Launch Point Summary for Smart Growth Leaders
As the lily pad grows, so grows your company. Leaders who commit to seeking smart growth by exploring potential and possibilities with their people will inspire and accelerate organizational growth. Just as the roots of one lily, no matter how small they start, can ultimately fill a multi-acre pond, so can one person’s growth revolutionize an industry, employ thousands, change societal attitudes, and uplift our world. Group progress hinges on this truth: the fundamental unit of growth in any organization is the individual.
The launch point of the S Curve feels slow. It’s not that growth isn’t happening; it’s that growth may not yet be apparent. There is an amalgam of emotions—excitement, terror, discouragement, impatience. Stress levels are typically high with so much to process; making decisions is cognitively taxing. Confidence toggles between under- and overconfidence (hence the impatience). Questions about identity emerge—Who am I if I am not who I was?
The hallmarks of the launch point are outlined in the following Goldilocks Table. Right now, the chair is not too small and it’s not just right. It’s too big, and it’s supposed to be. Once you know what it looks and feels like to be at the launch point, you can create an ecosystem where your people can successfully move through this phase of the growth cycle.
GOLDILOCKS TABLE
Plotting the Emotional Journey of Growth
Dimensions |
Launch Point: Slow |
---|---|
Confidence |
The feeling of confidence is seldom aligned to reality at the launch. Some personalities will feel no confidence in this new area and fight imposter syndrome and insecurities that drain their energy. Other personalities will feel more confident than their limited experience warrants, leading to costly and avoidable mistakes. |
Identity |
Difficult and deep questions emerge: • I’m not good at this. Do I have value? • Is doing something like this aligned with who I am … or even want to be? |
Familiarity |
Much about this area is brand new, like exploring a new country. Past experience in other areas can provide valuable orientation but should be treated cautiously so you don’t miss the important details and differences. |
Mental state |
Some personalities find this stressful, feeling overwhelmed by the volume of new information to process and things to learn. Other personalities find all the new stimuli exhilarating. Both need to keep these tendencies from pulling them off the path of deliberate growth. |
Value proposition |
Considerable untapped potential waits on the other side of the investment. Uncertainties remain, but the reward seems worth it. |
Successful mindset |
Success at this stage flows from leaning into the challenge: saying yes and experimenting with new approaches, ways of being, and relationships. |
Support network |
A supportive network may be available, but you generally don’t know who those people are or how to access them … and even if you did, you’re not sure you’d want to because you don’t want to look needy. |
Decision approach |
The tendency for most is to directly follow the procedure and guidance of authority figures. |
Knowledge base |
You are starting to learn important facts and the needed language … but not enough to be efficient or effective. You can think you know more than you do because you don’t know what you don’t know. |
Energy and output |
For most, this new challenge takes more energy than expected, and the progress is slower than expected. |
Grow Your People: Managing People at the Launch Point
What people on the launch point need from you, their manager, is support. What we are seeing in data is that individuals on the launch point are very aware that their work output is lower than their colleagues and that their capacity (for example, current skills and abilities) to complete their work is lower than that of their colleagues.
At the same time, a majority of the launch pointers are actively working to improve their situation. Make sure they have the tools, resources, and training they need to do their job; ensure they feel that what they are contributing is of value (which includes their inexperience and the “Why are we doing it this way?” question), that missteps are openly discussed (there will be many because the people on the launch point are exploring), and that there are learning opportunities. Collective output is essential but reinforce that their individual growth is a priority to you. (For more on how to create an environment where growth is possible, see Ecosystem, chapter 7.)
Below is a summary table of how to manage people at the launch point based on both the career stage of the individual and the type of organization in which they work.
HOW TO MANAGE PEOPLE AT THE LAUNCH POINT
Leading at Launch Theme: SUPPORT
TYPE OF ORGANIZATION |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Young and/or growing |
Advancing and/or midstage |
Historic and/or complex |
|
Early career |
Set expectations that there will be minimal structure and process, and what process there is will change because the company itself is in the exploration phase. Questions are welcome as people explore, but in order to excel, drive and personal initiative are imperative. Bring on people who are nimble: people who can do what needs to be done, whether showing up for a sales call or scheduling the call for someone else. |
For an organization in the sweet spot, it is easy to stop focusing on what is working well as you attend to what isn’t. You are no longer so small that collegiality is enough for people to acclimate. Ensure that you have a thoughtful structure in place for onboarding. Some companies do a great job for the first 45–90 days, forgetting that it takes up to six months for someone to understand their role well enough to move into the sweet spot. |
Established companies (i.e., operationally in the mastery phase) tend to have strong systems in place to support individuals on the launch point of the curve. Know, however, that your highly driven launch point individuals and teams need to be able to “color outside the lines” at times. The same process and structure that is helping them grow may also constrain them. Support them in their questioning. Reward them for doing exploratory work. |
Midcareer |
Help your midcareer employees understand that their skill set is highly valued. You are relying on expertise and intuition born of experience to guide the company through an exploratory phase. Create ample opportunities to hear from this cohort. |
Midcareer launch pointers can be the collective engine that helps your organization accelerate into the sweet spot. Ensure people are quickly activated with the resources they need. Consider pairing them with teams that identify as experts and are in the mastery phase. |
Midcareer professionals are accustomed to tapping into the tools and skills to be successful. They are on the launch point because they want a challenge. Too much structure and complexity can be demotivating. |
Expert career |
While an expert showing up on the launch point might be a surprise, don’t mistake their technical mastery for an understanding of your culture, your business, or your leadership style. Emphasize partnership, but don’t skip the introduction. This support will help you best leverage their talents. |
When you attract an expert-level career jumper or move a master into a completely different role, it is typically because they are in search of a new challenge. Do you understand what that is? Are you tracking your ability to deliver on the something different? Experts willing to do the exploratory work involved on the launch point can be rare. Satisfy their hunger for self-disruption. Track the number of masters moving to the launch point as a way to gauge your ability to retain top talent. |
This exhilarating jump to launch point gives experts an opportunity to explore what’s possible. They will need less direction than their early-career colleagues. Ensuring they have ample resources is often assumed and therefore overlooked. |
Additional Tips for Managers
Grow Your Company: Launch Point Implications for Leaders
Following are specific, tactical ways to apply the S Curve of Learning model and the S Curve Insight Platform to grow your organization.2