How To Scale With Soul

This article, written by Fabien Reille, founder and CEO of Steady Solutions, was originally published on Inc.com.

Ask any founder what they want, and “growth” is usually at the top of the list. But here’s what no one tells you: If you’re not careful, growth can quietly unravel your culture faster than a group text with no context and too many emojis. 

I’ve lived this tension firsthand. As Steady Solutions expanded—more clients, more team members, more complexity—I started noticing subtle shifts. Communication patterns changed. Team members I used to speak with daily became people I passed in the hallway. New hires didn’t always bring the same sense of urgency or ownership. Culture drifted—not because we wanted it to, but because we weren’t actively protecting it. 

If you’re scaling a business, here’s the hard truth: Culture doesn’t scale on its own. You have to build systems that grow your values along with your headcount. Here are five things to keep in mind about culture when you scale. 

1. Culture Starts Getting Fragile When Leadership Gets Busy. 

When your company is small, culture is passed on by osmosis. People pick it up by sitting next to you, listening in on conversations, and learning how decisions get made. But as you grow, that proximity disappears. And if you’re not deliberately modeling and repeating what matters—through your actions and your words—those values fade fast. 

I learned this the hard way. At one point, I realized new hires had no idea where to start. What felt obvious in my head left others standing around like deer in headlights. That was a turning point. We stepped back, mapped out formal processes. The RACI role clarification matrix saved us: responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed. We built onboarding systems that made expectations clear. Today, when I see a new team member pull out their laminated cheat sheet, I know we’ve helped them get over the water line. 

2. Growth Dilutes Accountability Unless You Reinforce It. 

Hiring fast creates chaos if you’re not ready for it. Everyone assumes someone else owns the task. Job descriptions start to overlap like Venn diagrams drawn by toddlers. And suddenly, no one is sure who’s supposed to do what. 

At Steady, we got ahead of this by reworking our RACI matrices—clarifying the roles for every major initiative. We didn’t just do this on paper. We made sure the model reflected reality. When there’s misalignment, we address it immediately. Ambiguity kills accountability. Clarity revives it. And when I see our team confidently navigating their roles, I know we’re not just growing—we’re growing with intention. 

3. “Cultural Fit” Isn’t Enough. You Need Cultural Add. 

Hiring for “fit” sounds good—until it turns into a homogenous echo chamber. We’ve shifted our mindset to hiring for cultural add—people who live our values but also stretch us in new ways. 

The trick is making those values explicit. If your company values can’t be explained in plain English—or worse, if they sound like rejected TED Talk titles—you’re doing it wrong. Forget SNL’s Debbie Downer—womp womp waaah—and instead surround yourself with people who bring energy, thoughtfulness, and a willingness to grow. And don’t compromise when someone is technically great but culturally off. That one “brilliant-but-toxic” hire? They’ll quietly train others that values don’t really matter here. 

4. Keep Rituals Simple—But Consistent. 

Culture isn’t about swag or foosball tables. It’s about what gets repeated, what gets rewarded, and how your team behaves when no one’s looking. 

At Steady, we’ve leaned into a few foundational rituals: daily stand-ups, field log reports, and breaking down projects into Agile-style sprints. Yes, I borrowed Agile from software development and applied it to construction—and yes, it works. Especially in a fast-paced, multi-site environment where you need visibility and iteration, not just Gantt charts and prayers. 

Don’t chase novelty. Chase habits that reinforce who you are. The best cultural systems aren’t flashy—they’re functional. 

5. Growth Isn’t Just About What You Gain. It’s About What You’re Willing To Protect. 

Every new hire, new client, or new region adds complexity. But growth done right shouldn’t mean leaving behind the things that made you special—it should mean amplifying them. 

So if you’re scaling, pause and ask yourself: What do we stand for? How do we make that real for every person who joins us? And where are we starting to drift? 

Scaling with soul isn’t easy. But it’s better than waking up one day and realizing you built a company you no longer recognize.