Am I A Catalyst?

The following is adapted from Move Fast. Break Shit. Burn Out.

When people think of the term catalyst, they usually think of chemistry. Reactions. Something that speeds up a transformation and makes things happen.

It’s the same in the business world. Catalysts are people who make things happen. They are rare within an organization. We believe that makes them invaluable, but many people see them as a “disruptor” or a “troublemaker.” If you’ve ever been called this, you may be a Catalyst. 

To find out for sure, we’re going to share several traits of a Catalyst so you can determine whether you fit the mold. If you do, you’re going to learn the special superpowers you bring to a team or organization. We’ll also discuss what your blindspots may be, and how you can bring awareness to those blindspots to create change more effectively.

The Catalyst Defined

Catalysts have a deep-rooted need to improve things and create a better future. They take in lots of information, see infinite possibilities, and can’t stop themselves from moving into action. A Catalyst’s ideas never stop coming, they never stop taking action, and they never stop learning and moving forward. And that collection, synthesis, testing, and iteration of data and potential often happens all at once.

You can find Catalysts anywhere. They aren’t limited to one industry, role, gender, race, geographic locale, career stage, or any other demographic. You’ll find them in the C-suite, as individual contributors, and working for themselves. Whatever they’re doing in the world, they’re always focused on one thing: change. It seems to be innate in them, something that’s not taught—though it can be honed. 

We estimate that between 5 and 11 percent of the workforce are Catalysts. That’s a surprising number for a group that’s previously been misidentified as troublemakers who just like to stir the pot.  Yet in a workplace era marked by its rapid and uncertain level of change, Catalysts are uniquely suited to help organizations adapt and thrive.

When organizations see and value their Catalysts, it’s good for everyone. But when Catalysts self-identify and begin to step into their strengths, that’s when the superpowers really start to shine. Shannon’s story gives us a glimpse.

An Example of a Catalyst

Shannon always felt different. In high school, she started a recycling program—but she didn’t stop there. She found other similarly inspired people, , created a marketing campaign to get even more students involved, and galvanized a much larger movement. In college, she saw a need for increased funding resources for students on scholarships, and ran for and became the senior class president to move that needle forward. 

Shannon always moved through the world wondering, “What’s the next problem, and how do I fix it?”

When she found a job in innovation, it felt life-changing—like there was finally a role for her. But after building a team of more than one hundred people that she assumed moved through the world just like her, she found it was more like ten people who did everything. A key subset of people leaned in hard, and it took a toll on them. 

While others on her team left work at the office, she couldn’t do it. Failure on the job felt personal, and criticism of her work felt personal. Each setback sent her deeper into burnout. Work became a drain instead of a source of energy. Her health and her relationships suffered. What was worse was she had no idea why this was happening. She saw the need for a different kind of support system for her and the others she saw spiraling through burnout, but didn’t know what that might look like.

It wasn’t until she was interviewed as part of a Catalyst data collection project that she finally understood. The term Catalyst not only gave her language for who she was, but also to understand the inner workings of her process and the tools that would help her thrive. 

Burnout: A Common Occurrence

Shannon’s not alone. Catalysts help organizations thrive, but it comes at a cost. Burnout is common among Catalysts, and can’t necessarily be avoided. In chemical reactions, a catalyst maintains its state. But we’re humans, and we only have so much energy. The faster we move, the more we tend to burn out.

Catalysts have higher highs and lower lows.Tackling new challenges brings their energy up, then the progression of orchestration, iteration, and resistance can send them plummeting into burnout. Soon, they’re on to the next surge of excitement as they search for a new problem and a new solution—but without addressing the cause or effects of burnout, those surges can be misleading.  

If you’re a Catalyst, you can expend that energy quickly, and without understanding what’s happening, you can cycle into burnout regularly. This is a huge blindspot that can frequently take us down.

Catalysts Bring Energy to the Equation

Catalysts are vital to any organization. They are the visionaries, the go-getters, the ones who connect dots others don’t see and get things done that others can’t. They recognize flaws in systems and can see better ways to move forward. These are superpowers, by any standard.

But Catalysts also work quickly, sometimes processing things in their heads without talking it through. They can take too much upon themselves without a way to replenish that energy. Their blindspots are real—but they’re avoidable. Catalysts who learn to slow down and create space for themselves, their process, and the people around them, inject much-needed energy into every equation they’re part of. They’re an agent of change, speeding up our transformation toward a better future. 

For more advice on what a catalyst is, you can find Move Fast. Break Shit. Burn Out. on Amazon.

Shannon has been Executive Vice President at Ericsson, a Senior Innovation Architect at Cisco, and a Director of Innovation at Vodafone. A practitioner and global thought leader on intrapreneurship, she founded the Global Intrapreneur Salon and is passionate about transforming corporations into sustainable change engines. Tracey is an anthropologist and the research engine for Catalyst Constellations. She spent twelve years at Microsoft leading teams of changemakers and co-founded the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference. Tracey thrives when she can use her intuition and relentless optimism to coach Catalysts and amplify their changemaking power.