Strategic Alignment Is Your Advantage, Not Speed

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The Day the Team Stopped Moving

I recall being invited to assist a mid-sized organisation that claimed they had a “speed problem.”

“Dr. Ike,” the CEO said during our first call, “our execution is too slow. People drag their feet. Projects stall. Meetings go in circles. We need more urgency.”

I’ve learned to listen carefully when a leader describes a challenge as a “people problem.”

It’s rarely about people.

During the online sessions, I observed how the leadership team interacted with each other.

What struck me wasn’t laziness, incompetence, or lack of motivation.

It was misalignment.

Everyone was pulling hard, just not in the same direction.

The strategy said one thing.

The processes reinforced each other.

The culture rewarded something entirely different.

At one point, I wrote on the whiteboard:

“You don’t have a speed problem.

You have an alignment problem.”

The room went quiet.

This is where the Burke–Litwin Model entered the discussion.

THE LEADERSHIP LESSON: The Burke–Litwin Truth

MBA programs love the Burke–Litwin Model because it explains one timeless leadership reality:

If just one of these 12 elements breaks down, performance slows.

If several misalignments occur, the entire organisation grinds to a halt.

The organisation I worked with wasn’t broken; it was simply operating with conflicting signals across these four layers:

1. External Environment

They were reacting to market changes instead of anticipating them.

2. Transformational Factors

– Leadership direction was unclear
– Mission drift was quietly happening
– Culture rewarded caution, not courage

3. Transactional Factors

– Systems rewarded speed, but processes required endless approvals
– Tasks were assigned, but roles weren’t clarified
– Performance management was inconsistent

4. Individual & Team Factors

– People cared deeply
– But they were confused
– And confusion kills momentum

The leader’s most significant risk is believing performance issues are about “effort.”

They are almost always about alignment.

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Ikechukwu’s Journal

If you enjoyed this week’s Leadership Pulse, all previous editions are available on Beehiiv, along with bonus insights, frameworks, and templates that you can apply immediately.

As you lead this week, remember:

You don’t always have to win the fight.

Sometimes, you can change the arena.

That’s how transformation begins, not in the noise of rivalry, but in the calm of clarity.

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Ikechukwu Okoh

Author of the Leadership Pulse

This week, paid subscribers get

1. THE MBA FRAMEWORK (SIMPLIFIED): The Burke–Litwin Model in 5 Minutes

2. THE RULERSHIP RESET: A four-step weekly alignment ritual I give every executive team

3. THE 12-Question Burke–Litwin Alignment Audit

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