Leadership struggles with articulating a clear, coherent strategy and tends to be overly focused on tactics. This tactical orientation often leads to siloed thinking and reinforces a culture where teams prioritize their own agendas over organizational goals. IT, in particular, frequently emphasizes internal politics, process, and bureaucracy rather than delivering measurable business value. Overstaffing exacerbates these inefficiencies, creating more layers of decision-making and slowing meaningful progress.
There is a strong emphasis on projecting a “Digital,” “Product-led,” or “Agile” identity—sometimes veering into digital theater—rather than focusing on doing IT well, owning core responsibilities, and strategically delegating or letting go of what falls outside their scope. This focus on perception over performance can undermine credibility and distract from real outcomes.
The organization also suffers from a lack of effective checks and balances. The culture tends to shy away from calling out leaders who distort reality, which reduces accountability and allows misaligned priorities to persist. In this environment, meaningful collaboration is often hampered, and opportunities to course-correct are missed, ultimately limiting the organization’s ability to serve customers and the business effectively.
