In every organisation, we talk about strategy, processes and execution. But what truly shapes performance is often invisible

I asked 65 leaders and individual contributors to share their experience of work, collaboration and leadership.

When I analysed the answers, a clear pattern emerged.

People are not blocked by a lack of effort or performance. They are blocked by lack of clarity, misaligned expectations and conversations that never really happen.

3 signals stand out from the data of my study:

• 1 in 4 respondents identify unclear roles as a direct barrier to collaboration.
• Among the most frequent challenges selected are managing workload and priorities, handling conflicts.
• Many respondents describe meetings where people hesitate to speak up or keep concerns for later.

My experience showed me that leaders and their teams often lack the structures, the routines and the space to address what is underneath the surface.

Slow or stuck decisions, defensive behaviours, parallel work, frustration and disengagement, silo work rarely appear on a dashboard. But they drain energy and performance every single day.

The full study goes deeper into what people actually experience at work: the tensions, hesitations and unspoken moments that shape how teams function day to day.

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