The Hidden Cost of Growth: What Expedition Leaders Know About Culture

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-23

### The Unpredictable Reality of Business Erik Vermeulen, a behavioural strategist who's led expeditions through some of the world's toughest environments, sat down with Tabish Ali to talk about something most business leaders don't want to admit: uncertainty is the only constant. After 20+ years advising organisations on culture and leadership, Erik has a unique perspective that combines boardroom strategy with the raw reality of leading teams through deserts and up mountains. "We tend to mask the uncertainty of life and business through rituals, routines, and structures," Erik explains. "But we have no certainty about whether we'll be around tomorrow to meet our sales targets." That's a sobering thought, isn't it? Yet it's exactly why adventure—any undertaking where the outcome is uncertain—is such a powerful lens for leadership. ### What Really Separates Great Teams from Good Ones According to Erik, two things distinguish genuinely high-performing teams from groups of talented individuals: - **Culture**: The unwritten rules. What's accepted? What isn't? Great teams are crystal clear about the behaviours that move them forward versus those that hold them back. - **Clear boundaries**: Great teams know where they start and where they end. They set a goal, follow the process, achieve it, and then reset. They have a definite beginning and end before tackling the next challenge. > "Great teams have a beginning and a very definite end to their teamwork before they reset and tackle the next challenge." – Erik Vermeulen ### Why Growth Dilutes Culture (And What to Do About It) Every organisation has a growth metric—bigger, better, more sales. But Erik warns that growth is where your culture problem starts. He uses a simple metaphor: cordial. The glass is your structure. The cordial is your culture. When you add more water (growth), the taste gets weaker. The original flavour—what made you distinctive—gets diluted. So what should leaders watch for as they scale? - **Unwritten rules getting lost**: As new people join, the informal norms that made the team special can fade. - **Process over people**: Systems become more important than the human connections that drive performance. - **Complacency**: Teams that work together year after year without resetting can lose their edge. ### Leading Through Uncertainty Erik's expedition experience taught him that uncertainty isn't something to fear—it's something to embrace. When you're crossing a desert or climbing a mountain, you can't control the weather or the terrain. You can only control how you respond. The same goes for business. Leaders who acknowledge uncertainty and adapt are the ones who thrive. Those who cling to false certainty often get left behind. ### The Takeaway Growth is great. But if you're not careful, it can erode the very culture that got you there. Keep an eye on those unwritten rules. Make sure your teams have clear beginnings and ends. And remember: the best leaders don't pretend uncertainty doesn't exist—they plan for it. Want to hear more from Erik Vermeulen? Check out his work with Ridgeline Consulting.