives may diverge.”

?Absolutely, and anyone who knows me and how I operate will know how I encourage leaders to listen and benefit from the diversity of thought and ideas within their teams. ?Disagreement tumps polite 'on the surface' assumed alignment every day!? Of course, you have to reach uncommon levels of trust and openly share your perspectives with positive intent to achieve this dynamic.?

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“To ensure that everyone is on the same page, founder CEOs and teams must define the North Star—that is, they must regularly communicate to all key stakeholders the company’s strategic vision, goals, and priorities.”

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How are you putting people at the heart to maintain your competitive edge?

Hope this prompts some new thinking and progressive action.

Happy to discuss further if this has prompted you to address challenges or unlock opportunities with your leaders and teams.

Feel free to DM me James Gentle ???????? .? As a Leadership team transformation facilitator and fractional learning and development lead – I love conversations that start with your ambitions, what challenges you wish to conquer or opportunities you wish to realise.

You don’t need to start with all of the answers – greater self-awareness and awareness of others is a big focus for us at Alt P, where we help our clients see blind spots and discover new possibilities.

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All credit to the authors of this great article:

Claudy Jules - partner in McKinsey’s Washington, DC, office.

Shahar Markovitch?- partner in the Tel Aviv office.

Charlotte Seiler?- associate partner in the Bay Area office.

HR Leaders

For those leading the change in HR, please engage with the HR Leadership Project survey, which aims to get to the heart of whats impacting HR teams and help them unlock the full potential of your teams.

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HR leaders complete the survey here. https://altp.co.uk/blog/resources/hrleadership/

All - please share this link the HR leaders you know.

If this really resonates with you and you want to get more involved please reach out.

Thank you in advance.

Leadership Team Talk

We've been busy on the podcast/vlog of late and in addition to our studio sessions with Leaders and experts to support and enable leaders, we've also been out and about capturing for your some bitesize leadership tips from well established entrepreneurs including Emma Sayle , Daniel Priestley , James Watt and many more.

If you missed Emma's candid interview you can catch up here:

?This week we shine the light on Neurodiversity in the workforce for Everyone with special guest Neil Lawrence

Highlights:

• The Role of Compassion and Curiosity in Effective Team Communication
• Creating a Neurodiverse-Friendly Workspace: Practical Tips for Leaders
• Balancing Routine and Flexibility for Neurodivergent Employees
• The Importance of Transparent and Co-Creative Conversations in the Workplace

How are you celebrating Diversity in your business?

& if you missed Steve Judge 's practical tips for Leaders on Resilence, then head over to the Alternative Perspectives YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AlternativePerspectives

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Alt P - Unlocking your full potential as a Leader, manager, person...

Are you ready to benefit from an alternative perspective? For those less familiar with what we do to support our clients growth, this is a taster:

• 1:1 Discovery sessions to increase awareness of self and others to facilitate changes that will unlock your potential and success with others. Our most popular sessions are Communications and Motivation. Many of these will include assessments like DISC to help your discovery and action.
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On or before you are ready ti unlock even more of your potential get in touch .

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