There are few things more critical to any business than growth. Growth is endemic to and inseparable from business. The whole point of business is to grow, and while an unchecked urge towards expansion at all costs can lead to disastrous consequences, an urge towards growth is as natural and inevitable a desire as any in business.
One problem is growth for growth’s sake. To shrink things back down to the team-working level while you want to grow your team, you need to make sure that you’re doing it meaningfully and not merely adding people without purpose.
Balance Departmental Control and Autonomy
One of the biggest conundrums facing growing companies is how to make that growth work inter-departmentally. On the one hand, you, as the boss, have your own vision for how things should be done. On the other hand, you don’t spend as much time in a department as the department heads and workers, who may have their own ideas as to what needs to be done.
Reward experience and performance with greater autonomy. This will allow you to spend your energies in the places where they’re most needed while rewarding those who have accomplished things and stuck around with greater status and autonomy.
Ask Questions
Don’t just assume that you know how or in what direction a department needs to grow. Ask questions and see what your employees think about the direction of the company.
Brainstorm Solutions
One of the most important things that successful companies do is brainstorm. The best entrepreneurs understand that, as much as we lean on the romanticized idea of the Great Businessperson making every major decision on his or her own while everyone watches in awe of their genius, that’s just not how it usually happens. Great decisions take teamwork. They take communal efforts.
That’s what brainstorming about growth is all about. Set aside brainstorming sessions where you and your employees can sit around in a relaxed setting and honestly talk about growth potential and future business moves.
These tips can help your company growth in a more sustainable and ultimately productive fashion.