When the Plan Is Working But You’re Still Off: A CEO Story About Misaligned Momentum

"You can be making progress and still be headed in the wrong direction."

-The Hanlon Group

Let’s talk about a real scenario most high-capacity CEOs don’t like to admit:
Everything looks like it’s working on paper… but it feels off.

Your metrics are up.
Your team is delivering.
The revenue is flowing.

And yet...
You’re tired. Irritated. Detached.

That’s not burnout. That’s misaligned momentum.

A Familiar Story: The CEO Who Followed the Plan

In early Q1, one of our clients (we’ll call her Dr. L) came into the year with a well-structured, ambitious growth plan.

She’d just wrapped up her most successful year yet, with a 25% increase in revenue, a high-performing operations manager, and a leadership team that was finally holding their own. Over the holiday break, she carved out a weekend to build a detailed Q1 strategy:

·       A brand-new membership plan rollout

·       Launching Invisalign Days to boost cosmetic cases

·       Weekly visibility on social to establish thought leadership

She even color-coded her Asana boards, synced meeting cadences with her ops lead, and committed to 90 minutes of daily CEO time.

But three weeks into January, she texted us this:

"I feel like I built a machine that’s moving without me… and somehow over me."

She was hitting her KPIs.
Her Instagram reels were gaining traction.
The membership program had already signed up 38 patients.

So why did she feel disconnected and resentful?

The Pause That Changed Everything

On a Thursday morning, she canceled a team meeting and did a full-day audit. She reviewed her calendar, energy, and focus over the past 18 days. Here’s what she discovered:

·       Her calendar was stacked with high-visibility tasks that drained her energy (videos, outreach, interviews)

·       She was still approving minor decisions that her team had the capacity to own

·       Her "CEO time" had turned into task overflow time — not strategy

·       She hadn’t blocked space for strategic evaluation or creative reset

She realized her plan wasn’t wrong.
It was mis-sequenced and over-personalized.
She had designed a plan based on what the business needed — without fully considering what she, as the leader, needed in order to sustain it.

Evaluation vs. Abandonment

This is the part where many leaders throw out the plan.
But visionaries don’t panic. They pivot.

Dr. L made three micro-adjustments:

1.     Reordered initiatives: She pushed the visibility sprint (social content + outreach) to March, after the team settled into the membership rollout.

2.     Delegated three standing meetings: Her marketing coordinator took over creative check-ins, and her operations lead ran weekly admin syncs.

3.     Instituted White Space Fridays: She blocked out three hours each Friday afternoon for strategic review, innovation, and off-the-grid thinking.

Within two weeks:

·       She reported feeling "clearer, lighter, and 30% more productive"

·       Her team showed increased ownership without needing constant input

·       She was able to re-engage with her visibility plan on her terms

Same plan. Same goals.
New rhythm.
Aligned momentum.

The Hidden Cost of Not Evaluating

When leaders fail to evaluate, they often end up overworking the plan — not because it’s broken, but because it’s misaligned.

Misaligned execution creates:

·       Team confusion ("Why are we doing this now?")

·       CEO resentment ("Why does this feel so hard?")

·       Hidden drag on growth ("Why is everything slower than it should be?")

Evaluation is what turns movement into progress.
Adjustment is what turns strategy into scale.

Reflection Prompts

·       What’s working… but not working for you?

·       What’s the ROI of how you’re spending your time this month?

·       Where is the execution rhythm off, even if the plan is right?

·       What part of the plan can be re-sequenced to serve you better?

·       Have you left space to lead, or are you too busy managing?

Final Thought

Don’t confuse alignment with agreement.

Just because your team is executing well doesn’t mean the plan is still aligned with your energy, season, or growth curve.

Give yourself permission to evaluate mid-stride.
Small pivots prevent big stalls.
And aligned leaders build sustainable momentum.