What?

Scaling an engineering org sounds exciting: headcount doubles, feature velocity increases, stakeholders cheer. But behind the scenes? It’s more like trying to stay balanced while everything is moving fast and unpredictable.

Here’s what I’ve learned the hard way: Scaling isn’t just about more people. It’s about more purpose, more alignment, and more human engineering.

1. Hire Slowly, Coach Relentlessly

“If you hire too fast, you’ll spend 3x more time fixing what you broke.”

It’s tempting to hire in bulk, fill seats, and go fast. But every wrong hire chips away at your culture. Every unclear hire adds confusion.

What worked:

• A culture manual written by the team, not just leaders : We worked together to define what our team culture actually meant, instead of top-down rules

• Behavioral interviews tied to real values: Interviews focused on how candidates showed up in real situations, not just what they said

• Fast feedback loops right after onboarding: We checked in after the first few weeks to make sure onboarding made sense and wasn't just info-dumping

2. You Can Add Process Without Killing Momentum

Scaling doesn’t mean you slow down. It means you ship with clarity.

Keep it lightweight:

• RFCs for big changes

• Async design reviews

• Engineering playbooks (yes, I’ve got a few)

If people resist process, ask what fear they’re trying to protect ?

3. Delegate Trust, Not Tasks

Middle managers aren’t middle anything. They’re the core of autonomy.

What helped us:

• ICs owning real initiatives like onboarding revamps

• Open weekly sessions: "What's Not Working?"

• Clear expectations and autonomy in ownership areas

• Regular async updates instead of micromanaging

• Small leadership circles for peer support and unblocking

4. Protect Builders from the Noise

Your job is to make space. Cut the chaos. Translate ambiguity.

• Shield the team from exec chaos

• Give context, not confusion

• Let builders stay in flow

5. Don’t Lose the Story

When you grow, people forget why they’re even building.

Keep it real:

• Share customer stories often

• Connect metrics to human outcomes

• Celebrate specifically, not generically

Scaling doesn’t kill soul. Neglect does.

Something Random Before You Go: Ever wondered why keyboards aren't alphabetical? The QWERTY layout was actually designed in the 1870s to slow down typists on early typewriters because the keys would jam if you typed too fast.

Till next time,

HumanCTO Weekly