If you’ve ever sat through a leadership offsite, you’ve probably seen this scene play out: The CEO kicks things off with a rallying cry about growth and innovation. A consultant walks everyone through a deck loaded with strategy maps, KPIs, and the latest management buzzwords. By the end of the day, there’s a shiny new plan, a list of initiatives, and maybe even a cool acronym. Everyone leaves fired up.
Fast forward six months. The plan is gathering dust, the same problems keep surfacing, and leaders are quietly wondering why all that effort didn’t move the needle. Here’s why: most organizations spend their energy solving for what they think they need instead of what actually matters.
The Mirage of “The Thing”
Organizations love to chase “The Thing” — the next tool, strategy, or structural fix that promises to solve everything. It’s tempting because it feels tangible. If only we had the right process. The right tech stack. The right org chart. Then we’d finally be aligned, productive, and high-performing.
But these fixes usually address symptoms, not causes. They’re like painting over a cracked wall without fixing the foundation. Sure, it looks better for a while. But the cracks come back — and they’re often worse.
From my decades of consulting and coaching, I’ve seen this pattern play out in three common ways:
1. More Structure When performance lags, leaders default to adding layers of rules, reporting, and oversight. The problem? You can’t mandate accountability into existence. True accountability comes from ownership, not oversight. More bureaucracy just slows decision-making and kills initiative.
2. New Programs Culture initiatives, innovation labs, diversity task forces — these are well-intentioned. But when they live in a silo, separate from the core business, they become theater.
3. Reorg Roulette When in doubt, shuffle the boxes on the org chart. Without a shift in how people relate and work together, all you’ve done is give everyone new titles and a lot of confusion.
What Organizations Really Need
Here’s the hard truth: organizations don’t need more stuff. They need alignment at the human level.
Culture isn’t a side project — it’s the operating system that everything else runs on. When that system is outdated or inconsistent, no amount of new tools or processes will make a lasting difference.
What does alignment look like in practice?
- Shared purpose: Everyone understands not just what the company is doing, but why.
- Clear agreements: Roles, responsibilities, and decision rights are lived and reinforced daily.
- Ownership mindset: People feel accountable because they care, not because they fear punishment.
- Trust and transparency: Leaders tell the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.
The Illusion of Easy Fixes
Why do organizations keep falling for the mirage of “The Thing”? Because it’s easier to buy a tool or launch a program than to confront the messy human dynamics underneath.
It’s easier to say, “We need a better performance management system” than to admit, “Our managers avoid tough conversations.”
It’s easier to create a diversity task force than to face the unconscious biases baked into hiring and promotion decisions.
It’s easier to roll out a new strategy than to acknowledge, “Our leadership team doesn’t trust each other enough to execute the current one.”
The problem isn’t ignorance. It’s courage. Leaders know, deep down, where the real work lies. But that work is personal, uncomfortable, and impossible to delegate.
The Shift That Changes Everything
When I work with executives, I start by flipping the question. Instead of asking, “What should we do?” we ask, “Who do we need to be?”
- Who do you need to be as a leader to earn your team’s trust?
- Who does your organization need to be to fulfill its mission?
- What beliefs, habits, and unspoken agreements need to change for that to happen?
Only after answering those questions do we look at tactics — because tactics without transformation are just noise.
The Payoff
When organizations stop chasing what they think they need and focus on who they need to be, everything changes:
- Decision-making speeds up because people are aligned at the core.
- Engagement rises because employees feel seen and valued.
- Results improve — not because of a new program, but because the old friction is gone.
It’s not magic. It’s the natural outcome of leading with intention instead of reaction.
The Takeaway
Before you roll out the next initiative, pause. Look beneath the surface. Ask what’s really driving the challenges you face.
Chances are, the answer isn’t a new strategy, tool, or org chart.
It’s you — and the culture you’re creating, moment by moment.
The hardest work is the most human. And it’s the only work that truly lasts.
With respect,
Ed Gurowitz
In the next installment we will look at …
“What Organizations Need That They Don’t Ask For?!”
About Edward M. Gurowitz, PhD.
A respected neuropsychologist, author, and consultant, Ed brings over 50 years of experience in personal and organizational transformation. He is trusted, engaged, and deeply insightful—with a rare ability to balance strategic vision with an awareness of the dark side of leadership and change.
Learn more about Ed on his iLumn8 Partner Page