When we heard from Inc. that we were on the Inc. 5000 list this year, we got excited. Not just for our agency but also for our fellow employees.
We’ll admit, it is a strange thing to focus on. After all, the award is for the entire company, not individuals. But real, sustainable growth is built through great people who align with your organization’s Drive. Just writing as a former HR guy, that means a lot more than the typical we’re-all-in-this-together, let’s-sing-kumbaya-by-the-fire sort of way. You have to embrace your employee’s own personal aspirations as well.
You don’t just grow for growth’s sake; you grow because it can help you do something you couldn’t do before. Working for a smaller organization is great but becoming larger allows for more opportunities for people. We know that continuing to attract the best people means focusing on growth. Why? Because people who want to be the best (that’s our Obsession) don’t want to work for an organization that is static and not challenging themselves to be better.
We also know that the best people want to move up. They want to be paid better and they want to take on more responsibilities. Growing means they can do that within the company and they won’t have to seek outside opportunities.
Even those people who want to stay where they are at and become masters at their particular art don’t want to see the same type of work come their way. They want to push boundaries and try new things.
Until your organization embraces growth, it will be difficult to align many of your employee’s personal goals with your own. That leads to dissatisfaction and higher turnover as people realize that the only way to grow at an organization that doesn’t embrace growth is to leave for one that does.
