By Ramkumar Seshu, , Author of Born to Win and Antar Prerana – Leadership Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita
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𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗬𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗕𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀
“𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?”
This is the conversation every scaling CEO avoids but must have. The passionate generalist who built your MVP might struggle with enterprise architecture. The scrappy sales rep who landed your first clients might not have the skills for institutional sales. The loyal manager who held things together might crack under the complexity of a 200-person organization.
This isn’t about loyalty or value—it’s about evolution.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆
In our 22 years of transformation work, we’ve observed a predictable pattern:
Stage 1 : Raw talent and passion overcome skill gaps
Stage 2 : Specialization becomes critical; generalists struggle
Stage 3 : Systems thinking and leadership depth determine success
Most organizations prepare for technology scaling and market scaling. Few prepare for talent scaling. The result? Your biggest advocates become your biggest constraints.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵-𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀
Consider the typical trajectory:
• The Founding Developer becomes CTO but lacks enterprise security knowledge
• The First Salesperson becomes VP Sales but has never managed a team
• The Operations Hero becomes COO but struggles with strategic planning
• The Culture Creator becomes HR Head but lacks compliance expertise
These aren’t failures—they’re natural consequences of growth outpacing development.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 “𝗜 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗡” 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟭: “I CAN” – Individual Assessment Honestly evaluate each team member’s current capabilities against future needs. This isn’t about worth—it’s about fit. Create development plans for those who can bridge the gap, transition plans for those who cannot.
𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟮: “WE CAN” – Organizational Upskilling Build systematic development programs. Our Pune manufacturing client created “scaling tracks” for different roles, providing clear progression paths with specific skill requirements.
𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟯: “THEY CAN” – Sustainable Capability Building Develop others to become capability builders themselves. The goal isn’t just upgrading current talent—it’s creating an organization that continuously develops talent.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀
𝟭. 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝘀. 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 Before replacing someone, explore whether they can add new skills to existing strengths. Our client kept their founding engineer by adding product management training to his technical expertise.
2. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 Create “apprentice” roles for high-potential team members. This provides backup capabilities while developing future leaders. When growth requires splitting responsibilities, you have prepared alternatives.
𝟯. 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹𝘀 Sometimes evolution means finding new roles that leverage existing strengths while adding fresh capabilities in growth areas. Our Mumbai client moved their founding salesperson to customer success, where relationship skills remained valuable while adding retention expertise.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
The hardest part isn’t identifying capability gaps—it’s having honest conversations about them. Framework for these discussions:
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: Acknowledge contributions and express continued commitment
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: Clearly articulate future role requirements
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: Assess development potential together
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: Create specific development plans with success metrics
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟱: Establish review points with clear outcomes
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
Talent development isn’t expense—it’s an investment. Consider the costs:
• Replacing experienced team members: 150-300% of annual salary
• Lost institutional knowledge: Immeasurable but significant
• Cultural disruption: Affects entire team morale
• Development investment: 10-15% of salary annually
The math strongly favours development over replacement when possible.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲
The companies that scale successfully are led by executives who recognize that talent transformation is as critical as market expansion. They invest in people development as seriously as product development.
Your choice: Will you proactively develop your team for tomorrow’s challenges, or reactively replace them when today’s skills become insufficient?
The loyalty and commitment that built your company deserves the investment to transform it. But transformation requires courage—courage to have honest conversations, make difficult decisions, and invest in uncertain outcomes.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀: 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺?
𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣? 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝘽𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙒𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙎𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚 : I LOOK FORWARD TO TALK TO YOU. CLICK THIS LINK
