All leaders want to realise sustained growth at their organisations, but few accomplish that feat. How can leaders push their organisations to consistently grow and outperform their peers over the long run? They can start by developing a growth mindset. Making a conscious choice to pursue growth helps to shape their decision-making and actions across all areas of the business, and they maintain this attitude even in the face of unexpected or disruptive challenges. How can leaders turn their mindsets into ‘behaviours’ that enable growth?
Although many leaders say they are committed to long-term growth, their actions don’t always match their ambitions. A McKinsey survey of more than 500 leaders shows that respondents spend only 22 per cent of their time on long-term growth initiatives. Leaders of companies that outperform their peers align their behaviour with five critical mindsets:
When leaders adopt these mindsets, they are better able to spend more time on long-term growth initiatives, rather than getting sidetracked by short-term issues. The mindsets also enable leaders to allocate resources to growth opportunities and consistently communicate that growth is their North Star. The growth journey is a marathon, not a sprint: It often requires more than 18 months to see results. To get there, leaders need more than just ambition and business savvy; they need a holistic approach with courage and resilience at the core.
Fewer than one in four companies outpace their industry peers on revenue and profit growth. To overcome those odds, the strategies for “courageous growth” include building an innovation culture and mindset; growing the core business with data, analytics, and AI; and expanding into “right to win” businesses.
“Many incumbents are neglecting their most powerful competitive advantage: their vast existing customer bases.”
That’s how companies can grow by improving the customer experience. Rather than aggressively acquiring new customers to fend off competitors, larger companies in many industries can achieve “experience-led growth” by better serving their current customers. 80 per cent of the value creation achieved by the world’s most successful growth companies comes from their core business – principally, unlocking new revenues from existing customers.