Hi, Mary - great post and a powerful visualization:)

This whole concept of "stunting" is thought-provoking and the examples you used highlight one important way leaders can stunt someone's growth:  One-way communication.  If a leader is not interested in or capable of engaging in dialogues around key aspects of the organization or business in a culture of mutual respect, they should not last very long.

Unfortunately, my experiences tell me that these type of leaders exist in far too many situations.

It seems to me that when we engage in open discussions around our mutual concerns and issues, we are growing our culture ... making the tank bigger, so to speak.

The ideal might be when we allow our culture to be so inclusive and engage everyone's best efforts, that we outgrow any container ... think of the possibilities then:)

I think that leaders who want to grow their culture to grow their employees have to really take the lead by modeling open and honest communication.  Sometimes employees are afraid to grow, maybe because of past experiences, and sometimes they just need encouragement.

Either way, the leader has to actually lead by example ...

Appreciate this thoughtful and sort of inspiring post:)

John