Scaling Without Culture: Why Growth Alone Won’t Save You

May 21

2 min read

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Scaling a business should feel exciting. But for many leaders, it feels like chaos: rapid hires, rising pressure, endless dashboards — and yet, progress stalls.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: this isn’t a strategy issue. It’s a culture issue.

When start-ups scale, the instinct is to double down on control — mandates, metrics, and micromanagement. But performance doesn’t come from pressure. It comes from psychological safety, clarity, and trust.

Take Better.com. In its aggressive growth phase, the company prioritised output over people — culminating in a now-infamous mass firing on Zoom. The fallout exposed a culture of fear and disconnection. Morale tanked, and growth became unsustainable.

Now compare that with Airbnb. Faced with existential pressure during the pandemic, co-founder Brian Chesky led with transparency and empathy — even during layoffs.

He wrote, “Culture is simply a shared way of doing something with passion.” That cultural grounding helped Airbnb bounce back stronger, with renewed focus and cohesion.

“Culture is simply a shared way of doing something with passion.” Brian Chesky, CEO AirBnB

Or look at Canva, which scaled globally while maintaining a culture of inclusion and ownership. Co-founder Melanie Perkins said:

“You can’t grow a company unless your team is growing too — in confidence, capability and connection.” Melanie Perkins, Co-founder, Canva

The difference? These leaders didn’t leave culture to chance. They treated it like the infrastructure for scale.

Why culture feels like the harder choice — but shouldn't be

When you're under pressure, it can feel safer to focus on what’s measurable: OKRs, dashboards, productivity tools. Culture feels fuzzy, slower, less in your control.

But here’s the truth: control gives the illusion of speed — while culture builds the real foundations that last.

Yes, building trust takes time.

Yes, investing in psychological safety isn’t a line item on a spreadsheet.

But the payoff?

More resilient teams. Faster decisions. Better performance. And fewer fires to fight.