Not Everyone Grows With the Company

You’ve likely had a friendship that quietly faded. A group you no longer felt at home in. A relationship that once felt permanent but couldn’t grow with you.

Not because of drama. Because evolution has a cost.

As you grew—gained clarity, raised your standards, changed how you moved through the world—some people and places just didn’t fit anymore.

You didn’t outgrow them to be better than them.

You outgrew the dynamics they refused to shift.

This same “pruning” happens in business.

As a company matures, so do its standards. What gets protected, rewarded, and tolerated—all gets recalibrated.

Not everyone on a team evolves with it.

Some people thrived in the early version of the business—the one that ran on duct tape and adrenaline. 

Where late work, vague communication, and missed details flew under the radar.

But when the business starts building for sustainability, those behaviors aren’t “scrappy” anymore. They’re expensive.

Missed deadlines damage client trust.

Sloppy communication creates rework and team tension.

Last-minute chaos burns out your best people.

What used to be “just how we work” becomes the very thing slowing you down.

This is when leaders struggle the most.

They delay hard termination decisions. Hope someone finally gets it. Or waste energy over-coaching someone who doesn’t want to change.

It’s uncomfortable when someone no longer fits the environment you're building.

Letting someone go doesn’t make them bad. It just means they no longer align.

And the longer you try to force a fit, the more it costs the team that’s actually trying to grow.

THE MIRROR: Where This Behavior Shows Up In You

Pruning isn’t just about letting people or old positions go.

It’s about letting go of the parts of you that no longer align with where you’re going.

• The behaviors you justify.

• The habits that quietly sabotage your focus.

• The way you shrink to stay liked, or stay silent to avoid conflict.

• The urge to keep the peace instead of hold the line.

Change like this isn’t dramatic.

It’s not a single lightbulb moment or a burst of motivation.

It’s slow. Deliberate. Uncomfortable. Repetitive.

But it’s not just about what we do—it’s what we allow.

• Letting things slide to avoid confrontation.

• Softening your standards so they’re easier to swallow.

• Saying “just this once”… until your word doesn’t mean anything.

Each time you avoid discomfort, you stretch the timeline of change.

You trade short-term ease for long-term dysfunction.

You reinforce the very patterns you’re trying to grow out of.

The longer you enable it, the messier the pruning becomes.

THE WINDOW: Where This Behavior Shows Up In Others

When a company shifts its structure, pace, or expectations—people start responding in different ways:

Some will jump in. They ask questions, bring ideas, look for ways to improve what’s broken. You’ll see them volunteering for new responsibilities or helping others adjust. They don’t need perfect conditions to get on board.

Others start dragging their feet. They miss deadlines. Avoid accountability. Say things like, “Well, we’ve always done it this way.” They push back on updates and make every improvement feel like a chore.

Some get passive. They stop speaking up in meetings. They do the bare minimum and go quiet in one-on-ones. They seem checked out—but they’re often just overwhelmed and unsure where they fit.

Then there are the loud resistors. They roll their eyes when new processes are rolled out. They make side comments in group chats. They bond with others over shared complaints and start creating friction that spreads.

Some flip-flop. One day they’re all in, the next they’re negative and uncertain. They need frequent reassurance and if they don’t get it, they start filling in the blanks with fear or cynicism.

As a leader, you can’t treat all of this the same.

You need to know who’s truly misaligned and who just needs support.

Respond to fear with force, and you’ll lose the people worth keeping.

Coddle resistance, and you’ll keep the ones you should’ve let go.

The clearer you are on the behavior, the clearer you’ll be on what to do next.

THE MISSION: How These Behaviors Impact the Collective 

Leading through a rebuild isn’t about having all the answers.

It’s about having the courage to make the hard calls—and the clarity to know why you’re making them.

Raising the bar isn’t just about standards. It’s about defining what this company feels like moving forward.

An environment where people can trust the container they’re building in.

Where the work gets to be focused instead of chaotic.

Where teams move faster—because they’re not dragging the weight of tolerated dysfunction.

This isn’t about ego. Authority. Or being “right.”

It’s about making it easier for the people who are aligned to do their best work—together.

You didn’t come this far to build something average.

You came to build something that lasts and is worthy of the people giving their best to it.

1. Audit the current conditions. Pinpoint where expectations are being missed or where friction is slowing down momentum. Look at missed deadlines, sloppy handoffs, team tension, or repeated mistakes. Don’t generalize it, get specific.

2. Distinguish resistance from uncertainty. Some people are scared and need clarity. Others are unwilling and need to go. Your job is to identify the difference and act accordingly.

3. Reinforce through action, not just words. Don’t just talk about standards. Model them. Protect them. Enforce them consistently so the team sees they matter.

4. Document the pattern, not just the moment. If someone’s behavior is becoming a liability, don’t rely on memory. Track examples, missed steps, and conversations. Patterns—not isolated incidents—build the case for necessary action.

5. Make pruning part of the build. Letting someone go isn’t a detour, it’s part of making the environment healthier. Every time you remove misalignment, you’re making it easier for the right people to do better work.

Shedding is a natural part of growth.

Some people will stretch, adapt, and root deeper into what’s next. Others will move on—and that’s okay.

Both make space for what’s meant to take shape.