What If Growth Isn’t the Whole Story?

Photo by Sebastien LE DEROUT

What if the very thing we've been chasing isn't leading us where we need to go?

If you're leading a mid-sized service organisation, you already sense the shifting ground beneath us. Clients expect more, teams stretch beyond their limits, and we must somehow remain resilient while navigating ever-changing markets, regulations, and societal expectations.

This blog isn't another guide telling you what you should do. Instead, we're curious about something we're noticing. Perhaps growth, as we've always understood it, no longer captures everything that truly matters.

Not because growth isn't significant - we know it is. But what if there's more to explore?

What we're sensing about traditional growth

For decades, growth served as our north star: more clients, expanded services, greater efficiency. The logic felt clear: scale, streamline, deliver faster and cheaper.

Yet cracks keep appearing.

Do you remember the Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal? One ship, one disruption, and a global supply chain nearly froze. What we once celebrated as peak efficiency revealed something more fragile than we'd imagined.

This vulnerability isn't unique to logistics. Many service organisations face similar brittleness—systems optimised for output that struggle when conditions shift. Even when KPIs shine brightly, we wonder if you've found yourself quietly asking:

"Is this still working for our people, our clients, and the future we're trying to create?"

Take a breath here. Notice what emerges when you sit with that question.

Creating space while flying the plane

The challenge isn't insight or willingness to change. In our experience, experienced leaders possess both in abundance. What's often missing is space—time and permission to pause, reflect, and explore together:

What are we building here?

Creating this space is no longer optional. It's become essential—not to start over but to explore what progress might mean in our current reality.

Because perhaps growth isn't the only thing worth growing.

Four invitations for exploration

What follows aren't prescriptive models—they're starting points, frameworks to spark reflection and dialogue within your leadership community. Based on the work of Andrew J. Hoffman, Holcim Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, we’ve been exploring how businesses might move beyond traditional growth to transform markets and create lasting value in complex, changing environments.

Slow Growth: What if depth matters more than breadth?

What might emerge if your market naturally plateaus? Could you deepen relationships instead of pushing for expansion, becoming indispensable to fewer clients?

In your experience, what would "relevance over reach" actually look like in practice?

Green Growth: How might value and sustainability dance together?

How could you deliver value whilst reducing environmental impact and complexity? Not merely to satisfy ESG requirements, but to align your work with what genuinely matters to your people and clients?

What would need to be true for this alignment to feel authentic rather than performative?

Post-Growth: What if long-term value comes from adapting, not expanding?

Resilience, trust, and meaningful contribution might not appear immediately on your balance sheet, yet they often determine who thrives over time.

We're curious—what does sustainable impact look like through your lens?

Degrowth: What if doing less, but better, represents courage rather than retreat?

Imagine KPIs focused on loyalty, well-being, and trust—not as soft metrics, but as objective measures of sustainable impact.

What would need to shift for this to feel both brave and practical?

Leading beyond traditional growth

How do you lead when the old models of growth no longer suffice?

The default response is often to launch yet another transformation programme. But is that really what’s needed? Or is it time to pause and explore how leadership is evolving?

We've been influenced by John Kotter's latest thinking on change leadership—insights that resonate powerfully with today's complexity. His leadership principles shape how we understand what's emerging:

• Head + Heart – Combine rational analysis with emotional connection to mobilize people more effectively.

• Have to + Want to – Move beyond obligation and compliance; create genuine commitment by appealing to intrinsic motivation.

• Management + Leadership – Balance efficient execution (management) with vision, inspiration, and adaptability (leadership).

• Select Few + Diverse Many – Initiate change with a small group, but scale it by engaging a broad and diverse group of people throughout the organization.

How do you assess your own leadership through these lenses?

What's emerging?

If this exploration speaks to you, you're not alone. More leaders are sensing this shift, not as idealists but as experienced professionals who recognise that doing more of the same might not be the only path forward.

Growth still matters. Your wisdom already knows this. Yet perhaps it's time to explore together:

Growth of what, exactly? For whom? At what cost—or opportunity?

These aren't questions with instant answers. They're invitations to deeper inquiry—especially now.

When you're ready to explore

If something here sparked your curiosity, let’s talk. Even a short conversation can open up new perspectives and possibilities for how you lead. Feel free to reach out or schedule a time to connect—we’d love to hear what’s on your mind.