The conference room falls silent as the presentation concludes. The leadership team exchanges satisfied glances over their transformation manifesto. They’ve ticked all the boxes: bold vision, compelling case for change, clear roadmap. Their language is impeccable—agile, innovative, future-ready. The deck is polished to perfection.

There’s just one significant oversight: no one has considered how they themselves will need to change.

This isn’t simple executive inconsistency. It’s a more subtle blind spot—the assumption that transformation is something that happens throughout the organization, but somehow bypasses the executive suite.

Observe these transformation champions in their daily work. The VP who endorsed “radical empowerment” still reviews every document before it leaves her department. The CTO who championed “failing fast” continues to require comprehensive risk assessments for modest initiatives. The CEO who advocates “work-life balance” routinely sends urgent emails over the weekend.

They aren’t being deliberately contradictory. They simply don’t recognize the disconnect between the organizational change they’ve mandated and their own established behaviours and habits.

This misalignment creates a peculiar organizational tension. Employees hear the message of transformation but experience the persistent pull of status quo leadership. The result isn’t active resistance—it’s something more problematic: quiet disengagement and a loss of trust.

The solution isn’t found in another alignment workshop or communication plan. It requires creating honest feedback mechanisms that help leaders recognize their own resistance to change. It means having the professional courage to ask: “Which of my current behaviours contradicts the future we’re trying to create?”

Meaningful transformation begins when leaders understand they aren’t merely directing change from above; they’re active participants in the change itself.

Until then, organizations will continue mistaking announcements for achievements and intentions for results.

Welcome to the Friday Confessional. If you know, you know.