Organizations struggle with execution at different levels, starting with strategy.
It’s not because they lack ideas or ambition but because they fall for these persistent myths.
They lead to misalignment, poor decision-making, and ultimately, failure.
Based on my expertise in strategy, risk, and execution, here are the biggest myths that mess it up for you – and what to do instead.
Myth #1: Execution is About Sticking to the Plan
The Reality: Organizations often think execution is about following a predefined roadmap, but the truth is strategy is adaptive. Strict adherence to a plan ignores the realities of changing markets, risks, and emerging opportunities.
What to Do Instead:
- Treat execution of strategy, a project or a meeting as a dynamic process rather than a fixed agenda.
- Build mechanisms for real-time feedback so you can course-correct as you go along.
- Align execution with risk management and change management, ensuring that teams have the agility and capacity to respond as conditions change.
Myth #2: Execution Fails Because of Poor Strategy
The Reality: Many companies assume that when execution fails, the strategy must have been flawed. In reality, the issue is often misalignment between strategy, operations, and leadership behaviors. The right strategy can still fail if people, processes, and systems don’t work together.
What to Do Instead:
- Ensure that leadership behaviours reinforce the strategy (e.g., don’t claim “innovation” is the priority while rewarding risk-avoidance).
- Align operational capabilities (technology, processes, governance) with the strategic intent.
- Define clear outcomes and criteria for success so teams know what execution should actually deliver.
Myth #3: More KPIs and Dashboards Will Fix Execution Problems
The Reality: Many leaders believe that measuring more things will improve execution. But tracking vanity metrics, lagging indicators, or overwhelming dashboards doesn’t create execution discipline – it creates analysis paralysis.
What to Do Instead:
- Define a few critical metrics that reflect execution outcomes and impact, not just activity.
- Move beyond lagging indicators (financials, productivity) and track leading indicators (risk readiness, decision-making speed, adaptability).
- Make sure metrics are actionable, meaning they drive decisions – not just reporting.
Myth #4: Strategy Execution is Just a Leadership Problem
The Reality: While leadership is crucial, execution is an organizational capability, not a C-suite task. If execution only happens at the top, it means middle management and frontline teams lack the tools, accountability, or clarity to deliver specific outcomes and results.
What to Do Instead:
- Decentralize execution authority – leaders should set direction, but managers and teams need ownership of execution.
- Invest in competence, capacity, and will across all levels of the organization to ensure people are not only aware of the strategy but empowered to act.
- Create clear and adaptable execution pathways that align strategic intent with real-world decision-making at every level.
Myth #5: Execution is About Speed – Faster is Always Better
The Reality: Many organizations rush execution, assuming that speed equals success. But fast, poorly thought-out execution leads to wasted resources, project failures, and increased risk. Execution needs to be deliberate and focused, not just fast.
What to Do Instead:
- Balance speed with precision – move fast where it matters, but ensure complex initiatives have proper governance.
- Build risk-aware decision-making into execution so that agility and capacity don’t lead to reckless action.
- Avoid knee-jerk reactions – execution should be about intentional adjustments, not chaotic pivots.
Myth #6: Risk Management Slows Down Execution
The Reality: Many organizations see risk management as a barrier to execution, but in truth, ignoring risk is what slows organizations down. When leaders dismiss risk or assume they’ve got it mentally covered, they invite disruptions, failures, and costly mistakes.
What to Do Instead:
- Treat risk as a capability, not a compliance or safety function.
- Identify and address execution risks proactively, rather than reacting when things go wrong.
- Develop a culture where people see risk as an enabler of better decision-making, not an obstacle to execution.
Bottom Line: Execution is About Alignment, Agility, Capacity & Risk-Resilience
Most organizations don’t fail in execution because they lack strategy – they fail because they fall for these myths.
Execution isn’t about rigid plans, excessive measurement, or blind speed. It’s about:
✔ Aligning strategy, operations, and leadership behaviors
✔ Creating agility and capacity within a structured framework
✔ Embedding risk management into execution, not treating it as a separate function
By dismantling these myths, leaders can stop firefighting and start executing with confidence, clarity, and resilience.
If you want to change all that . . .
🚀 For Operational Managers and Leaders – click here. Mastering Real-World Operational Risk Management.
🚀 For Business Leaders – click here – Risk Resilient Strategic Leadership
🚀 For Senior Leaders – click here. The Executive Mastermind – Future-Proofing Your Organization
Connect with me directly or email me at: Dragica@uvidi.ca
