How a Founder & CEO Rebuilt His Mindset and His Team

Joe Simonds, co-founder of Salt Strong, America's largest saltwater fishing club, had already built a business helping thousands of families create lifelong memories on the water. While the business was a success, behind the scenes Joe was:

Battling persistent anxiety and internal pressure to perform
Feeling stuck despite strong business growth
Carrying hidden fears about his worth and identity as a leader
Frustrated by recurring communication breakdowns inside his team

That pressure didn’t just impact his health. It bled into how he led the business.

“There was this fear that I wasn’t worthy, that if Salt Strong didn’t grow, maybe I wasn’t enough.”

Even with a strong mission and rapid growth, Salt Strong hit a ceiling. Communication across the team felt misaligned. Joe felt stuck in cycles of proving and hiding.

And a lingering fear began to emerge:

“What if I’m the bottleneck?”

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THE TURNING POINT: FROM ANXIETY TO ALIGNMENT

Joe started working privately with SightShift™ to address what he felt was a leadership block. What unfolded was a journey through the wilderness to a personal transformation: facing fear, rediscovering identity, and ultimately, a reclaimed sense of purpose.

“I learned that anxiety is just fear of something that hasn’t happened yet. And the only way to beat it is to stop hiding and start facing it.”

Joe had done extensive work overcoming personal anxiety. With SightShift™, he took those lessons the last mile.

Identified the root causes of his anxiety, driven by performance and fear
Learned to confront his insecurities instead of hiding behind them
Reconnected with his purpose

Joe began shifting his mindset and anchoring his leadership in faith and purpose. It wasn't just about overcoming anxiety, it was about becoming the kind of leader his team envisioned to serve.

As Joe changed, so did his clarity. And with it came a realization:

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If this transformation helped him this much, what could it do for his team?

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THE TRANSFORMATION: BUILDING A CULTURE THAT MATCHED THE MISSION

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What began as a personal shift expanded into a full-team commitment. Joe and his co-founder (and brother), Luke, hired SightShift™ to help them transform the entire Salt Strong leadership team and culture.

That process included:

A comprehensive culture audit with the Culture Risk Report™
A plan for transforming their culture with the Growth Culture Health Check™
Integrating their values throughout the entire organization with the Figure That Culture Out™ program
Building systems for sustainable and scalable leadership development with the Leadership Operating System™

As a result, they adopted a shared vocabulary that aligned vision and execution. Joe stopped trying to be the loudest voice in the room and started casting vision with clarity that the team could rally behind.

“We went from everyone speaking a different language to moving in the same direction.”

As leaders embraced the language of transformation, they stopped misfiring in meetings and started moving in sync.

“Our meetings got shorter, decisions got faster, and for the first time, we were building something together, on purpose.”

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IMPACT & ROI: FROM PERSONAL BREAKTHROUGH TO TEAM MOMENTUM

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The ripple effects of Joe’s personal growth and team alignment have been exponential:

Revenue growth beyond $10M, with healthier operations and fewer distractions
Improved team cohesion, with leaders calling each other forward instead of playing politics
Clearer communication, with vision metaphors that unite rather than confuse
Deeper impact, both inside the company and in the 10,000+ stories of families catching fish and making memories

“It’s all about people. As our people grow, our business grows.”

Salt Strong didn’t just optimize strategy; it reshaped its culture to match its mission.

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For Joe, the biggest ROI isn’t just business metrics. It’s leading from peace, not pressure, building from focus, not fear, and watching his team and his family thrive in the clarity of it all.

“We only grow because our people do. The work we did with SightShift changed everything—for me, for my team, and for the people we serve.”

The scalability of your business starts with the scalability of your leaders. SightShift™ helps visionary founders and fast-growing teams move from stuck to aligned, with tools, data, and coaching that actually work.

We help you:

Identify and reduce hidden cultural risks
Equip your leaders with mindset tools that scale
Build clarity around vision, language, and decisions
Lead for impact, not validation

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Take the first step.

To accelerate the growth of your leaders, team, and business, visit www.sightshift.com/culture

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Listen to the full conversation

‍Enjoy the full interview with Joe Simonds. You can listen right here, or find the episode on your favorite podcast platform.

This episode is also available on Apple Podcast, YouTube and Podbean.

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Interested in more conversations like this?

‍Discover the full C-Suite series for more insights from leaders and changemakers.