A vision based solely on revenue goals (e.g., 'be a billion-dollar company') fails to motivate teams. A powerful vision is a story with an emotional component that makes people feel excited and slightly nervous, giving them 'butterflies.' This emotional buy-in is what truly aligns and energizes an organization.
Instead of the PE sponsor and the portfolio leadership team creating strategies in isolation, they must co-create from the beginning. This collaborative process builds alignment on the 'why' and 'what,' preventing the communication breakdown that happens when strategies are handed down.
The private equity demand for speed is counterproductive without a foundation of trust and alignment. Trying to move fast on a weak base leads to fragility: constant busyness, recurring problems, and disengagement. True, sustainable speed is an outcome of trust, not a standalone goal.
When the CEO is the sole go-between for the PE sponsor and the executive team, communication becomes guarded and decisions get reopened. The solution is to facilitate direct, inclusive meetings between the sponsor and the entire leadership team to build trust and shared understanding from the start.
Shift weekly meetings from simple status reports to a problem-solving forum. An 'Execution Friction Check-in' focuses on three questions: 'Where are you stuck?', 'What have you tried?', and 'What support do you need?'. This surfaces bottlenecks and encourages collaborative solutions rather than just reporting progress.
To prevent team burnout and maintain focus, leaders must adopt a strict rule: never add a new priority without agreeing to stop doing something else. The word 'priorities' is a misnomer, as a team can only have one true priority at a time. This discipline forces clarity and prevents overload.