When Consultancies Overwhelm Business Leadership: An Australian Perspective

The Growing Divide in Leadership

In the current business landscape, a widening gap is observed between CEOs and their leadership teams. Recent data from a Wall Street Journal report highlighted that only 50% of CEOs and their Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) agreed on the role of marketing within their businesses. This discrepancy clearly indicates a growing divide within the organisation’s leadership.

Moreover, a study from Forrester revealed a significant discrepancy in perceptions of customer influence on business strategy. According to the study, 90% of CEOs believed their business strategy was customer-driven, while only 58% of CMOs agreed.

The Impact of Misalignment

This misalignment within the leadership of an organisation can have far-reaching consequences. Decisions made by junior and mid-level employees often have the most significant impact on the customer experience. Therefore, if these decisions are not made with the CEO’s intent in mind, the CEO may lose control over how customers experience the business.

Furthermore, this misalignment can lead to inconsistent decision-making across the business, resulting in inconsistent brand experiences. Therefore, it’s clear that the alignment of the entire organisation to a single ‘commander’s intent’ is crucial for business success.

The Role of Consultancies

Traditional consultancies play a significant role in exacerbating this gap. Over the past year, many large consulting firms have come under scrutiny for illegal and unethical business practices. These practices have created an epidemic of complexity for business leaders, making the decision-making process more challenging and widening the gap between CEOs and their teams.

Consultancies often target and isolate CEOs, flooding them with data and strategic reports. This approach can create a sense of overwhelm and distract leaders from focusing on their primary concern: their customers.

Outcome Bias: A Major Concern

The traditional agency model also contributes to this issue. The model is based on outcome bias, where agencies propose solutions based on the products and services they sell. This approach can lead to strategies and implementations heavily skewed towards the services an agency wants to sell, rather than aligning with the CEO’s vision or the needs of the customer.

The Need for Change

The current state of affairs calls for a significant shift in approach. Instead of adding more complexity to the mix, organisations need to focus on doing less, but better. This shift involves moving away from the weeds of strategy and returning to the practice of listening to customers.

According to Forrester’s findings, Australian business leaders need to simplify complexity by listening to both employees and customers. This approach can help bridge the gap between CEOs and their teams, leading to more effective decision-making and a better customer experience.

Conclusion

The growing divide between CEOs and their leadership teams is a significant issue for Australian businesses. Traditional consultancies, with their propensity for complexity and outcome bias, are contributing to this issue. However, by focusing on doing less better and listening to customers and employees, businesses can bridge this gap and take back control.

References

References & Further Reading

• Australian business leaders are losing control of their organisations – and consultancies are to blame
• Report critical of big four consultancies was censored by Australian government agency, academic claims
• Complacent Australia falling behind on new ways to make money