When you have to execute a strategy you don’t believe in
Your commitment to excellence begins here
If you’re already following me on Instagram, you know exactly why this issue is landing in your inbox 24 hours later than planned. If you haven’t connected with me there yet, now’s the perfect time to start. And for those who prefer LinkedIn, you can follow me there as well - just click here to stay in the loop.
***
There is a moment in almost every senior leader’s career that never appears in leadership books, rarely shows up in case studies, and is almost never discussed openly in leadership rooms - the moment when you are asked to execute a strategy you do not agree with.
Not because you don’t understand it. Not because you lack context. But because, deep inside, you know something is off.
Sometimes it is a market move that feels rushed. Sometimes a reorganisation that ignores cultural (or any other) reality. Sometimes a growth strategy that looks brilliant on slides and deeply fragile in execution. And sometimes, most painfully, it is a people decision that contradicts your own leadership values.
And yet - the expectation is clear. You are a leader. You are part of the executive system. The decision has been made. Your role now is to execute.
This is where leadership becomes complicated. Not operationally. Ethically.
The silent tension no one names
In my work with senior leaders, this is one of the most frequent - and least spoken - dilemmas.
Because on paper, strategy execution is supposed to be straightforward:
Align.
Communicate.
Mobilise.
Deliver.
But in reality, strategy execution often happens in environments where:
decisions are political,
information is incomplete,
power dynamics are real,
and not every voice carries equal weight.
According to McKinsey, only 30% of strategic initiatives are successfully executed. It is because some strategies are wrong - but mostly, even though the strategies are good, the execution is a failure, because leaders are misaligned, unconvinced, or quietly resistant.
What I am noticing is rarely discussed is that resistance at senior levels is often not incompetence. It is conscience.
The moment of internal fracture
I once worked
