Letter 019 - The Super Stretch Assignment (Short Form)
Why not give a high-performing employee and opportunity to grow exponentially?
I was recently reflecting on how thankful I am for my teams (the ones I currently manage, and the ones I have managed in the past). I’ve been particularly fortunate to work with truly game-changing colleagues, who are smart, driven, humble, and candid. The one thing they all have in common is that they have all done multiple roles at work (or in school!) that were incredibly challenging. The kinds of opportunities that push people to the limits of their capabilities, and beyond.
In Letter 005 (Active Career Management) and Letter 007 (Having Multiple Jobs (no, it doesn't have to be at multiple organizations)), I talk about how learning compounds, and that if you maximize learning early in your career, it’ll pay immense dividends down the road.
The way to nurture the power of compounded learning for your team is to occasionally provide Super Stretch Assignments.
A Super Stretch is a project or role at work that you know will push someone beyond the bounds of their current capabilities. It will likely create stress. It will likely lead to some instances of failure/setbacks for the employee. It likely won’t be smooth… In other words, if your primary goal is to avoid failure, you should NOT give out super stretch assignments. However, if your primary goal is to deliver a rate of incredible learning and breakthrough personal growth, the risk of setbacks can be worth it.
I’ve personally been astounded by the things I’ve seen my colleagues accomplish. Oftentimes they’re very early in their career, but the Super Stretch fast-tracks them to a new, increased level of capability.
Signs that you can give someone a Super Stretch:
When you talk to them, you can easily envision them in a job that is at least one or two levels above where they currently are
The employee is asking for growth opportunities
The employee’s long-term aspirations are bold AF, and you want to help them get there
The employee has a truly dynamic set of experiences and proof of past success
You feel overwhelmed with your current slate of responsibilities, and you want to give someone else a chance to lead :)
Last thought: you can’t just throw a Super Stretch over the fence and walk away. You have to:
Confirm that the employee is up for the challenge
Ensure that your check-ins have plenty of space for active feedback delivery + co-processing (together)
Have ultra clear success criteria
You have a week-by-week or step-by-step plan to get to aforementioned success criteria
Be comfortable with setbacks and be prepared to jump into help get the project/job on the right track
You, as a leader, have to be ready to accept responsibility for setbacks and failures
Thus, you should have backup plans in place in case things fall apart
Lastly, you must be prepared to offer candor & encouragement when things aren’t going well and reflect on the growth that person exhibits when you do see it after a setback…Because your colleagues deserve to be seen. They deserve to be appreciated, especially after they’ve taken a leap of faith.
If you are a leader who routinely gives out “safe” assignments to your directs and their directs, know that you aren’t creating a breakthrough personal growth environment. Yes, you do need to balance out the number of Safe versus Stretch versus Super Stretch assignments; there should be a distribution across these categories.