Sometimes the most important thing an organization can do is stop trying to grow.

Orgnanizational growth is an important part of almost any organization, but sometimes trying to grow can be more detrimental than it’s worth. Here’s why.

Growth for Growth’s Sake

When in doubt, leaders start throwing around buzzwords and hope something sticks; “growth” is one of those words. How do we overcome stagnation? We grow. How do we build our brand? We grow. How do we reach more customers? We grow.

Sure, these all seem like natural progressions. After all, how do you improve your business without growth? Well, sometimes growth for growth’s sake is not only going to cause financial strain, it could undermine your organization.

From the Ground Up

I’m not usually one for metaphors, but this one just works. Imagine a huge tree in your backyard. The tree is massive, and it took years for it to grow. What is the key to the tree’s success? The answer is not that it grew quickly, or even that it grew tall. The key to the success of that tree is the underground root system.

Much like a tree, your organization’s success in the outside world – whether that is business, government, non-profit, or otherwise – is first and foremost dependent upon the internal structure.

If a tree grows too high without the proper root structure, it will be coming over in the first big wind storm. In the same way, if your organization grows so fast that its internal structure can’t keep up, you won’t be able to support it when you run into problems – and trust me, you will run into problems.

Building Something Great

Too many leaders/organizations are scared to take their foot off the gas pedal in case they are run over by the competition. This mindset says that if we aren’t growing, we are stagnating, and our competitors will take over. But here is the problem with that:

Growth is not the only indicator of success.

At no point am I suggesting that you try to prevent growth; I’m saying that maybe you shouldn’t be focusing on growth. First make sure that you have the internal structure to support growth. Sometimes you will need to reorganize your organizational chart, or shift responsibilities to allow people to take on projects that fit their expertise.

Second, you have to make sure that you have something worth growing. If you are selling a product, you’d better make sure that your product is the best that it can be. If you provide a service, your customer satisfaction better be through the roof. If you are in government or politics, you’d better make sure that your support base is fully behind you. In short, sometimes you need to focus more on the products/clients you already have before you should even think about expanding.

Growing Up

Eventually, it will be time for you and your organization to focus on growth. You have an internal structure that will support growth, you have a product/service that you are proud of, and your team is excited to move to the next stage. If you do all of this right, the first sign that it’s time to start focusing on growth will be that your organization has started growing without you even trying.

New customers are lining up outside your doors, your employees are coming up with new and innovative ideas for your organization, your support numbers are steadily on the rise, or whatever your indicator of growth may be. When you have something worth growing, it will start growing on its own. That’s when you know it’s time to start focusing your efforts on growth.

Dynamic Lessons

Growing for growth’s sake can actually do more harm to your organization than good. In order to sustain growth, an organization must have the internal structure to support growth, as well as a product/service that deserves to grow.

When a leader pushes the pause button and focuses on SUPPORTING growth, it will put that organization in a position to SUSTAIN growth at a later date.

Have you ever had to push the pause button on growth in order to improve what already exists? Or have you had different experiences with growth, either positive or negative? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below!