The Hidden Pattern of Business Growth: Why Some Leaders Scale While Others Stall
Hello, this is Jayme Dill, and welcome.
I was sitting in my local coffee shop this morning, drinking tea (yes, I go to the coffee shop for tea—go figure). As I was people-watching, I noticed that some people seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders while others sailed in, obviously riding a high.
The Pattern of Growth and Stagnation
Over the last 30 years, I've been committed to cracking a code—a pattern I've observed across my client conversations and relationships. It's about why some leaders nail it, why they're able to build companies that seem to scale smoothly, while others hit wall after wall and then stall out. They might not quit their business completely, but they quit the growth.
A Real-World Example: Mark's Story
I've been working with a CEO—let's call him Mark—for about the last six to nine months. Mark reached out to me after his company hit about $8 million in revenue. From the outside, everything looked perfect: strong client base, talented team, healthy margins. But Mark was exhausted and overwhelmed. He felt like he was at his edge and couldn't understand why growing his business beyond this point felt like pushing a boulder uphill.
Understanding the Hidden Pattern
What Mark was experiencing isn't unique. Business growth isn't linear—it follows a predictable but invisible pattern of expansions and contractions, especially invisible if you're in the thick of it. Think of it like a DNA helix, spiraling upward, where each turn creates a critical transition point.
The Three Leadership Dimensions
Leading Your Business
At each major revenue milestone (typically around $5 million, $10 million, $20 million, $50 million), the fundamental framework of your business hits natural friction points. The systems, processes, and structures that perfectly served you at one level become the very things that start holding you back.Leading Others
Here's the critical insight: your leadership team needs to evolve before your business can. And your leadership needs to evolve before your leadership team evolves. Many leaders miss this natural sequence, pushing for business growth without first developing their team's capacity.Leading Yourself
The most overlooked pattern is how your role needs to change. Each growth phase requires you to shed old habits—of behavior, speech, and action—and embrace new ones. As one of my clients who grew from $1 million to over $300 million says, "I'm constantly reinventing myself."
The Growth Audit: Practical Steps
Take 30 minutes this week to assess these three dimensions:
1. Business Infrastructure Audit
List your core systems (hiring, delivery, sales) and ask:
Are they straining under current volume?
Can they handle more volume?
Warning signs include:
Weekly staff meetings filled with systems issues or reactive firefighting
Best people spending time fixing problems instead of driving growth
Downward-trending key performance metrics
2. Leadership Team Audit
Evaluate where each key player stands using a performance potential matrix:
Current Performance: Below, Meets, or Exceeds expectations
Growth Potential: Limited, Moderate, or High
Look for leaders clustered in the top right (high performers with high potential)
Address immediate attention needs in the bottom left
3. Personal Role Audit
Track your time:
Are you spending more than 20% on tasks that worked at half your current size?
Look for areas where you need to elevate your role
Breaking Through the Ceiling
The key is to look for friction points before they become growth ceilings. When you spot them early, you can proactively build the next level of capabilities before you get overwhelmed.
Conclusion: Mark's Breakthrough
Mark is no longer pushing the boulder uphill—at least for now. Once he understood this pattern, he got ahead of it, systematically building for the next level rather than optimizing the current one. Six months later, he broke through the ceiling, approaching $12 million in annualized revenue with a much more sustainable and scalable structure.
Remember to ponder this question: What elements of your current success may actually be limiting your future growth?
If you'd like to explore your growth patterns more deeply, my door is always open for a conversation about your specific leadership challenges. Take care and stay well.
