If your team has grown past ten people, the business that used to run on energy and improvisation is starting to feel heavier. Jobs still get done, but quality is less consistent. New hires take longer to get up to speed. You are still the person everyone comes to—and the calendar no longer has room for that.

You’re not failing. You’re in the Ramp-Up Stage of Organizational ReWilding®—Stage 2 of seven predictable stages every growing company moves through.

In Stage 2, the leader is ideally spending 40 percent of their time and energy wearing the Visionary Face, 20 percent wearing the Manager Face, and 40 percent wearing the Specialist Face.

A Stage 2 company’s Gates of Focus are Profit first, Process second, then People third.

In Stage 2, the ideal Builder-Protector Ratio is 3:1, which means there is three times the amount of confidence as there is caution in the organization. The other way to understand the 3:1 Builder-Protector Ratio is that 75% of the team are Builders, while 25% are Protectors.  An organization with a 3:1 Builder-Protector Ratio exhibits a very high level of confidence. 

A Stage 2 leader captains the team, exemplifies a standard of high performance, and exerts influence to achieve success. This ideal blend results in the best of both worlds: a team that is being developed and encouraged by a leader who demonstrates high performance and conclusive decision-making. 

A Stage 2 business has between 11-19 employees. One of the top five challenges businesses of this size face is hiring quality people. A Stage 2 business is beginning to move away from hiring generalists to hiring more specialized talent. This marks a significant shift in procedures which can be difficult to get right—especially if the company is growing rapidly.

When a company has grown to 11 – 19 employees, survival mode is quickly replaced with growth as the top priority. This is called Stage 2, or Ramp Up.