The Leadership Alignment Gap That’s Costing You Staff and Standards
Apr 25, 2025
A few years ago, I walked into a venue just before the lunch rush. The GM greeted me warmly. He was passionate, energised, talking about their plans to elevate guest experience and boost team morale.
Fifteen minutes later, I was on the floor with the frontline team. The difference was stark. Low energy. Frustrated faces. And one comment I’ll never forget from a long-time team member:
“We keep hearing about ‘excellence’, but no one shows us what that actually looks like.”
That moment landed hard. Because I’ve heard versions of it over and over again. In so many clubs that I work with, there’s often a vision at the top and confusion everywhere else!
That’s the leadership alignment gap.
It’s the space between what’s said at the senior level and what’s lived by the people delivering the service. It’s the gap between intention and impact. And it’s costing clubs far more than they realise - in disengaged staff, inconsistent standards, and a guest experience that’s good, but never exceptional.
I’ve seen incredible CEOs, GMs, and department heads with clear strategies and strong values. But if your middle managers aren’t fully equipped to carry that vision forward - to interpret it, live it, and coach it daily - it stalls out. It becomes a message, not a movement.
And it’s not because middle managers don’t care. It’s because they often haven’t been given the leadership training, communication tools, or confidence to lead with alignment.
The turning point comes when senior leaders stop assuming alignment and start building it.
- Through shared language
- Through leadership development
- Through real conversations across generations and levels
- Through investing in the people who carry your culture every day
It’s quite simple: You can’t hold your people to a standard they’ve never been shown how to meet. And you can’t expect consistency without alignment.
If you’re seeing pockets of confusion, declining morale, or that frustrating feeling of “why aren’t they getting it?”, this may be your gap. And the solution starts with how you support and develop your middle managers. That’s where the movement begins.
Don't let your values become words in a meeting - let's make them the actions you see every day on the floor.
