Building Culture with Clarity and Intention

As founders, we’re not just building businesses — we’re building cultures. Every decision we make, every trade-off we accept, and every behavior we model sets the tone for how our people work, grow, and thrive. Culture isn’t some abstract concept. It’s the collective expression of our values, priorities, and agreements we choose to uphold.

At the heart of every culture are two enduring tensions we can’t ignore:

• Belonging vs. Individuality
• Stability vs. Growth

These tensions aren’t problems we need to solve — they’re realities to embrace. And the way we navigate them doesn’t just define the type of company we create. It also determines the kind of people we attract and retain and, ultimately, the impact we make.

Belonging vs. Individuality

Humans are wired to belong. We thrive in environments where we feel seen, valued, and connected. And that sense of belonging is what fosters collaboration, trust, and alignment around a shared purpose, allowing teams to move together as one.

The fact is, belonging is deeply rooted in our psychology. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs highlights belonging as a foundational human motivation that’s tied to our primal drive for security and survival. In ancient contexts, belonging to a group maximized chances of survival through mere strength in numbers and shared resources. Today, while we may not be fending off predators, that same deep-seated need for connection still drives us, but in a different way — it’s what shapes our emotional and social fulfillment.

Our Work (with a capital W) plays a significant role in satisfying this need. When we feel a sense of belonging in our workplace, it creates a level of trust and emotional connectivity that fuels great teams. And while different generations may define success in their own ways, one thing remains true: We do our best Work when we feel like we’re in it together.

But where does that leave individuality? Great companies don’t just tolerate individuality — they celebrate it. Thriving cultures create space for people to express their unique strengths, perspectives, and ambitions. Belonging gives people a foundation, but individuality is what drives innovation, mastery, and courage.

The tension between belonging and individuality is a delicate balance. Too much focus on belonging, and you risk groupthink and stagnation. Too much focus on individuality, and you lose cohesion and trust. As founders, we should ask ourselves:

• Are we building a culture where team cohesion takes precedence over individual expression?
• Or, are we prioritizing individuality and autonomy at the expense of harmony?

Neither approach is inherently right or wrong — the ideal state is a balance, and variability in this balance will inevitably exist depending on your company’s Stage of Development, Core Values, and the evolving needs of your organization. It’s important to note that belonging and individuality aren’t mutually exclusive — they can coexist and even amplify each other. The ultimate goal is for your team members to maintain their identity and innovate while also feeling deeply connected to the group.

Stability vs. Growth

The second tension we’ll explore is between stability and growth. Stability provides the foundation for great work — it’s the systems, processes, and rituals that give people confidence and clarity. And without stability, teams quickly become disoriented and reactive, making them unable to focus on the work that matters.

But businesses can’t (and don’t) grow in comfort zones. Growth demands change. It requires risk-taking, experimentation, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. And here’s the thing: growth is supposed to feel uncomfortable — that’s precisely why it’s so valuable. It’s proof we’re stretching, adapting, and moving forward.

The real challenge for founders is in building a culture that embraces the discomfort of growth while also preserving the stability that makes growth possible. These two forces aren’t at odds — they’re interdependent. Stability helps us to learn and reflect while growth pushes us to apply and stretch. Truly great companies and leaders master the art of balancing both.

Stages of Development: Choosing Your Path

Not all founders are building toward the same future. The culture you create — and how you manage these tensions — depends on two things:

• The Stage of Development your business is in
• Your vision for where it’s headed

Lower-Stage Organizations (Stages 1–3)

Early-stage organizations fall into two broad categories based on their priorities:

• Profit-optimized businesses: These organizations prioritize near-term profitability and sustainability. Often owner-operator-driven, they emphasize operational efficiency, stability, and risk management over aggressive expansion. Growth is more incremental, and success is measured by financial resilience and long-term viability rather than scale.
• Expansion-optimized ventures: These organizations prioritize rapid growth, market dominance, and scalability over immediate profitability. They’re often founder-driven with a focus on iteration, experimentation, and external funding. Stability takes a back seat to momentum, and success is measured by market traction, product adoption, and the ability to secure the next stage of growth.

While both types exist in early stages, the key distinction is whether they’re optimizing for sustainability and profitability or rapid expansion and scale.

Higher-Stage Organizations (Stages 4+)

Larger, more established organizations also fall into two broad categories:

• High-growth organizations: These organizations remain focused on scaling, innovation, and pushing boundaries. They thrive on cycles of experimentation, iteration, and systematization, keeping growth a priority. They balance stability with the need for ongoing transformation, adapting structures to avoid stagnation while maintaining operational effectiveness.
• Mature, stability-optimized organizations: These organizations have achieved significant scale and now prioritize efficiency, optimization, and incremental improvements over aggressive expansion. While they may still pursue growth, it’s more methodical, driven by process refinement, acquisitions, and strategic positioning rather than disruptive transformation.

Even at higher stages, the defining factor is whether an organization remains growth-obsessed or shifts its focus toward long-term operational stability.

Keep in mind that growth often happens in cycles: great teams experiment and take risks, identify patterns, establish new baselines, and repeat. Mastery doesn’t come from unrelenting, constant change — it comes from leveraging each iteration to push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Cultural Alignment: Who You Attract Is Who You Become

Here’s the reality: The culture you create determines your company’s destiny. The choices we make as founders (including the values we prioritize, the tensions we embrace, and the trade-offs we’re willing to make) determine who we attract. And who we attract ultimately shapes who we become.

No culture will be the right fit for everyone nor should it try to. Great companies are unapologetically clear about who they are, where they’re going, how fast they want to get from here to there, and what they value. While this clarity generally allows people to self-select into — or out of — the culture, creating alignment between the company and its people, not every person fully understands what they’re getting into when they join a hyper-growth company. It’s inevitable that some team members will find themselves yearning for more stability than is possible given the nature of the company's aspirations. Great leaders do their best to minimize this from happening, but when it does happen, they help to determine whether there’s still a fit between the team member and the company.

Cultures that emphasize both belonging and stability attract people who value security, consistency, and collaboration. And cultures that prioritize individuality as well as growth attract people who are innovative, risk-tolerant, and driven by mastery. It’s all about alignment.

As founders, our job isn’t to resolve these tensions but to embrace them. Why? Because a thriving culture holds space for both belonging and individuality as well as stability and growth. When these forces can coexist, it helps to drive the company and its people forward.

To accomplish this balance, we need to:

• Build systems that provide stability while encouraging experimentation and risk-taking.
• Create an environment where people feel deeply connected but also free to express their individuality.
• Be clear about the kind of company we’re building and who will thrive in it.

Building for the Future

Your company’s Stage of Development should be an intentional choice, not an accident of circumstance. Whether you’re currently running a Stage 1 business, a Stage 5 company, or something in between, the key is clarity: clarity about who you are, what you value, and how you navigate the tensions that define your culture. Because in the end, your culture will determine who you attract. And who you attract will determine who you become.

As you build your company and prepare for the future, you’re sure to encounter critical questions, and for that, I’ve created the Founder Mode Workbook — a tool designed to guide you through self-reflection, recalibration, and action planning. It will help you not only gain clarity on your priorities but walk away with actionable insights and next steps tailored to your unique journey as a founder. Download the workbook now and dive in.