I love working with fast-growth companies. It’s exciting, the leaders are motivated and visionary. There is always a new challenge or puzzle to figure out.

These same companies often find themselves in a conundrum. Growth is often inhibited or even stopped if not dealt with. It’s frequently accompanied by frustration, disappointment, and even (unfortunately) broken relationships.

The challenge? When a successful company outgrows a successful employee.

The cost of success

Some people in your organization do everything right. They have the drive and ability to create success in their roles. You can directly trace much of your growth and success to their smarts, hustle, grit, or loyalty.

Then performance peters out. Something stops working. The spark stops sparking.

There are many permutations behind how this happens or what it can look like. To keep it simple: Your organization has grown. Their performance isn’t keeping up.

They no longer have the drive or ability (or both) to succeed at this level.

Canary in the coal mine

Roughly 100 years ago, miners were looking for ways to identify high levels of carbon monoxide in mines. Carbon monoxide is invisible. Doesn’t have a smell. It blends into the environment and it’ll kill you.

Because canaries are more sensitive to carbon monoxide, they were carried into the mines. When the canary keeled over, the miners knew it was time to get out. (Believe it or not, this practice continued in the U.K. until 1986!)

In growing companies, when a successful employee stops being successful, consider this your canary.

You may be encountering an individual “one-off” event. When a successful person stops succeeding, it’s often due to wider, growth-related changes that have unanticipated, unintended consequences.

It’s time to take a closer look.

Others may similarly feel the stress, confusion, overwhelm, or difficulty adapting. They just haven’t keeled over yet. But you shouldn’t count on that lasting for long if you don’t make changes.

Often times, these feelings begin to occur when an organization is creating a needed structure. This could look like moving (or needing to move) from very informal ways of doing business to more formal ones.

Or it happens when the systems and processes that used to work, no longer handle the load.

This is often the sign that a “system upgrade” is needed.

If not dealt with, you may lose good people. Good people who you care about and who care about you. People who have depths of knowledge and experience.

Not dealing with this will probably cause your company to plateau or stagnate. This is actually one of the most common reasons for growth to stall.

Prevention

If you are reading this, there is a reasonable chance that it may feel like, “It’s too late for prevention – I need a cure!” But the reality is, if your organization is growing, then there is always needs to be protected. Here are a few tips that will help:

Forecast & prepare for growth: When you experience growth, don’t fixate on “now.” Start looking ahead. What will the organization need to look like in the foreseeable future? How should it be structured? What kinds of skills and abilities will be required?

Many leaders can envision doubling revenues or expanding market share. But they often overlook the people and systems needed to support the additional activity that revenues represent.

Adjust the systems and structures: I have often watched deflated people re-inflate when inadequate or broken systems are fixed.

Expectation setting and honesty: Build a culture of honesty and appropriate expectations. In fast-growth organizations, there may not be well-defined or currently relevant job descriptions. But conversations regarding roles, responsibilities, and expectations can and should happen regularly.

Build people for where they are going – not where they are: A common mistake is to place and train people for today’s needs. Not tomorrow’s. Don’t let today’s urgency create tomorrow’s bottleneck.

Avoid inflating titles: In small businesses there can be a tendency to hand out overly large titles. For example when the VP of Sales is also the only person in sales. Or when your CFO is really just doing the work of a controller.

A problem emerges when the organization grows and you need a VP of Sales who can build or oversee a sales department. If your current VP of Sales is great at sales – but not good at management – it can feel like a demotion to put them in a role that is the best fit.

Intervention

Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos has said words to the effect of, “I can build a company that has a $100 million marketing budget, but I can’t manage it. You’d have to get someone else.”

What do you do if you are past the point of prevention?

Clarify what is needed: Before you talk, answer the questions below. Make sure that your answers are tied to the vision and anticipated future of the company.

• What abilities or experiences are required for this role and this level of responsibility?
• What is desirable (but may not be required?)
• What is this person’s ability now?
• What would it take for this person to grow into their expanded role?
• What is this person’s level of drive now?
• What level of drive is needed for success in this role?

A word on drive and ability. High performers have and maintain both. They have fire in their belly and the ability to execute. Both are needed for growing companies.

They are motivated to learn, work, problem solve, take responsibility, and move. They have the ability, skills, and knowledge to pull the organization forward.

When drive or ability (or both) starts to decrease – you no longer have a high performer.

This has to be addressed. Especially if they are in a key role.

If the drive is lacking: Find out what they are passionate about. If that matches a need or opportunity in your organization – you likely need to move them. Otherwise, you probably need to replace them.

If the ability is lacking: Perhaps training or coaching will help them. It’s worth exploring if they are open to increasing or updating their skills.

Long term preservation of someone’s dignity includes ensuring they are in the right place where they can be successful. People are happiest and feel the most dignity when they are in their sweet spot.

This isn’t just about the success of the company and profits for the owners. For key employees: everyone in the company that depends on their performance is being held back as well.

Show Respect: Whatever you choose to do, and however you choose to do it, come from an attitude of respect. Work to preserve the dignity of the person in question.

Be Bravely Honest: It isn’t a form of respect to avoid the truth or difficult conversations. Avoidance is usually fueled by negative assumptions about the other person or our own fears. Either way – it doesn’t serve the individual in question or your relationship.

There is nothing respectful about avoidance.

Sometimes the responsibilities of a position have just outgrown the abilities or motivation of someone.

What if it’s the owner? Or a partner?

Neither owners nor partners are immune from being outgrown. In fact, most owners experience self-imposed limits to their own growth. When there is only one owner, this may be tolerable.

If they want continued growth, they may need to examine their own drive and abilities – or bring someone else it to help. (Founders are often not the same people who stabilize and create sustainability in companies.)

But when there are partners, it can be complicated.

The solution when a company starts to outgrow a partner is actually no different than what is described above.

I’ve observed that partners or shareholders tend to fall into one of three buckets:

Doers: These are the people who make up the guts of the business. They provide the service or build the products.

Developers: These are the people doing the deals, making the sales, building relationships.

Directors: These are the people guiding direction – whether operationally or strategically.

Of the three, partners who are Doers most frequently get outgrown. When organizations are small, partners are often both the chief cook and bottle washer. That’s the drive and ability that creates growth. The challenge comes when those roles begin to separate.

Prevention, clarity, honesty, and respect are always important. There are rarely easy answers in this situation.

A glimmer of hope

I have noticed this: Most of the time, when a previously high performer is approached, they know and acknowledge, that they are no longer performing at a high level. They aren’t keeping up.

And they don’t like it.

Most of the time, this conversation feels like a relief to everyone involved. The elephant in the room is being talked about openly. Often the person in question already has a pretty good idea of what the solution is.

Also, I have often found that when the move is made, they do find the place where they genuinely flourish…and they like it.

This may not all be simple or easy. But you don’t need leaders for all the simple, easy stuff.

In the long run, these are the principles that will help you take care of people – by placing the best people in the best roles for them.

Take good care,

Christian

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