Building a fully aligned Executive Team that drives ruthless execution (without losing the soul)

I cannot count how many times I have heard Executive Teams say they want better execution.

More pace. Better decisions. Less rework. Fewer dropped balls.

What if execution does not fall short because people are lazy, underskilled, or not committed?

What if the standard of execution is not where it should be because the Executive Team is not fully aligned?

Misalignment on the big issues inevitably shows up in the small ones.

It shows up in the “how we do things around here” that sits underneath every decision.

And the more complex your organisation becomes, the more expensive misalignment becomes.

This is especially true in high-value markets, where your customer or guest does not care about your org chart, your internal debates, or why the experience was not as expected.

They simply feel the disappointment that comes when expectations are not met.

Why alignment is particularly important in premium markets

Organisations with a premium customer base are trying to do something deceptively hard:

• Scale excellence without turning into a chain.

• Blend heritage with innovation.

• Unite multiple distinct properties or propositions while preserving what makes each iconic.

One brand strategy case study of an elite hotel group describes this duality clearly: a unifying idea that connects the portfolio, while each hotel keeps its own identity and spirit, including a deliberate distinction between “storied” legacy properties and newer acquisitions.

That brand challenge can only be sustained when the strategy and culture that drive the experience are fully aligned.

What “fully aligned” actually means

When Executive Teams talk about alignment, they often mean “we all get on” or “we had a good offsite”.

That is not alignment.

A fully aligned Executive Team is aligned on three things:

1. The strategic direction

2. The culture

3. The desired client, customer or guest experience

Everything else from operating models to leadership behaviours and from customer journeys to key KPIs are subsets of these key three areas.

If any one of these lacks clarity, execution becomes a lottery.

Ultimately, operational excellence is felt, not just measured

Operational excellence is something you can see and feel, and so can your customers, clients, or guests.

Checklists matter. Standards matter. Process matters. But in premium and elite environments, excellence is an experience that shows up as:

• Anticipation, not reaction

• Calm under pressure

• Consistency without stiffness

• Personalisation without chaos

And those outcomes start at the top.

The hidden killer: competing definitions of excellence

Here is a symptom of misalignment that I see regularly.

Every exec believes they are driving excellence, but they are actually driving different versions of it.

Commercial excellence. Brand excellence. Operational excellence. People excellence. Guest experience excellence.

All are vital, of course. But if the Executive Team has not aligned on the big three (strategy, culture, and customer experience), execution turns into internal negotiation the moment trade-offs appear

That drains energy, creates mixed messages, and forces middle leaders to reconcile contradictions they did not create.

Your job at the top is to remove contradictions, not multiply them.

The payoff

When an Executive Team is fully aligned, three things happen:

• Decisions speed up because the rules of the game are clear

• Silos dissipate which in turn improves communication and sharing of best practice

• Execution improves because people stop second-guessing the top team

In premium markets, that translates into the only thing that really matters to your customers, clients, or guests: a consistently brilliant experience, delivered by people who feel proud of what they are part of.

If you would like to explore how alignment at Executive level unlocks consistently high standards of execution, email me now at richard@twentyoneleadership.com.