The ReWild Group Blog
Your home for relevant and engaging content serving small business owners and consultants. Subscribe so you don’t miss a post!
What Really Happens in the Strategic Stage (96–160 Employees) and How to Plan Beyond Next Quarter
If your company has crossed roughly a hundred people, operational excellence is no longer the scarce resource. You probably already have departments, managers, and a leadership team that can run the week. What starts to feel scarce is the future: a plan longer than the next quarter, a culture that still holds as new names keep appearing, and a CEO role that is no longer “chief firefighter.”
You’re not losing your edge. You’re in the Strategic Stage of Organizational ReWilding®—Stage 6 of seven predictable stages every growing company moves through.
The Three Faces of a Leader - Stage 6
The common misalignment in this Stage comes from a leader who wants to maintain a higher allocation to the Manager or Specialist Faces, not wanting to give up operational oversight, which can result in a frustrated Leadership Team that wants to take on more responsibility.
Gates of Focus in a Stage 6 Business
Stage 6’s gates of focus are People, Profit, and Process. Maintaining a healthy company culture is important with the number of people between 96 to 160, making People the top priority. A big part of an organization’s success of this size is the ability to successfully assimilate new people so they are engaged and effective at their assigned roles. By this stage, the company must be growing a Leadership Team that can take over responsibility of the day-to-day activities of the business from the CEO. The gap between the CEO and incoming employees has never been wider, which is why it’s so important for the layers of leadership to be acting together as a cohesive unit.
Builder-Protector Ratio in a Stage 6 Company
In Stage 6, the ideal Builder-Protector Ratio is 3:1, which means there is three times the level of confidence as caution in the organization.
Leadership Style Blend in a Stage 6 Business
The ideal leadership blend for Stage 6 is Pacesetting, Affiliative, and Visionary. A Stage 6 leader sets the bar for success, fosters connectedness in the team, and instills pride in the organization.
The challenge of hiring quality people - Stage 6
Known as the Strategic Stage, one of the top five challenges Stage 6 businesses face is hiring quality people. With between 96-160 employees, the business has two or three times as many employees as the prior Stage. Hiring the people to enable this massive growth is always difficult but can be even more challenging when labor markets are tight. A company that distinguishes itself with clear, compelling values becomes a magnet to people looking for a rewarding place to work.
Stage 6: Lack of Strategy Will Kill You
Stage 6 is called the Strategic Stage because the risk of not seeing the larger strategic picture could cause the ‘too little, too late’ syndrome.