Six Lessons to Unleash Your Inner Catalyst

The plug. It shows up every year at forecasting time, when your boss hands you next year’s revenue target: chances are it has been plugged, extrapolated from last year’s number plus whatever growth percentage corporate has promised Wall Street, and it is your job to deliver it. Maybe, like many managers, you have some ideas about how to approach that target; you suspect that one or two of them could even turn into something big, but you don’t have the data to prove it, and the numbers guys insist on that kind of proof before any corporate support can come your way. You are caught in growth gridlock, that frustrating place where the corporate entrepreneur’s optimism and need for speed collide with the organization’s skepticism and need for control. This article – based on years of research with resourceful types, dubbed “catalysts,” who have learned how to navigate inside their own organizations and spark growth – offers six keys to help readers crack the code to growth from the inside out. The secret is to move from a leadership style of control and reactivity to one of mastering and shaping your own environment. Instead of assuming you are powerless to effect change, the author reveals the new mindset, strategic questions and reframing techniques that operating managers need in order to develop successful growth leadership.