94 / UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIPGrowing with your role
Start-up
When an organization starts up, it is
entrepreneurial—focused on delivering
a new service to new customers. Often,
communication is informal, and people
are prepared to put in long hours.
Customer feedback is quick and the
small group of people responds rapidly
with enthusiasm and energy.
Leadership at this stage is about
keeping close to customers and staff,
and encouraging new ideas. As a leader,
you may well be involved in frontline
activities as well as decisions.Rapid growth
As the organization grows, you may
start to see problems with the quality of
delivery. Communication with the team
may become more formal and some of
the initial energy and initiative can be
lost. More of your time will be spent on
designing and implementing systems,
structures, and standards.
At this stage, you need to work hard at
remaining accessible to people who seek
your advice and resist retreating into a
purely management role.Growth is built in to the vision of most organizations; and when an
organization grows, its leaders must be prepared to adapt with it.
Your role as a leader may become bigger and more strategic with
each organizational transition, so anticipating change is a cornerstone
of thinking like an effective leader.90 %
of the fastest-growing
US companies are run
by their founders
US_094-095_Growing_with_your_role.indd 94 30/05/16 3:01 pm