Stretch To The Limit

“Stretch” was the most common word I used as a talent manager for over twenty years at PepsiCo, one of the world’s premier talent academy companies. “How much stretch does she have?” “He really needs a stretch assignment.” I used it to refer to potential in the future, not connecting it to handling pressure and tension in the present.

That connection was driven home this week as my dad and I replaced a fence on my land. Based on the type of barbed wire used, we estimated it was nearly 100 years old. I tried to imagine a father-and-son team putting it up in the 1930s. What accounts for barbed wire’s amazing strength and longevity? It is the tension and pressure applied when it is built. 

The picture above shows my dad using a wire stretcher to create the incredible tension needed to pull the hundreds of feet of wire tight. Barbed wire can withstand much more pressure than you think possible while still retaining flexibility. We added metal T-posts and wooden H-braces to support it so ours can last another hundred years.

Stretching, challenging, and supporting leaders early in their careers builds the framework for long-term success. Instead of breaking them, the tension develops the strength, adaptability, and resilience they will draw upon in more senior roles. Like a well-built barbed wire fence, this pressure-tested method for building leaders has stood the test of time.