Getting after growth – the behaviours that actually move the needle

Everyone talks about growth. Few actually chase it the way it needs to be chased.

Because commercial growth – real, sustainable, profitable growth – isn’t a slogan. It’s a discipline. A way of working. A way of showing up.

Growth doesn’t come from ambition alone. It comes from a consistent set of behaviours that shape how leaders think, decide, and act.

Here’s what that looks like in the wild.

1. Make growth the default, not the dream

Growth isn’t the reward for getting everything else right. It’s the job.

High-performing leaders don’t treat growth as optional. They set bold targets – and talk about them constantly. In team meetings. In boardrooms. On earnings calls.

They keep it front and centre. That clarity matters. Because if growth is everyone’s job, it becomes no one’s job – unless the leader makes it unmistakably clear.

Behaviour shift:
Stop waiting for perfect conditions. Start setting the pace.

2. Choose speed over certainty

If you’re waiting for all the data, you’re already late.

Commercial growth lives in motion. Outperformers don’t freeze in the face of uncertainty – they make fast, informed bets. They test, learn, and iterate. Then they double down on what works.

Speed is a competitive advantage. And it’s cultural. Teams mimic what leaders’ model.

Behaviour shift:
Replace ‘Let’s wait and see’ with ‘Let’s test and learn.’

3. Obsess over customer value

Growth starts with knowing what your customer actually wants – today, tomorrow, and maybe even before they do.

This means getting uncomfortable. Leaving the boardroom. Listening more than pitching. Using data not just to report performance, but to spark insight.

And most importantly: acting on what you hear.

Behaviour shift:
Talk to customers. Not once a quarter. Every week.

4. Stretch resources toward opportunity

Every company has constraints. The great ones reallocate anyway.

Growth-minded leaders shift budget, people, and attention to where the upside lives. They prune what’s underperforming. They fund the future even when it pinches the present.

Growth doesn’t come from spreading effort evenly. It comes from decisive bets.

Behaviour shift:
Ask: ‘Are our best people working on our biggest opportunities?’

5. Create accountability that drives action

Goals are good. But without ownership, they’re just hope.

High-growth companies create clear accountability for commercial outcomes. They know who’s responsible for what – and how success will be measured.

They make it visible. They make it real. They follow through.

Behaviour shift:
Name owners. Set deadlines. Share results.

6. Fuel the fire with talent

Growth takes energy. And energy comes from people.

Hire for hunger. Promote curiosity. Protect space for experimentation. Celebrate wins. Learn from losses. Growth isn’t always glamorous – but the right team makes it possible, and worth it.

Behaviour shift:
Put your most driven people where the growth is hardest.

Final word: act like it matters

Because it does.

Commercial growth won’t happen by accident. It takes intention. And above all, behaviour.

Ask yourself:

• Am I chasing growth, or waiting for it?
• Do my actions reflect my ambition?
• Is my team clear, focused, and empowered to move?

Growth responds to momentum. Get after it.

Ready to build the behaviour systems that power commercial performance? Let’s start the conversation.