Generally speaking, business growth is a sign of success. However, when a company grows too quickly and doesn’t have the policies and processes it needs to maintain that growth in place, it can ultimately lead to trouble.
Many Forbes Coaches Council members have seen how businesses lacking sustainable systems and processes can grow beyond their means, impacting both employees and customers. Below, 15 members share telltale signs that a business is growing too fast and how leaders can help manage the growth before it spirals out of their control.
1. Managers Doing Their Teams’ Work
One sign a company is growing too quickly is when managers are doing work that is the responsibility of their team. We are habituated to be “doers,” but as we grow into leaders, we must get better at setting the goals to be achieved and supporting our team to do the work to get there. Managers caught in the “doing” trap often haven’t realized that their role needs to shift as the company grows. – Katie Anderson, Katie Anderson Consulting
2. Hiring Fast And Firing Slowly
Growth is generally balanced between sales and delivery. However, when sales overtake the business’s capacity to deliver, the solution is often to hire anyone and fire no one. This creates a very negative impact on the existing workforce when new C-team players are brought in and treated like kings while the existing A-team players are treated like yesterday’s news. – Chris Averill, Northford Capital
3. High Turnover
If your best performers are leaving despite your company’s growth, it’s likely because they do not buy into your vision, they don’t believe your leaders have the capacity to achieve it, or they don’t feel a tangible connection between their individual passions and your shared mission. – Claire Chandler, Talent Boost
