“Slow, fast, slow is how you grow.” – Whitney Johnson
You know those moments when you’re chatting with someone, and it’s so interesting that time just flies by? That’s how I felt when speaking with Whitney Johnson!
In today’s episode “Smart Growth: How Managers Can Grow Themselves, Their People, and Their Business” Whitney talks about her brand new book, Smart Growth, and how new managers can use it to create a breakthrough in 2022.
Whitney was named one of the top ten most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50 in 2021, and is CEO of Disruption Advisors, a tech-enabled talent development company. She is an award-winning author, a LinkedIn Top Voice (1.79M followers), and she frequently writes for both HBR and MIT Sloan Management Review.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The framework known as the S Curve of Learning, and how to apply it meaningfully in your own development
- How to navigate through the three phases of growth (Launch Point, Sweet Spot, and Mastery)
- How to use the S Curve Insight Tool to develop and grow your people
- How this piano-playing music major ended up on Wall Street (cue Working Girl theme song)… and a lot more!
Click that play button to listen, and don’t forget to subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts!
The S Curve of Learning
Slow-fast-slow is how you grow. And when you understand the emotional arc of your growth, then you’ll be able to increase your learning and growing capacity as well. That’s what we call the S Curve of learning.
The Influential Role of the Manager
The first thing that you want to really examine is do you actually want to be a manager?
I meet lots of people who say I’m good at motivating people and inspiring people, but I’m not good at the day-to-day of managing people, and that’s okay. You want to know that before you get into the job because you have a lot of influence on people, and so you want to make sure you’re up for that kind of job.
Managing People Who Have Mastered Their Job
People start becoming bored once they mastered something because they are no longer challenged. So for your people who are already very good at their job, what will make them grow is when you give them a new challenge.
From that point on, growth may seem slower, but they’ll be able to unlock new levels in their professional journey.
Links and Resources
Connect with Whitney: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Website, Email, Disrupt Yourself Podcast
Smart Growth: How to Grow Your People to Grow Your Company by Whitney Johnson (book)
The Female Advantage by Sally Helgesen (book)
How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen (book)
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace (book)
