Editor’s note: This post is part of an old series of weekly motivation/development memos. Meritocracy is one of our core values here at Invisible! This is how we think about it.

Motivation Monday — How Do you Build a Meritocracy?

By: Erinn Woodside

If a meritocracy had a shape, what would it look like? Did you say pyramid? That pointy beacon of strict hierarchy? Where everyone starts out at the bottom and the top woman or man sits at the pinnacle of highest performance? Pyramids seem to be everywhere in business lexicon: Pyramid schemes…pyramid management structures…pyramid economics.

I think most people think of pyramids when they think of meritocracies. And “most people” are wrong.

Meritocracies DO NOT reward only the top performers or even the top few performers. Meritocracies aim to build everyone up to their highest potential. No one needs to be excluded in a meritocracy! The best meritocracies are the ones where the most people are performing to their highest potential.

Meritocracies are spirals.

In a good meritocracy, growth approaches infinity. Every person has the potential to reach the top, and then keep on going!

We want Invisible to be a true meritocracy. The development of each and every Agent and Partner is at the core of the company. And we don’t say that because it’s a nice thought. If Invisible is going to be successful, we NEED every Agent and Partner to grow, to develop, to perform at their highest levels. Our Partnership model and Agent system require growth to be successful. If we allow ourselves to stagnate…then Invisible will stagnate.

Taking a term from some very smart people over at Harvard, we want Invisible to be a “deliberately developmental organization” or DDO for short. Companies that deliberately put development of their people front and center know a few secrets:

• Development is scalable…as the staff grow, so grows the company.
• Creating a culture that focuses on growth is strategic. And it will show up in the bottom line.
• Science has a lot to say about human growth and development. Companies thrive when they pay attention to human needs instead of sticking to old norms about business organization and management.

In the coming days/weeks, I’ll be talking a bit more about how we’re going to work on becoming deliberately developmental.

Here’s a sneak peak: it starts with you! Individual growth comes first and foremost from being honest with yourself about your goals, your weaknesses, your responsibilities, your motivations, and your intentions. As we start to roll out tools across the company for growing our culture and our people, take a few minutes to reflect on why you are here and what you want to contribute to Invisible and what Invisible can do for you? Where do you want to be in 3 months? 6 months? 1 year?

Put some effort into those reflections….there’s going to be a quiz…

Originally published at https://medium.com on November 26, 2018.