Ambiguity vs. Structure: Finding the Balance in Hypergrowth
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
At the beginning of the week, I was in New Orleans to work with the executive team of a hypergrowth company at their annual retreat.
They were smart, respectful, and deeply values-driven. What stood out wasn’t just that their values were written down, it was that they were lived in the way they treated each other. Their humility was palpable - and refreshing!
One theme kept surfacing: the tension between ambiguity and structure. Some leaders pushed for more processes and protocols to create clarity. Others, including the CEO, encouraged the team to lean into the unknown, reminding them: you can’t know an answer until there’s enough data to know.
The real question became: Do we make decisions based on individual comfort, or on what best serves the growth of the business? We spent time unpacking that tension, balancing what helps people feel secure with what accelerates the company forward.
Minding the Ambiguity Gap
This is one of those timeless human poles: security vs. exploration, clarity vs. creativity.
Too much structure can slow growth, calcify decision-making, and choke innovation
Too little structure can feel chaotic, leave people unmoored, and burn energy in misalignment
Individually, we all sit at different points along this spectrum. But at the organizational level, the real question isn’t “what feels comfortable for me?” It is “what benefits the shared goal of growing the business?”
Why Balance Matters
Teams that thrive through growth don’t choose ambiguity or structure, they learn to flex between them. That means:
Creating just enough scaffolding for people to feel secure and aligned
Leaving enough white space for exploration and learning
Naming the tension openly so it doesn’t become a silent source of frustration
The balance point isn’t fixed. It shifts as the company grows. Greiner’s classic Growth Model (HBR, 1972) shows that each stage of growth introduces new crises that require greater structure. Complementing this, Sutton & Rao’s Scaling Up Excellence (2014) highlights how successful companies progressively add process without choking innovation.
“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”
What Happens When You Get It Wrong
Over-structured teams become rigid and slow to adapt
Under-structured teams spin in circles and duplicate work
Misalignment quietly drains energy, even from high performers
Early-stage teams thrive in ambiguity and scaling teams need more structure. The art of leadership is knowing when to shift gears, and most importantly, how to hold both.
The Groops Take
At Groops, we see this paradox everywhere in hypergrowth companies. The best leaders don’t ask “Which is better?” They ask:
Where does my team need clarity right now?
Where does my team need freedom?
How do we stay intentional about both?
Something to Try: The Ambiguity Audit
Name it: Where are we craving more clarity right now?
Flip it: Where might structure be slowing us down?
Prioritize: Which matters most for our shared goals this quarter?
Balance: What’s one process we’ll tighten, and one space we’ll leave open?
These conversations surface the invisible tensions growth creates and transform them into alignment and momentum.
Ready to Find Your Balance?
At Groops, we bring psychology, coaching, and AI-powered insights to help leaders navigate these exact kinds of tensions that come with hypergrowth. Because growth isn’t just about moving fast - it’s about moving effectively, and moving together.