How This AI Company Trains for Agility While Doubling in Size Year Over Year

How Crusoe AI Scales Fast Without Breaking

When Justin Phalichanh joined Crusoe AI a year ago, the company had about 600 employees. Now, it has more than 1,700—and plans to double again this year. That kind of rapid growth strains any organization, but it is especially tough in the AI infrastructure space. Crusoe builds data centers and cloud services with sustainability at its core. The technical challenges are huge, but Phalichanh, director of leadership and talent development, says the human challenge is just as urgent.

“A lot of things we’re doing have never been done before at this scale,” he says. “When companies say you have to navigate ambiguity, we’re living it.”

Across more than 60 interviews with talent development leaders, one pattern stands out: AI can transform how work gets done, but emotional intelligence (EI) becomes even more important for connection, trust, and execution. The formula? AI + EI = ROI. At Crusoe, this formula is playing out through Phalichanh’s team. Their job is to help leaders build teams that can adapt—fast.

“Change is the only constant,” Phalichanh says. “At a high-growth company like ours, being adaptable week by week is a necessity.”

Mastering Feedback Enables Healthy Conflict in a Fast-Paced Environment

Phalichanh’s team runs a three-module Feedback Mastery program for all leaders. He starts by asking how many people have been at Crusoe for more than a year. Only a few hands go up. At six months or three months, many more hands go up. That simple exercise helps everyone see how quickly teams are integrating new members, projects, and expectations.

“To even get to that point, to reflect on giving and receiving feedback, you need to build trust and psychological safety,” Phalichanh explains.

“We’re moving so fast that conflict will come up,” he adds. “It’s expected. We want people to give feedback plainly and avoid prolonged conflict.”

After training leaders, he encourages them to practice feedback with their own teams. “When you practice with the team you work with every day, it makes a big impact on how you get work done.”

A Shared Situational Leadership Framework to Increase Agility

One way Crusoe builds agility during rapid growth is by using a universal leadership model: situational leadership. All managers are enrolled in the program.

“The situational leadership model provides a naming mechanism for leadership behaviors and a structure for important conversations,” Phalichanh says. “It drives better conversations.” This shared framework and vocabulary help leaders apply the concepts on the job.

L&D Has to Operate Like a Business Inside the Business

Phalichanh points out that learning and development (L&D) teams cannot assume everyone knows what they offer or why it matters. L&D must clearly and consistently communicate its value.

“I have to keep my stakeholders and employees informed of what we offer, what we do, and why it matters to your team,” he says. “When I frame it that way, it helps me do my work differently and more impactfully.”

This mindset came from his decade of L&D experience at a marketing organization. He learned that clarity, repetition, and timing are essential for influence. “To have influence, you have to demonstrate the value you bring.”

Buy-In for Talent Development Comes From Relationships

Crusoe employees are hungry for learning, but the biggest challenge is prioritization. When everything moves at 100 miles per hour, how do you show leaders the value of training?

For Phalichanh, the answer is relationships. HR business partners need to understand the offerings, and functional leaders need to see relevance. “Prioritize building the relationships,” he says. “Without connections and community, your L&D work will only go so far.”

Slow Down to Speed Up

The paradox of AI-era leadership is that speed often depends on slowing down at the right moments. Phalichanh puts it simply: “If I were coaching myself, I’d say it’s more important to slow down, to speed up.”

That may be the core lesson from Crusoe’s approach. AI-era ROI does not come from AI alone. It comes from pairing AI with emotional intelligence, so teams can move quickly yet purposefully—and avoid letting speed become chaos.