Leadership Misalignment ‘Holding Back Business Growth’
- Paul Andrews - CEO Family Business United
- Feb 23
- 3 min read
Leadership misalignment and a culture of risk aversion are holding back responsiveness of UK businesses, according to research from leading advisory and accountancy firm Menzies LLP. Four in ten firms (41%) say that ‘faster internal decision-making processes’ and ‘stronger leadership alignment on key priorities’ would significantly improve their business responsiveness - raising concerns that boardroom fragmentation is preventing ambitious businesses from seizing opportunities in a volatile economic environment.
In a study of more than 500 senior business decision makers in mid-large sized businesses, Menzies’ Agile Advantage Report finds that a quarter (25%) of firms cite a ‘culture of risk aversion’ as a key factor holding back their organisation’s agility, while 28% point to ‘conflicting leadership views’ and 27% say it is down to ‘poor communication and collaboration’. Over one in five (21%) feel their business is too focused on responding to threats rather than spotting new opportunities - and 20% percentage believe their competitors are more agile than they are.
Structural Issues
When looking at who is responsible for taking advantage of new opportunities, Menzies finds that the majority of organisations (54%) see this as the CEO or Managing Director’s responsibility. However, this ownership is far less embedded across the wider C-suite, as just 29% say that identifying new opportunities is part of the CFO/Head of Finance’s role, and only 24% see it as the responsibility of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). And surprisingly, 15% of businesses feel that there is no clear responsibility for decision making internally at all.
Fatigue And Decision Overload
It’s therefore not surprising that there is a sense of decision overload, as nearly a fifth (18%) of businesses say that the state of permacrisis has drained energy from the team and negatively impacted business agility. Concerningly, a quarter of executives (25%) say they have less time than ever to make the right decisions because of how quickly situations are changing.
While many firms are looking to technology for solutions, with 44% placing their faith in AI-driven insights and 38% in predictive analytics and data visualisation tools, Menzies cautions that technology alone will not fix the issue. Instead, embedding accountability for business agility across senior leadership teams and throughout the wider organisation is likely to deliver a faster and more sustainable solution.
Ed Hussey, Director, HR Services at Menzies, said: “If growth feels hard right now, it’s not just the economy - it’s how businesses are wired internally. Too many leadership teams aren’t fully aligned on what really matters, and they end up pulling in different directions."
"Decisions take too long, accountability sits with too few people, and by the time the business is ready to act, the opportunity has already passed.”
“It’s easy to look to technology and AI to speed things up, but you can’t bolt agility onto a business with software alone. If leaders aren’t aligned on priorities and clear about ownership, the best dashboards in the world won’t change outcomes. Embedding a culture of agility has to start at the top - but it can’t stay there. For founders and CEOs who’ve been hands-on in building their businesses, stepping back and breaking entrenched habits isn’t easy. But everyone has a role to play."
"The firms that succeed in this environment won’t be the ones waiting for stability or sticking to old ways of working - they’ll be the ones set up to move decisively, even when conditions are uncertain.”
About the Menzies Agile Advantage Report
In today’s fast-changing business landscape, Menzies launched The Agile Advantage Report to help ambitious mid-sized businesses embed agility as a core growth strategy rather than a short-term fix. The report explores the key challenges holding businesses back and sets out practical ways to overcome barriers in financial management, systems and processes, leadership alignment and other blockers, ensuring organisations are better equipped to adapt and seize opportunities that change can bring.
Download the full report here:
