Four Stages of Organizational Growth

Irrespective of the size of your business, strategy and planning are essential elements of your corporate growth plan. As your business advances, it will move through three levels of organizational growth. Some aim for level four; few achieve this.

Consider the four levels of organizational growth:

Level 1: The Owner/Operator

Here, the owner wears many hats and is most likely the best, most accomplished person in all areas of responsibility. They better be as there is no one else to turn to in these early days of the business. Production, sales, finance, HR, and just about whatever else needs doing falls to the owner/operator. While their unique strengths may lie in one or more of these areas, given the size and scope of the organization, the owner/operator is deeply involved in all of them as required.

Level 2: The Owner/Manager

As the enterprise grows, the owner begins to add competent professional managers.  Maybe someone to oversee sales, production or finance. These managers are given a certain level of latitude in decision making responsibility and authority freeing the owner up to focus on other business issues. Here, the owner begins to focus on areas that are more aligned with their natural strengths and interests.

Level 3: The Management Organization

The organization has grown into a professional enterprise with structures, systems, department managers processes and a formal organization chart. Managers are experienced and, reporting to the Owner/CEO, form the senior management team. Most organizations, upon reaching the Management Organization level settle in here and make their future accordingly.

Level 4: The Leadership Organization

The highest level of organizational growth and development. It is rare, yet it is attainable. It exists where leadership, managerial and supervisory development is a central organizational theme. Performance and behavior standards are clear and are aligned with the corporate vision and values. Performance management is robust and purposeful, utilizing tools like the "Dynamic Performance Appraisal." Visit my website, ajstrategy.com to download your copy of the DPA Guidebook and Worksheets.

To be sure, the Leadership Organizations have documented systems, processes, policies, and procedures. Yet, at its core, they rely on the experience, wisdom, judgement and ethical grounding of their Senior Leadership Team, their managers and their supervisors to make “the right call” when called upon in real time. They have a command of "The Five A’s."

(Awareness, Alignment, Action, Accountability and Achievement).

Leadership Organizations understand that self-improvement ends at the onset of self- satisfaction. They set a tone and tenor for continuous evaluation and improvement, the foundation of which is found in their professional approach to strategy and planning.

For information on ways to navigate your organization’s path toward becoming a Leadership Organization, contact me at joe@ajstrategy.com or visit my website at ajstrategy.com.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.