Let’s get back in sync!
Did you start 2026 with clear priorities…only to notice your time and attention being pulled back into last year’s stuff?
Most leaders don’t struggle with setting direction.
They struggle with maintaining it once reality hits.
Strategic plans get approved, priorities get communicated, and then the organization keeps moving (in 13 slightly different directions).
Because an executive reset isn’t a one time thing.
It’s an ongoing discipline, like the rhythm you set as the conductor.
And when that rhythm fades, here’s what happens:
Decisions fall out of sync
Priorities multiply
Your team starts improvising (not the good kind of jazz)
And you find yourself back in the band, playing every instrument
When the plan met reality...
I remember when I led sales ops during a strategic pivot as our company was moving upmarket.
We’d done all the strategy work… pivoted our go-to-market plan, refined our ideal buyer profile, and announced the changes with all market-facing teams.
A few weeks in, I was sitting in a pipeline review meeting, watching our sales reps present their deals that had nothing to do with the new strategy. And I remember thinking… it’s only Q1, how have we already lost the plot?!
Now, I’ll be honest. I spent a not insignificant amount of time pointing fingers, convinced that the problem was the rogue (but very charismatic) sales team. Eventually, I had to take a breath (and touch grass) and admit that if people were misaligned, that was on me too. My job as the leader was not just to set the strategy, but also to create the conditions that would actually make it stick.
How we got realigned...
1. Clarify direction
In the face of competing priorities, what actually moves the business forward?
When strategy shifts, the first step is helping the team understand why. In our case, we were moving upmarket to focus on the larger (and more $trategic) deals that matched where the business was headed. Because unless the team sees how the new direction serves the bigger vision AND connects to their own incentives (yes, the WIIFM!), they’ll keep going back to what they’ve always done.
2. Acknowledge tradeoffs
What are you explicitly deprioritizing, even if it disappoints?
For us, that meant defining the types of opportunities that no longer fit, and letting go of deals that would pull us off track. The team needed to feel confident saying NO so we could fully commit to the $trategic YES. Once we made that shift, the pipeline began to reflect our strategy (and we stopped mistaking volume for value).
3. Identify your role
Where are you choosing to engage intentionally, rather than by default?
As the misalignment surfaced, I realized I needed to lead differently. I was spending too much time reacting in meetings, which felt like leadership but really was just mindless firefighting. So I made one change: I added a milestone in the sales process so reps could qualify their deals using a checklist. That gave them the structure they needed to make aligned decisions, and gave me time back on my calendar to proactively reinforce the strategy.
The leadership shift that followed...
That experience taught me an important leadership lesson (that I now apply with my clients every day): alignment is critical to execution discipline.
And execution is what drives business results. Even the best strategy falls flat when there isn’t a system in place to maintain it.
So, if it’s only February and you’re already feeling the old patterns creep back (in yourself or your team)…this might be your cue to recalibrate.
Something here striking a chord? Let’s talk...I'd love to hear what you're working through.
Hope Gong is an executive coach and the creator of the Leadership Operating System℠, a framework that enables leaders to build individual and organizational systems that drive breakthrough results.
