Archive note: This essay was originally published in January 2023. References to Leverage, its culture, and open roles describe the company at that time.

Defining a company culture is hard, but it is a topic raised by almost every candidate. At Leverage, we were focused on building a championship team and a culture that could foster business success and employee happiness. As the team wrapped up year-end reviews and the company grew, we found a pattern of three characteristics that defined every person at Leverage.

For context, we had six principles that leadership embodied and reinforced in our decisions, praise, and feedback. We hired people who embodied those principles while bringing their own perspectives and sense of self.

Building a championship team is a requirement for succeeding at the highest levels. We borrowed from examples including professional sports teams and military special forces. These groups find the best, surround them with the best, and push one another to improve daily—all while working from clear objectives that require the team to self-organize and execute.

Extreme Ownership

Nothing significant can be built without extreme ownership by its creators. Every team member at Leverage took personal responsibility and pride in their work and its role in delivering value to customers. That was table stakes. We believed we were building the best products because of our obsession with the problem and the people we were solving it for.

Proactive Support

Building a company is a team sport. Like any championship team, it requires each member to look beyond their own success to the growth and success of others.

One team member’s success directly affects everyone else’s. We pushed one another, quickly called fouls, and created space for each other to achieve goals and grow. It is easy for someone to put their head down in a workflow and forget the bigger picture, so proactive support must be present from the beginning. Without it, a cohesive team will never form.

Rapid, Precise Accuracy

Precision and accuracy are often confused, but they represent different outcomes:

  1. Precision is the ability to hit the same target repeatedly.
  2. Accuracy is the ability to hit the desired target.

When there is rapid, precise accuracy, the result is being consistently right. That is not easy, but it was the final trait we considered necessary for success at Leverage. We thrived on recruiting the best and building a championship team that would continue to sharpen every member.

The culture at Leverage continued to evolve, but the goal remained the same: build a championship team as we scaled.