The leadership gap: why operating models fail when executives don’t shift their behaviour

Every operating model depends on one thing more than structure, governance, or process: executive behaviour

It’s not the behaviour you see in the workshops. It’s not the behaviour you see in the board pack or committee meeting notes. It’s the behaviour you see when the pressure is on. When priorities collide, when politics surface, and when leaders have to choose between the new way of working and the old instincts that kept them successful.

This is the leadership gap most organisations underestimate and it’s the gap that quietly determines whether the operating model lives or dies.

What the leadership gap looks like

Different roles, different pressures, but the same patterns emerge: operating models fail when executive behaviour doesn’t shift.

Example 1: The CPO who wants empowerment… until a deadline slips

A Chief Product Officer champions empowered teams, clear decision rights, and faster flow. But the moment a critical delivery milestone wobbles, she steps back in to reprioritise, redirect, and reassert control.

She’s not undermining the model. She’s reverting to the behaviour that made her successful in the old one.

Example 2: The CFO who signs off on the model but still funds it like it’s 1999

A Chief Financial Officer approves of a product aligned structure. But when budget season hits, he reverts back to funding the organisation function by function. The message to the organisation is clear: “we say product, but we fund silos.”

He’s not resisting. He’s protecting financial predictability the way he knows how but at the cost of operating model integrity.

Example 3: The COO who wants cross functional accountability… but avoids naming misalignment

A Chief Operating Officer sees the drift away from the new operating model. She sees the side deals, she sees the quiet reversion to old behaviours. But she doesn’t name it. Not because she can’t see it, but because naming it would require confronting peers who hold power.

She’s not avoiding the work. She’s avoiding the politics.

Example 4: The CIO who wants teams to decide… but still answer every escalation

A Chief Information Officer introduces empowered delivery teams. But when a customer impacting incident hits, everyone still comes to him. And he answers because it’s faster, because he cares, and because he’s accountable.

He’s not blocking empowerment, he’s filling a leadership vacuum the organisation hasn’t learnt to close yet.

Example 5: The CEO who believes in the model… but doesn’t enforce it

A Chief Executive Officer signs off on the new operating model. He believes in it. He sees it is “industry best practice”. He wants it to work. But when two executives negotiate outside the model, he lets it slide. Not because he agrees, but because enforcing the model would create conflict he doesn’t want to surface.

He’s not disengaged, he’s prioritising harmony over alignment.

Why the leadership gap is the real failure point

Because the organisation takes its cues from the top. If executives:

• Revert under pressure,

• Avoid naming misalignment,

• Make side deals,

• Bypass governance,

• Protect their span of control, or

• Prioritise speed over consistency,

the organisation follows.

Operating models don’t collapse in the teams. They collapse in the executive layer. Quietly, subtly, and long before anyone is willing to say it out loud.

A quick reflection if this resonates

Take 60 seconds and ask yourself:

“Where am I still leading like the old operating model exists?”

You’ll know instantly and that insight will tell you exactly where your organisation is taking its behavioural cues.

If you want to go deeper, ask:

“What behaviour of mine is the organisation copying, and is it helping or hurting the model?”

That’s the real leadership mirror.

What the reflection tells you

If you can see your own behavioural drift, you’re already ahead of most executives.

The question isn’t whether you believe in the operating model. It’s whether your behaviour reinforces it when it matters most.

Leaders who get ahead of this don’t redesign the model because they think it doesn’t work. They shift the behaviours that make the model real for them and their people.

If you’re seeing the leadership gap, now is the moment to act

You don’t need another operating model. You need the leadership team aligned in behaviour, not just intent.

If you’re ready to steady the system, let’s work on this together. Here are three ways:

• Interim Executive - when the transformation needs a senior leader inside the organisation to stabilise, steer, and deliver,

• Capability Building - when product and transformation leaders are expected to know how to navigate the people, politics, and performance expectations that come with their jobs, yet no one has taught them these skills during their entire career, and

• Executive Coaching - when senior leaders need a confidential, strategic partner to think clearly, make decisions, and lead through change and complexity.