Strategy Execution Gap: 3 Leadership Steps to Close It

It Is Important to Close the Strategy Execution Gap
Across industries, too many strategies look compelling on paper yet crumble in execution. Executives invest days — sometimes weeks — crafting a clear direction in executive strategy retreats, only to watch their plans stall once they collide with the day-to-day realities of how work gets done. This breakdown is not a mystery. Project postmortem data consistently shows that execution fails less because of flawed strategy and more because organizations lack the clarity, alignment, and accountability needed to turn intent into action.

The strategy execution gap occurs when promising plans encounter ambiguous priorities, misaligned incentives, and inconsistent leadership behavior. In our own action learning leadership development work, we see the same pattern: execution becomes achievable only when leaders design an environment where follow-through is unavoidable.

Research Reinforces the Stakes
Strategic clarity without operational alignment is a short-lived advantage.

• A global survey of nearly 600 senior executives conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that 88% consider the ability to execute strategy “very important” or “essential” to organizational success — a near-unanimous acknowledgment that execution is not optional.
• Boston Consulting Group analysis revealed that more than half of the Fortune 500 companies from the year 2000 have since gone bankrupt, been acquired, or ceased operations altogether. While disruptive market forces played a role, many of these organizations struggled to adapt their strategies and execute with the speed and rigor required to remain competitive. 

The core question becomes unavoidable: Is your strategy designed — and supported — for long-term success?

It Is Difficult to Close the Strategy Execution Gap
Successful and consistent strategy execution across an organization is easier said than done.  And not surprisingly, companies that struggle to close the strategy execution gap report weaker performance.

• 61% acknowledged that their firms struggle to implement strategies.
• Just 56% of strategic initiatives have been successfully implemented.
• Only 41% of respondents say their companies provide sufficiently skilled personnel to implement high priority strategic initiatives.

3 Steps to Close the Strategy Execution Gap
If you want to close the strategy execution gap, follow these three field-tested leadership steps.

1. 1. Create Enough Strategic Clarity
      Our organizational alignment research found that strategic clarity accounts for 31% of the difference between high and low performing organizations in terms of revenue growth, profitability, customer loyalty, leadership effectiveness, and employee engagement.  You will know you have enough strategic clarity to begin to close the strategy execution gap when those who are responsible for creating, leading, and executing the strategy:
      • • Fully understand where you are headed and what actions to take.
        • Believe the strategy will lead to successful personal and organizational outcomes.
        • Commit to the strategy because it makes sense for your unique situation.
   2. Double Down On Effective Strategy Translation and Engagement
      After achieving alignment at the leadership level, the real work begins — engaging the rest of the organization in ways that make the strategy both understood and actionable. Strategic buy-in requires far more than polished strategy communication plans or slide decks. It demands a deliberate, structured process for translating the strategy into goals, behaviors, and decisions that matter to the frontline.

      Most organizations rely on a predictable cascade: the C-Suite communicates strategic imperatives to senior leaders, who repeat the process with their teams. While cascading is necessary, it is rarely sufficient unless it includes rigorous two-way constructive debate. The frontline often sees execution risks long before executives do, and unless those insights are captured and incorporated, strategies remain aspirational rather than operational.

      That’s why investing real time — not symbolic time — in strategy translation is what makes all the difference. To create clarity, expose misalignment early, and build ownership where it matters most, stakeholders at every level should be guided to:

      • Interpret the strategy through the lens of their roles.
      • Convert it into concrete goals.
      • Identify obstacles that could derail execution.
      • Articulate the cultural expectations required to support it.

   3. Empower Employees to Implement and Hold Them Accountable
      If you want to improve your odds of executing strategy, micromanagement is the wrong lever. High performing teams close the strategy execution gap not by tightening control but by empowering people to take ownership of their piece of the work — and then holding them to clear, shared standards.

      Teams that excel at strategy execution create conditions where employees understand exactly how they contribute to enterprise priorities and have the authority and support to deliver results. Leaders play a critical role here. Their job is to create strategic guardrails, clear expectations, and a consistent rhythm of accountability that keeps the organization aligned without stifling initiative.

      In practice, empowering employees to execute strategy well means focusing leadership time on the levers that truly matter:

      • Providing strategic oversight to ensure teams stay aligned with the broader direction.
      • Influencing high-level stakeholders to remove friction that teams cannot resolve on their own.
      • Establishing strategy success metrics that are measurable, transparent, and tied to outcomes rather than activity.
      • Sticking to strategic priorities instead of allowing urgent distractions to dilute focus.
      • Monitoring progress through regular, evidence-based check-ins rather than ad hoc updates.
      • Allocating resources in ways that reinforce priorities rather than legacy preferences.
      • Investing in the capabilities required to deliver the strategy at full strength.
      • Responding to change quickly and decisively when market conditions shift.

The Bottom Line
Closing the strategy execution gap is less about drafting the perfect strategy and more about embedding execution into the organizational DNA by actively involving employees in strategy design and implementation.  Are your leaders ensuring that strategy execution becomes less of a hope and more of a habit — a disciplined, measurable path from strategic vision to strategic achievement?

To learn more about successful strategy execution, download 3 Big Mistakes to Avoid When Cascading Your Corporate Strategy