Hypergrowth is exhilarating, but it can also push organizations to their limits. Few leaders understand this better than Q Hamirani, Chief People Officer at HighLevel, one of the fastest-growing remote-first SaaS platforms serving agencies and consultants worldwide. With over 1,600 employees across the globe and 1,000 new hires added in a single year, HighLevel offers a powerful example of how to scale quickly while preserving culture, strategy, and humanity. In episode 852 of the HRchat Podcast, I sat down with Q to unpack how he’s helping HighLevel build a durable, people-first culture that keeps the company aligned through rapid growth. Listen to the HRchat Podcast Culture as an Operating System One of the most compelling parts of our conversation was Q’s description of HighLevel’s culture as an “operating system.” Rather than relying on slogans or one-off initiatives, the company has intentionally built processes and rituals that help teams stay connected and coordinated across time zones. From ruthless prioritization frameworks to clearly defined decision-making pathways, HighLevel has created ways to cascade strategy effectively at scale. Regular all-hands meetings, team forums, and a monthly Founder’s Corner session help ensure that employees understand not just what the company is doing, but why—keeping the founder’s vision alive as the business grows. A New Era for People Strategy and Leadership Q brings a unique blend of startup grit and global operational expertise to his role. A trusted advisor to founders, boards, and accelerator programs like Techstars, he has held leadership positions at Airbnb, Paper, and now HighLevel. During our discussion, he reflected on how the role of the Chief People Officer (CPO) is changing in the age of AI and distributed teams. Today’s CPO must be more than a functional leader—they need to be a strategic operator, cultural architect, and innovation partner, helping organizations navigate complexity with agility and foresight. Hiring for Mission, Not Just Skills When it comes to hiring at scale, Q emphasized the importance of values-based interviews and storytelling. One standout example is HighLevel’s “skateboard-to-Ferrari” onboarding narrative – a way of communicating the founder’s intent and company evolution in a way that inspires new hires to contribute to the next phase of growth. It’s a simple but powerful technique that helps ensure mission alignment from day one. The Human Side of Hypergrowth Beyond frameworks and strategy, Q spoke openly about the personal practices that help him stay grounded amid the pressures of hypergrowth. He uses creativity, music, and transcendental meditation to maintain balance and empathy, and he credits parenthood with reshaping his leadership lens. These personal dimensions underscore an important truth: scaling successfully requires resilience and humility at the top. Lessons for HR and Business Leaders Whether you’re scaling a remote startup or professionalizing a late-stage rocket ship, Q’s insights offer practical guidance for anyone leading People functions in a fast-moving environment. Key lessons include: Treat culture as an operating system, not an afterthought. Design leadership rituals that make strategy tangible and alignment visible. Hire for mission alignment through values and narrative. Redefine the CPO role as both strategic and innovative. Invest in personal resilience—it’s essential to sustain high performance. As more organizations embrace remote work and AI reshapes how we collaborate, the CPO’s role as connector, translator, and cultural architect is more critical than ever.