Growth Spurts and Hunger Cues

Tao is 3 weeks old and has entered a new growth spurt. He’s now eating every 1-2 hours, sometimes more frequently than that. We do our best to read his hunger cues and feed him before he gets upset, but it’s tricky.

Watching your child grow is an interesting dilema. You are excited to see who they become but desperately want to hold on to who they are. He has yet to grow out of any of his baby clothes, but I imagine when he does we will feel a loss of sorts. That is until we throw a new cute outfit on him and start the countdown on the next spurt.

You probably went through your last growth spurt between ages 15 and 20 when you reached physical maturity. But what about after that? What is the last personal or professional growth spurt you went through? What were your “hunger cues” that let you and others know you were ready to grow? What energy source and support did you call upon to enable that growth? Were you successful at communicating your needs to those who could support you? Did they listen?

I believe I’m in a growth spurt now, learning this new position of being Tao’s dad.

New jobs tend to spark growth spurts, as they call upon us to apply our skills and knowledge in an unfamiliar context. If you can do everything you were hired to do by yourself in your first year on the job, you got the wrong job. You want a position that gives you opportunities to excel at the things you know how to do, but you also need opportunities to take on tasks that feel a little scary. That is, if you hope to grow.

By the sounds of Tao’s cries, he found the perfect job.

Getting a new job isn’t the only way to instigate a new growth spurt. You can create opportunities to grow in your current role if you are successfully doing what is expected of you (leaders won’t give you new responsibilities if you haven’t shown you can handle the ones you already have), identify ways you can grow that will benefit you and your organization,  communicate your needs and goals to those who can support you, and are willing to move towards what makes you uncomfortable

While Tao relies on breast milk and sleep to power his growth, I am tapping into a deep sense of purpose, a lot of coffee, and as much help from the grandparents as we can get. Lisa and I feel bad about asking for help multiple times a week, so we appreciate when they reach out to offer. It’s much easier to say yes to help than it is to ask for it.

As a leader, it’s your responsibility to pay attention to the “hunger cues” of your people. If you don’t make an effort to read those signs or if you wait for them to ask for help, you’ll likely lose folks as they look elsewhere for what they need.

It’s impossible to stay in a growth spurt, that’s why it’s called a spurt. We all need time to rest, learn our current position, and build up energy for the next.

As Tao gets older, his needs will change and so will my responsibilities. Eventually, milk will become cooked dinners and the swaddle a conversation. I promise to grow with you, Tao, and to hear your hunger cries even when they sound like angry sentences and closed body language.