🎯 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗺

After 20+ years leading teams, I've learned that the gap between a brilliant strategy and actual results isn't about the plan - it's about what happens after the last PowerPoint slide.

Here are the 5 execution traps I've seen derail even the most promising initiatives:

1️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻
When your maintenance team gets a different version of "the plan" than your leasing team, you're not running strategy, you're playing telephone. Include everyone in an overview of important concepts so that they can speak the same language and walk the same walk.

2️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗰𝘁
The moment senior leaders drop strategy like a memo and retreat to email land, frontline teams create their own priorities. I've learned (sometimes painfully) that your presence matters more than your presentation skills. Be there not only to reinforce the message, but to take the slings and arrows of disagreement to help refine your message.

3️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝗮𝗽
Ever launched a new initiative only to realize your teams lack the tools, training, or time to execute? Been there. Here's the golden rule: align your budget with your vision 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 you announce the vision. Otherwise, you're going to be catching up while you're on the fly.

4️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
A strategy that ignores how your people actually think and work will hit cultural quicksand every time. Success comes when you translate objectives into language that matches existing values, then evolve from there. Maintenance brains and software development brains aren't the same. You have to be able to be the translator in the middle to make sure things are on track. A recent maintenance software implementation went sideways when the translators (me among them) were left out of the conversation.

5️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗱
Without clear checkpoints and adjustment opportunities, your strategy becomes a wish list. Build short sprints, review early data, and pivot before momentum stalls. Be ready to take those pushbacks in the rollout back to refine and re-start

💡 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: We all love crafting the perfect plan, but the magic lives in the work we usually avoid - consistent messaging, visible engagement, realistic resourcing, cultural alignment, and agile updates.