Blog

From Below Group of Children Stacking Hands

I've watched an executive give an inspiring strategy roadshow speech, then say nothing three weeks later when it actually mattered.The speech is a real skill and most leaders can't do it. But strategy isn't decided there. It's decided in the meeting where priorities blur, the performance conversation that never happens, and the decision quietly pushed down the line.And people notice. Quickly.When leaders aren’t present in those everyday moments, delivery of a strategy starts to unravel. Teams lose confidence, behaviours drift, and culture slides back to the path of least resistance.Kouzes and Posner call this the essence of leadership credibility: people believe you when they see you follow through. John Kotter found the same - transformation stalls when leaders fail to sustain visible action. In my own master’s research, leaders described how inconsistency at the top fragmented execution. Nods of agreement in the room, but very different interpretations once people walked out the door.<h3>So why don’t leaders always step in?</h3>Often it’s fear of conflict, pressure to “keep things moving, low self confidence or the level of demand - being stretched so thin they default to silence. But leaving things unsaid doesn’t make them go away - it just signals inconsistency, and people fill the gap with their own interpretations.Execution rarely stalls because leaders stopped caring. It stalls because they stopped being visible at the moments that needed them. That's the work in <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/leadership" href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/leadership" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Leadership</a> — building an executive team that stays present through delivery, not just through the decision.I learned this lesson personally. Earlier in my career, I avoided a tough performance conversation with a team member whose work wasn’t hitting the mark. I told myself I was protecting the relationship, but really, I was afraid of a conversation I’d never had to have. What I was doing was eroding trust with the rest of the team, who could see the gap but also saw me doing nothing. When I finally had the conversation, respectfully but directly, the shift was immediate. The team leaned back in because they saw I was prepared to act, not just talk.Execution doesn’t live in off-site decks or keynote speeches. It lives in how leaders show up in the everyday: modelling the behaviours they expect.&nbsp;<h3>So what can leaders do differently today?</h3>- Notice behaviours that misalign with the strategy and call them in, respectfully. - Ask yourself where you can show up visibly this week to model execution. - Ask execution-focused questions, e.g., “What’s blocking progress?” or “How does this support our priority?” - Close the loop: when someone raises an issue, follow up and show what was done.Because executing strategy is fragile in the absence of leadership. It either breaks in the small moments - or comes alive through them.This is part of lever 1 (Leadership &amp; Trust) of the Strategy Execution by Design Model. <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model" href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model">See the full framework →</a>Not sure which of the seven conditions is holding your execution back? <a data-mce-href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/" href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/">Take the Strategy Execution Maturity Model Assessment →</a>Written by <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/about" href="https://rebeccareti.com/about">Rebecca Reti</a>, strategy and execution consultant working with boards and executive teams across Australia and New Zealand.<a data-mce-href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-changeleadership-activity-7370606810241695744-Ja-N?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAAAhmYsQBKppHDyfPTxqHXXgP5MmXRjB7WJs" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-changeleadership-activity-7370606810241695744-Ja-N?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAAAhmYsQBKppHDyfPTxqHXXgP5MmXRjB7WJs">Engage with this post on LinkedIn →</a>

Why leaders disappear after the strategy is signed off

A diverse group of professionals in a modern office celebrates success with a high-five

“Whose team are you really on?”I asked that question to a group of senior leaders and they looked puzzled. One finally said, “My team? Thats my direct reports.”And there it was.....The truth is, I see this all the time. Leaders who instinctively look down to their second team, not across to their peers. The executive table becomes a collection of portfolios, not a leadership team. Sounds harmless? It isn’t.Here’s what happens when peers aren’t your first team: &nbsp;- Decisions get made in silos, and strategy turns into horse-trading. &nbsp;- Everyone optimises for their patch instead of the whole business. &nbsp;- Consistency slips, execution fragments, and trust quietly erodes. &nbsp;- There is not one source of truth, each leader has their own agenda sending an inconsistent and disjointed message to the business.Patrick Lencioni calls this the first team mindset. When leaders see their peers as their true team, trade-offs get surfaced, decisions stick, and alignment cascades.<a data-mce-href="https://hbr.org/2009/05/why-teams-dont-work" href="https://hbr.org/2009/05/why-teams-dont-work">Harvard research</a> backs this up. When Richard Hackman and colleagues studied more than 120 senior teams, fewer than 10% of members agreed on who was actually on the team.And trust? That’s the glue. Without it, leaders avoid tough conversations or play for approval. With it, collaboration replaces rivalry and resources flow where they’re needed.But here’s the kicker: alignment isn’t built in a single off-site. It’s sustained through daily habits, peer coaching, open dashboards, and deliberately investing in the leadership team as a team.When a leadership team can't hold this, it's almost never a personality problem. It's what happens when nobody has agreed what the team is for. That's the work in <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/leadership" href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/leadership" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Leadership </a>— getting an executive team aligned enough that decisions survive the room they were made in.So let me ask you: Do you see your peers as your first team… or your competition?Because building a stronger leadership team isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s the foundation of effective strategy and culture. And once you’ve nailed it at the top table, you’re far better equipped to set up your second team for success.<a data-mce-href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_whose-team-are-you-really-on-i-asked-activity-7368790307158548480-l0Nd" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_whose-team-are-you-really-on-i-asked-activity-7368790307158548480-l0Nd">Engage with this post on LinkedIn →</a> This is part of lever 1 (Leadership &amp; Trust) of the Strategy Execution by Design Model. <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model" href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model">See the full framework →</a>Not sure which of the seven conditions is holding your execution back? <a data-mce-href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/" href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/">Take the Strategy Execution Maturity Model Assessment →</a>Written by <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/about" href="https://rebeccareti.com/about">Rebecca Reti</a>, strategy and execution consultant working with boards and executive teams across Australia and New Zealand.

Why your leadership team isn't really a team

Rebecca Reti Consulting

Rebecca Reti Consulting is a boutique strategy execution consultancy based in Brisbane, working with CEOs, boards, and executive teams across Australia and New Zealand. We help leaders build the conditions for effective execution through four service areas: Strategy and Planning, Execution and Delivery, Leadership and Culture, and Training Programs. Our proprietary Strategy Execution by Design (SEBD) framework bridges the gap between strategic intent and measurable outcomes.

Insights

Why leaders disappear after the strategy is signed off

Why your leadership team isn't really a team