Why Your Organization Keeps Fixing Symptoms Instead of Systems (And How Drift Makes It Inevitable)
Different layers feel drift in different ways. This breakdown shows how misalignment shows up across the org, and why everyone thinks they’re living a different problem.
The 3 Archetypes of Leadership Drift
Leadership Drift doesn’t happen overnight, it happens when Vision, Structure, Culture, and Execution fall out of sync. Teams slip into burnout, blurry roles, or constant urgency without realizing the system is drifting. These three archetypes reveal the pattern behind the pain, and how to realign before the drift becomes damage.
The 4 Archetypes of Dysfunction (and What They Reveal About Your Leadership System)
And across hundreds of teams, four dysfunction archetypes show up again and again. They’re not personality types. They’re not labels. They’re not judgments. They’re systemic patterns that emerge when one or more quadrants of the leadership system fall out of alignment: Vision, Structure, Culture, and Execution.
When these quadrants drift apart, the organization starts behaving in predictable (and painful) ways.
The Agency Problem: When Agent Relationships Aren’t Working
Why Your Team Isn’t Growing, Even When Everyone’s “Doing Their Job”
In modern organizations, misalignment isn’t always loud. Sometimes it looks like quiet compliance, polished metrics, or well-dressed meetings that go nowhere. At the heart of this dysfunction is the agency problem: when agents (leaders, employees, vendors) optimize for their own comfort or success instead of the principal’s goals. Whether you're a CEO, founder, or team lead, understanding this breakdown is critical to restoring momentum, trust, and growth.
This post explores the classic principal-agent dilemma through a modern lens, diagnosing misaligned agency incentives across teams, vendors, and leadership, and offering actionable strategies to realign your organization around impact.