The biggest
unoptimized variable
impacting your
team’s success
Anuj Adhiya
Author, Growth Hacking for Dummies
Speakerdeck.com/anujadhiya
@AnujAdhiya
Slide 2
Slide 2 text
Where is the
people data?
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Slide 3
Slide 3 text
Drives Needs Behaviors
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Slide 4
Slide 4 text
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Slide 5
Slide 5 text
Hypothesis #1
People that lead
growth efforts
have a specific
work style pattern
#brightonSEO
@AnujAdhiya
Slide 6
Slide 6 text
Innovative, “outside the
box” thinker, undaunted
by failure
3 Most Common Work Styles
Maverick
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Slide 7
Slide 7 text
3 Most Common Work Styles
Maverick
Responds positively to
challenges and pressure
Visionary that includes
people in the planning
Goal-oriented
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Slide 8
Slide 8 text
Highly independent &
persistent, while
remaining
results-oriented
3 Most Common Work Styles
Individualist
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Slide 9
Slide 9 text
3 Most Common Work Styles
Drives change &
challenges status quo
Creative problem solver
Goal-oriented
Individualist
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Slide 10
Slide 10 text
Risk-taking,
socially poised &
motivating team builder
3 Most Common Work Styles
Persuader
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Slide 11
Slide 11 text
3 Most Common Work Styles
Drives change and
challenges status quo
Motivating, stimulating
communicator
Proactive & results-oriented
Persuader
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Slide 12
Slide 12 text
Hypothesis #2
People that lead growth
efforts have work styles
that focus on
innovation & agility
#brightonSEO @AnujAdhiya
@AnujAdhiya
Team Cultures
#brightonSEO
Conservative,
reliable & steady
behavior
Emphasize
process &
procedure
#brightonSEO
Slide 20
Slide 20 text
@AnujAdhiya
Growth Team Culture
Nimble, flexible,
creative
Prioritize speed over
completeness
Not about perfection
#brightonSEO
#brightonSEO
Slide 21
Slide 21 text
@AnujAdhiya
Growth Team Culture
Spend time
inventing & iterating
Take risks, make
mistakes & learn
Always finding new
ways of doing things
#brightonSEO
#brightonSEO
Slide 22
Slide 22 text
@AnujAdhiya
Novelty
New
ideas/products/
ways of working
Thrives on
originality, latest &
greatest ideas
#brightonSEO
Growth Team Values
#brightonSEO
Slide 23
Slide 23 text
@AnujAdhiya
Exploration
Up-to-date on
developments
within & outside
their fields
Keep an open mind,
experiment to see if
ideas have potential
#brightonSEO
Growth Team Values
#brightonSEO
Slide 24
Slide 24 text
@AnujAdhiya
Flexibility
Adapt to short & fast
changing timelines,
new & unexpected
demands, and rapid
changes in the
marketplace
#brightonSEO
Growth Team Values
#brightonSEO
Slide 25
Slide 25 text
@AnujAdhiya
Non-Conforming
Emphasis on doing
things differently
Uniqueness is
encouraged
#brightonSEO
Growth Team Behaviors
#brightonSEO
Slide 26
Slide 26 text
@AnujAdhiya
Enthusiastic
Can’t come up with
new & creative
ideas without a
passionate, positive,
eager team
#brightonSEO
Growth Team Behaviors
#brightonSEO
Slide 27
Slide 27 text
@AnujAdhiya
Restless
Prepared to keep up
with fast-moving
pace
#brightonSEO
Growth Team Behaviors
#brightonSEO
Slide 28
Slide 28 text
@AnujAdhiya
Venturesome
All about
experimentation
& big ideas
#brightonSEO
Growth Team Behaviors
#brightonSEO
Slide 29
Slide 29 text
@AnujAdhiya
Culture
expresses as
Team Work Style
The Leader
drives culture
#brightonSEO
#brightonSEO
Slide 30
Slide 30 text
@AnujAdhiya
How team
members work
together:
Goal oriented
& impatient
for results?
Cooperative &
relaxed?
#brightonSEO
#brightonSEO
Slide 31
Slide 31 text
@AnujAdhiya
Driven by vision &
readiness to risk it all
Entrepreneurial spirit
& creative
problem-solving
Distribution of
30+ Growth
Leads
#brightonSEO
#brightonSEO
Slide 32
Slide 32 text
@AnujAdhiya
Telling Style:
Opinions will be
loud & come fast
Impact on
Team
Communication
#brightonSEO
#brightonSEO
Slide 33
Slide 33 text
@AnujAdhiya
Telling Style:
Assertive and to the
point & then moving
on to the next topic
quickly
Impact on
Team
Communication
#brightonSEO
#brightonSEO
Slide 34
Slide 34 text
@AnujAdhiya
Persuading Style:
Geared towards
influencing others
Impact on
Team
Communication
#brightonSEO
#brightonSEO
Slide 35
Slide 35 text
@AnujAdhiya
Innovating Style:
Challenging the
status quo
Impact on
Team Action
#brightonSEO
#brightonSEO
Slide 36
Slide 36 text
@AnujAdhiya
Innovating Style:
Fast-paced, willing
to take charge & try
things in new and
unique ways
Impact on
Team Action
#brightonSEO
#brightonSEO
Slide 37
Slide 37 text
@AnujAdhiya
Justifying Style:
Everyone has an
opinion & there’s no
shame in sharing it
Impact on Team
Decision Making
#brightonSEO
#brightonSEO
Slide 38
Slide 38 text
@AnujAdhiya
Justifying Style:
Confidently &
vocally challenge
status quo & each
other to arrive at the
best decision
Impact on Team
Decision Making
#brightonSEO
Slide 39
Slide 39 text
How do you balance the need to get things
done vs finding better ways to do them?
Questions to identify
great growth people
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Slide 40
Slide 40 text
How did you handle a situation where you
need to deliver something with
very few guidelines?
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Questions to identify
great growth people
Slide 41
Slide 41 text
Tell me about a time you had to
change directions quickly.
How did you respond?
What was the outcome?
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Questions to identify
great growth people
Slide 42
Slide 42 text
Tell me about a time that your solution
to a problem may have been different
than what had been done before?
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Questions to identify
great growth people
Slide 43
Slide 43 text
Hypothesis #3
Work style strengths of people
that lead growth efforts are not
enough to execute on strategic
priorities of growth teams
#brightonSEO
@AnujAdhiya
Slide 44
Slide 44 text
Patterns of Growth Leads…
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO
Slide 45
Slide 45 text
…vs Strategic Priorities of Growth Teams
@AnujAdhiya
#brightonSEO