Navigating Rapid Growth: A Case Study on People and Leadership Development for Fast-Growing Companies
For executives of fast-growing companies, the challenges of scaling an organisation extend beyond revenue and client expansion. People and leadership development are crucial elements that drive a company’s ability to sustain growth and maintain its unique culture. In our second session of this exclusive three-part livestream series, executive coaches Yewande Faloyin and Janine Esbrand delve into a case study illustrating the real-world obstacles and solutions for a rapidly scaling company—offering strategic insights for leaders navigating similar journeys.
Meet the Experts
Yewande Faloyin
Yewande Faloyin is a business adviser, McKinsey alum, and Certified Executive Leadership Coach. She is the Founder and CEO of OTITO, where she helps business leaders maximise their energy and align their people for measurable business impact. Before OTITO, she led high-performing teams at McKinsey and Morgan Stanley, advising C-suite clients on complex strategic problems and delivering business solutions to hedge fund leaders.
Janine Esbrand
Janine Esbrand is a certified executive coach, career development specialist, and former corporate lawyer.She is the founder of Career Change Makers, where they empower individuals and companies to make impactful career changes. Before launching her coaching and consulting company, she worked as a corporate/commercial lawyer for national law firms and served as in-house counsel at both international companies and start-ups.
Why This Series?
In their first session, Yewande and Janine shared insights into the foundational aspects of people and leadership development. Today, they’re taking it further with a case study that highlights the challenges—and solutions—one of their clients, a fast-growing company we’ll call “Rocket Business,” faced as they scaled rapidly. If you’re navigating similar growth, this story will provides actionable insights for your own strategy and planning.
Case Study: The Story of Rocket Business
Rocket Business is a company on a mission, moving at incredible speed. Over the past year, their workforce has more than doubled, expanding from 30 to 78 full-time employees. With a growing team now spread across five cities in three countries, Rocket Business added new C-suite members and established an HR function, including their first Head of HR, to manage people development.
They have also expanded externally, progressing from Pre-Series A to Series A fundraising, growing their client base, and planning entry into three new markets. The CEO, once deeply involved in every detail, now faces the challenge of scaling operations and maintaining alignment across an increasingly complex organisation.
With growth comes the question: How do we start developing our people and leaders in the midst of everything else?
Our Framework: 4 Key Focus Areas for Scaling Companies
We help companies like Rocket Business navigate growth using our four-focus framework:
- People
- Execution (Ops)
- Strategy
- Cash
For Rocket Business, we placed a priority on People, Execution, and Strategy—the areas that would create the biggest impact. We centred on three primary initiatives: Leadership Development, Performance Culture, and Talent Development.
Key Initiatives for Rocket Business
1. Leadership Development: Building a Cohesive Leadership Team
To scale effectively, Rocket Business needed a team of leaders who could drive the company’s vision forward. We began by helping the executive team members fully embrace their roles, freeing the CEO to focus on high-impact areas only they could lead. Through benchmarking assessments and targeted coaching, we tailored support for each executive, emphasising buy-in and alignment with the company’s vision.
Yewande, with her background as a McKinsey consultant, highlighted that beautifully crafted slides are only effective when acted upon. By building accountability and clarity, we helped the leadership team move beyond planning to actual execution.
2. Performance Culture: Defining Company Values and Building a Culture Engine
One of the most powerful ways to scale people development is by creating a “Culture Engine.” We guided Rocket Business through the process of defining and documenting their company values—essential principles that define how they operate and drive their mission. The CEO can’t be everywhere, but a clear, communicated culture can be.
We delivered a workshop for their leadership team, helping them understand how to embed these values into their departments. This hands-on session left them with actionable ways to nurture a cohesive, values-driven culture that energises everyone towards a shared goal.
3. Talent Development: Onboarding and People Development Strategies for Sustained Growth
With rapid growth, Rocket Business needed robust onboarding and development programmes to ensure new hires were equipped to make an impact. We worked with them to define role expectations, then crafted a development programme blending one-on-one and group coaching to provide targeted support across the organisation.
By creating a mix of personalised coaching and group sessions, we met Rocket Business’s budget needs while delivering meaningful development opportunities aligned with their goals.
Next Steps: Applying These Strategies to Your Own Business
As you consider your growth strategy, we encourage you to step back and identify areas that will simplify and strengthen other aspects of your operations. Focus on the highest-impact initiatives first. If our case study resonates with you, reach out to discuss how we can help you identify where your time and resources will be best spent to support your people and business growth.
Join Us for Part Three
Next week, we’ll be diving into another case study featuring a different company’s growth journey. If you’d like us to feature your business (anonymously), reach out to Yewande or me directly to discuss.