Scaling a company is hard. Scaling a company without losing its culture is even harder.

Hanna Smith is the Chief People Officer at Tillo, a fast-growing global fintech company, where she leads people strategy, talent development, culture, and organizational growth. With more than two decades of experience in HR and people leadership, Hanna has helped startups and scale-ups build high-performing teams while maintaining strong employee engagement and connection.

In this episode, Hanna shares her journey into people leadership, lessons learned from building cultures in high-growth organizations, and why simplicity, communication, and manager development are essential for sustainable success. She also discusses employee engagement, performance management, psychological safety, and the challenges of preserving culture during rapid growth and private equity investment.

Key Takeaways:

● Building high-performance cultures starts with clarity: Employees perform best when expectations, success metrics, and company values are clearly defined.

● Great managers are culture multipliers: Investing in leadership and management development has a direct impact on employee engagement and business performance.

● Simplicity drives organizational effectiveness: Reducing unnecessary complexity helps teams move faster, make better decisions, and stay aligned.

● Psychological safety enables better performance: Teams thrive when people feel comfortable speaking up, challenging ideas, and providing honest feedback.

● Culture must evolve without losing authenticity: As companies scale, leaders must intentionally protect the values and behaviors that make the organization unique.

Connect with Hanna:

Website:  https://www.tillo.com/

Connect with Robert:

Website:   https://www.truecolorsintl.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/483774/ 

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/true-colors-international/

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecolorsintl/