You’re under constant pressure to deliver results fast – you’ve got the strategy, the vision and the team, but the outcomes just aren’t lining up as expected. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many CEOs unknowingly make mistakes that quietly sabotage their results.
Here are five common traps – and how you can fix them to accelerate your organization’s strategy delivery.
There’s no alignment between strategy and execution
Let’s be honest, as CEOs, we love the planning stage. It’s energizing to set the vision, map out the goals and pass the strategy to our teams so we can move on to the next big thing. But far too often, that strategy isn’t delivered as envisioned – and rarely on time.
The problem is that most advice on how to ‘close the strategy-to-execution gap’ focuses on fixing project execution, but by then, it’s too late.
The fix:
Your strategy needs to live and breathe in everything your teams do. Every project, task and decision must directly tie back to your desired business outcomes.
To set your strategy up for success, align your people, processes and metrics with your business goals from the start. This is how you drive maximum return on investment – the ultimate focus for any CEO. Make it clear that execution and strategy are one and the same, so your teams stay focused on what really moves the needle.
Misaligned systems block strategy execution
In many organizations, strategy, budgeting, performance measurement and incentives don’t work together, and that’s a huge problem. These systems operate in silos, creating misalignment that makes strategy execution difficult. You can’t close the gap between strategy and execution because your operating model reinforces the gap.
What gets measured gets done, but too often, the metrics used to evaluate teams don’t reflect the business outcomes they should be driving.
One of our recent clients had a solid process for defining strategy, but budgeting, performance evaluation and department funding were disconnected from each other. Department heads weren’t incentivized to deliver on strategic goals – they were rewarded for hitting siloed department targets instead.
As a result, the organization was pulling in different directions, rather than working toward a unified objective.
The fix:
Start by ensuring that project budgets reflect your strategic priorities so that resources are focused on the initiatives that matter most. Then, tie employee performance metrics and incentives directly to those priorities.
When you measure people based on how they contribute to strategic outcomes, the entire organization is moving in the same high-impact direction. Aligning strategy, budgeting, performance and incentives creates a cohesive system that drives success.
You’re not asking the right questions
What gets measured gets done, but too often the metrics used to evaluate teams don’t reflect the business outcomes they should be driving.
For example, many project managers are hired for their certifications, which sends the message that their value lies in credentials. As a result, they apply everything they’ve learned to every project, slowing projects down while they become perfectionists of process instead of drivers of real business value.
When everything is important, nothing is important. And not everything is as urgent as it seems.
This leaves frustrated executives complaining about missed timelines or budgets because they are easy to measure. But the deeper issue lies in missed market opportunities, dissatisfied customers or products lacking the key features that drive real business outcomes.
Unfortunately, the people responsible for delivering these projects aren’t usually taught to measure success beyond time, scope and cost, or that there are even better metrics for business-focused results.
The fix:
Start asking better questions like, “Are we achieving the business outcomes we expected?” Set your projects up for success from the start by making the criteria crystal clear – ask yourself, “How will we know this worked?” Then, teach your delivery leaders to shift their focus from outputs to outcomes, so they start thinking like business leaders.
We helped a Fortune 500 client make this shift by implementing outcome-based metrics in three key areas: project alignment to strategic priorities, resource utilization for key initiatives and the achievement of business outcomes.
Within a year, project alignment jumped from 24–68 percent, resource utilization improved from 36–81 percent and projects hitting their intended outcomes rose from 18–75 percent.
By asking the right questions, they saw significant gains in focus, productivity and business impact.
You’re not prioritizing what really drives growth
I get it, everything feels urgent and important, but here lies the problem. When everything is important, nothing is important. And not everything is as urgent as it seems.
We often see CEOs pulled in too many directions, chasing too many goals and getting nowhere fast. Without clear priorities, you’re just treading water. And if you’re treading water, your teams are likely drowning in indecision, constant task-switching and confusion about what truly deserves their focus.
The fix:
Focus on the top few priorities that will drive growth and make sure your team stays locked in on those until they’re done. Everything else? It can wait until your team has the capacity to handle it effectively.
One client we worked with was able to increase their project throughput five times in a year just by getting clear on priorities and only starting work when they had the resources to do it right. Prioritization is your best defense against the chaos of busywork. Teach your team to identify their ‘worth-it factor’ activities – the high-impact work that actually moves the needle for your business.
You’re ignoring culture, and it’s fueling change resistance
Many CEOs believe that employees are naturally resistant to change, but that’s a myth. The real issue isn’t the change itself, it’s how the change is being communicated and implemented. People don’t resist change, they resist having change forced on them.
When culture doesn’t align with strategy, teams may resist or disengage, going through the motions without truly embracing the change. I’ve seen too many CEOs get so focused on strategy and operations that they ignore the human element – culture. When employees don’t understand why changes are happening or how it affects them, resistance builds and progress stalls.
The fix:
To overcome change resistance, build a culture of open, consistent communication. Start by clearly explaining why the change is necessary and how it supports the broader business strategy. Get your teams involved early by seeking their input during the planning phase. This gives them a sense of ownership in the process and makes them more invested in the outcome.
One client of ours significantly reduced resistance by involving employees in workshops and focus groups to gather feedback about upcoming changes. By the time the change was rolled out, teams were already on board because they felt heard and valued. To drive real change, align your culture with your strategy and ensure that change management becomes a core leadership skill throughout the organization.
None of these mistakes are made intentionally, but they can quietly derail your strategy and stall your organization’s progress. The good news? Once you’re aware of them, they can be fixed, just like in the examples above.
To see results, you’ll need to fully align your people, systems and processes to work together in one complete operating model that we refer to as an IMPACT Engine. These aren’t just quick fixes – they are strategic shifts that will drive lasting impact and accelerate your organization’s success.
