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After wrapping up an engaging online Funding for Scale masterclass this afternoon, I though this simple, yet powerful truth:
You only see the real work when you are close enough to the people doing it.
The neat versions of scaling impact which we usually hear about, often hide the most important parts.
The small cracks. The early signs. The choices that feel simple but turn out to be hinge points.
And this matters. Scaling is full of things you do not yet know to look for.
The room shapes what you see
You learn what you’re exposed to.
If your room is full of planning talk, you pick up planning.
If your room is full of people managing the shift from 10 to 100 partners, speaking with government, or dealing with a cost spike, you pick up completely different learning.
This is the part many leaders miss.
The room you inhabit shapes your judgement faster than any guide. It shapes how you see the ‘world’.
Leadership research backs this up.
Leaders grow more quickly when they spend time with people who are a little ahead of them.
Why this matters for impact at scale
Some lessons only reveal themselves when you see how people make choices in real time.
Not the polished story. The real bit.
The wobble. The rethink. The “we will try this and see what happens”.
People who have scaled ahead of you, widen your field of view in a way that frameworks simply cannot.
They show you questions you would not think to ask.
They help you spot signals early.
They make the unknowns less costly. |
