Sep 21, 2026 · 22 min · 8 segments
Is growth slowing your organization down? In this episode of the Guerrilla HR podcast, Becky sits down with Lilith Christiansen. Lilith is a growth alignment architect, founder of…
Lilith ChristensenGuest
Becky DrozdzHost
So one of the things you also talk about is that when you are in a growth situation, that can actually make it harder to get things done.
Why does that happen? So as people are growing or maybe it's like we just need more bodies to do the work, that's not necessarily the right answer.
Well, it's sort of like when you start adding people into the mix, like everyone is going to have their slightly different either take on a situation or way that they're going to approach that problem.
necessarily work for 60, you know, kind of quietly starts to break down because you have more and more different ways that processes are happening or decisions are taking place.
And so as you're growing, and you're adding people to the mix to get more work done, it can proliferate kind of little tiny problems all across the board.
So that's when I think it's necessary to, like, again, bring people back together, you know, have a consistent level set on priorities, goals, approaches, and continue to communicate that on a regular basis.
And then as everybody gets focused on their one thing, it's that reminder of what are we going towards?
And when people start to stray, as you said earlier, it's not for bad intention.
And they may be trying to solve the problem that's right in front of them.
But kind of as a result of that, aren't necessarily thinking about what that bigger picture is or that that longer term that everybody was working towards.
So when we talk about the people versus some of the process and the things that people are trying to fix, how can leaders work to make sure that they're looking at the right things? Is it a people problem? Is it a structure problem?
So when I... think about those two like people like maybe you're easily described as like those individuals in the roles.
And I think you really need to start with structure first because you can have the right people with amazing skills and passion for the business.
But if they're not executing a role that's clearly defined, then no matter what their talents are, it's still going to create a misalignment.
So I think you have to start with the structure around being clear on decision rights and who's doing what, and then matching the people so that they have both the right skills to be executing in that role and the right passion and kind of alignment to the mission of what that role is asking of them.
Yeah, that also sounds so similar to my work in the comp space where I spend a lot of time talking about the responsibilities, the duties, essential functions, basic requirements.
So one of the things you also talk about is that when you are in a growth situation, that can actually make it harder to get things done.
Why does that happen? So as people are growing or maybe it's like we just need more bodies to do the work, that's not necessarily the right answer.
Well, it's sort of like when you start adding people into the mix, like everyone is going to have their slightly different either take on a situation or way that they're going to approach that problem.
necessarily work for 60, you know, kind of quietly starts to break down because you have more and more different ways that processes are happening or decisions are taking place.
And so as you're growing, and you're adding people to the mix to get more work done, it can proliferate kind of little tiny problems all across the board.
So that's when I think it's necessary to, like, again, bring people back together, you know, have a consistent level set on priorities, goals, approaches, and continue to communicate that on a regular basis.
And then as everybody gets focused on their one thing, it's that reminder of what are we going towards?
And when people start to stray, as you said earlier, it's not for bad intention.
And they may be trying to solve the problem that's right in front of them.
But kind of as a result of that, aren't necessarily thinking about what that bigger picture is or that that longer term that everybody was working towards.
So when we talk about the people versus some of the process and the things that people are trying to fix, how can leaders work to make sure that they're looking at the right things? Is it a people problem? Is it a structure problem?
So when I... think about those two like people like maybe you're easily described as like those individuals in the roles.
And I think you really need to start with structure first because you can have the right people with amazing skills and passion for the business.
But if they're not executing a role that's clearly defined, then no matter what their talents are, it's still going to create a misalignment.
So I think you have to start with the structure around being clear on decision rights and who's doing what, and then matching the people so that they have both the right skills to be executing in that role and the right passion and kind of alignment to the mission of what that role is asking of them.
Yeah, that also sounds so similar to my work in the comp space where I spend a lot of time talking about the responsibilities, the duties, essential functions, basic requirements.
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