How I Learned to Foster Growth in a Company of Brilliant Minds

In this blog post, Blair Compston shares how he navigated the challenge of fostering growth in a company of brilliant minds at BizStream. By embracing core values and sparking curiosity, Blair highlights the importance of encouraging development and passing on the excitement of learning.

By Blair Compston

July 25, 2024
Advice, Culture

If you haven’t caught on yet, BizStream does things a little differently than your average company. One of those things is that we’re pretty big on our core values. Picture this: we gather for our company-wide Monday Pulse meeting every Monday. It’s our weekly ritual where we look back at the past week, figure out where we’re at, and peer into the future to see where we’re heading. It’s like our Monday morning GPS, helping us zero in on what matters most for the week ahead.

Diving Deep into Core Values

If you haven’t caught on yet, BizStream does things a little differently than your average company. One of those things is that we’re pretty big on our core values, which include “Whatever It Takes,” “Work Hard, Play Hard,” “We Are a Team,” “Be Fearless,” “Foster Growth in Others,” “Care,” and “Be Positive.” Picture this: we gather for our company-wide Monday Pulse meeting every Monday. It’s our weekly ritual where we look back at the past week, figure out where we’re at, and peer into the future to see where we’re heading. It’s like our Monday morning GPS, helping us zero in on what matters most for the week ahead.

Here’s the twist: once every few weeks, we take a slight detour from the routine and dive deep into one of our core values. We’re not just talking about it for the sake of it; we make it a bit personal. We throw a curveball and select a random team member to delve into that core value. It’s like we’re peeling back the curtain on our values to see what it means to others. This helps solidify and grant perspective you might not always have if it was just a bunch of words bantered about on company letterhead or plastered to the break room wall.

So, guess what? Yours truly got the opportunity to shed light on “Fostering Growth in Others” recently. Now, usually, I’m all in for these sessions, but this one felt a bit different.

Every year, during our annual reviews, we’re handed the scorecard and asked to rate ourselves against our core values. It’s a bit like holding up a mirror, a chance to see if we’re still in sync with the company and its values. Now, when it comes to “Fostering Growth,” I’ve found myself in a bit of a loop, marking myself down or feeling like I’m grappling with it. Why? Well, BizStream attracts extremely smart and intelligent people, and here I am, just the IT guy who is self-made and has no extraordinary degree or training. How on earth can I fan the flames of growth in a sea of already brilliant minds?

I pondered this for a week. How do I articulate this core value when I’m not entirely sure if I’m playing the game right? Luckily, I had some time to mull it over (props to whoever gave me the heads-up).

Foster Growth in Others

I wasn’t getting anywhere, so I did a little etymology and looked up the word foster. Here is what it said:

To bring up
To promote the growth of
To cherish
To encourage the development or growth of ideas or feelings

Well, that is interesting – nowhere did it shout “knowledge.” Surprising, right? Until then, I had this idea that I needed to be this knowledge wizard, dropping wisdom bombs left and right. But nope, it’s more about being the spark, igniting that curiosity to dig deeper.

This newfound perspective got me excited. How can I be that spark? How can I light a fire under folks to grow their ideas? Then, I stumbled upon a gem from Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island. He said, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” Bingo! Fostering growth is all about planting that seed, that spark, and letting it grow.

I don’t have to be the Einstein of the room. I just need to pass along that contagious energy to learn something new. Even if they don’t pick up exactly what I’m into, it’s the act of learning itself that matters. So, armed with this fresh perspective, I threw it all into a presentation. I had no clue how it would land, but I wanted to share it, to pass on that spark, and hope it’d make someone want to dig deeper.

I think it landed where I wanted it to, and everyone understood where I was coming from.

Final Thoughts

I hope this little journey sparks something in you – a spark to dive deeper and share your own fire. Because at the end of the day, fostering growth is about passing on that spark, embracing the excitement of learning, and seeing where it takes you. Cheers to growth!

About the Author

Blair Compston

Blair has been playing with computers as long as he can remember. He has worked in companies both big and small and in every position from helpdesk through manager, and now he brings his knowledge of all things IT to BizStream. As our IT and DevOps guy, he keeps our servers running, networks in line, and clouds fluffy. Outside of work, this family guy can be found spending some QT with his wife and four kids or tackling yet another home renovation project.