A “hybrid” surface growth mode is studied by in situ scanning tunneling microscopy and ex situ synchrotron X‐ray diffraction. Heteroepitaxial growth of MnSb(0001) on GaAs(111) leads to the direct formation of islands, but the islands themselves grow in a local layer‐by‐layer fashion, having low aspect ratio and flat tops. Strained and relaxed islands co‐exist prior to island coalescence, confirming that dislocation formation occurs locally over a range of average film thicknesses.