Booster Rockets in the Workforce
In the Space industry, the use of booster rockets to help propel the main payload to its destination, is fairly commonplace. The concept started with the space shuttle, and has been refined by SpaceX, but the concept is the same: booster rockets are used to propel the payload to its destination, then dropped for reuse at a later time. This is the Space business.
A booster rocket, or its analogy, has no place at the office. But I’ve seen it demonstrated, utilized and analogized at too many companies to count. Usually it is done with some amount of tact, control, and care about the parties involved. Sometimes it isn’t, and that’s what this writing is going to discuss.
Re-Introducing Janet
Janet, from my post on Poaching, is working for another group at the company, and is the right hand person, so to speak, for the director of the group. She is essentially the director’s gun-for-hire, and is put on the project with which he needs the most help. She’s done this countless times for him, and his visibility within the company keeps rising. Clearly she’s his lucky charm, helping him and his team get noticed internally. This makes inroads with his boss and ultimately gets him noticed by the executive team in less than two years.
For many companies, this type of meteoric rise is commonplace, but for one as large and stodgy as hers, these types of jumps are not common at all… especially for someone who has been at the company for over 20 years! What changed to help rise his star so high and so fast?
Booster Rocket Management
This director utilized something known as Booster Rocket Management: hire someone with raw talent, with the skills and ability to be your boss, and let them loose. They will bring your team to the top!
And that’s exactly what Janet did. She propelled the group to the forefront of the organization, getting recognition throughout the company for their performance, ingenuity, and problem solving. Janet was the booster for the director, earning him a place amongst the executives.
For some managers, this is an all-purpose fixer, someone who is good at cutting through the shit and getting things done. For others, it is simply someone who can help your group communicate more effectively. For every group, there’s a different litany of issues: you choose based on the needs of your team.
This person, the booster rocket, will help propel you into the atmosphere, where if you hold your own, you remain and will be seen as an amazing leader. Someone who can make magic happen. All because of your amazing management and leadership capabilities.
Releasing the Booster
Managers using Booster Rocket Management, choose an opportune time and reason to drop their booster rocket. Booster Rocket Management dictates that once the booster has helped you achieve the appropriate heights, you drop it. Drop it fast and walk away, leave the clean up to others. After all, you don’t want others to know the true source of your powers, so you eliminate the option: drop the booster.
That’s what happened to Janet. She was dropped in an unceremonious way, by being put onto meaningless projects, given no management support, and completely cut off from all communication. Without a cause, support and communication, Janet left. She had no other choice but to leave the company.
It’s a sad story that is replicated a thousand times in businesses throughout the world… but there’s a better way.
Listen to Emerson
I’ve always felt that Booster Rocket Management was barbaric and, quite frankly, a bad idea. Why drop the person who helped catapult you to the top, other than for your own ego? Instead, I think you need to “hitch your wagon to a star”, a concept introduced by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1870.
By hitching your wagon to a star, you not only get to flit amongst the stars, you will continue to get additional opportunities that this star brings.
Doing anything else is shortsighted and stupid.