Growing Pains & Having Productive Conversations
If you are apart of building an org, as I assume most of you reading this are, it is guaranteed that there will be operational gaps that expose themselves during growth. I cringe to admit this, but, when I started out, my first response to these issues would be to complain about it, raise it to senior leadership, pray they would solve all my problems and then be upset when nothing changed.
In business the bottom line is this: organizations exist to make money, not solve for your stressful day. This is where you need to stand up and take ownership. If you’re identifying organizational gaps, there’s very likely a lost revenue component to that gap - and it’s up to you to figure that out and put that information in front of leadership. Metrics matter.
A few questions you could ask to begin teasing out those numbers are:
Is time to value lengthening?
Is there underutilization of product or people?
Can you identify a gap in tools or systems impacting bottom line?
Are clients sharing complaints with the current process?
Additionally, before you complain about how much is on your plate (which I have absolutely done), or where things are getting dropped, sit back and take inventory on where you are spending your time. Often we can silo our task into different categories. When you’re meeting with your boss talk through these tasks and seek guidance on what needs to be prioritized or what can be a) pushed b) delegated or c) solved for in a new hire.
Offer solutions, not just problems & align the discussion with the strategic objectives you know your company is solving for.
The necessity of meeting the business’s core OKRs always takes precedence in senior leadership’s decision making. Take time to consider how you approach your executive team and share your commitment to solving for the gaps together & see where that takes you. The desire to drive positive change in your organization and contribute to the growth and success of the company is an incredible value add to your team. I encourage you to continue flexing your muscles by talking to your executive leadership team when you see areas for opportunity.
