From Chaos to Clarity: What Some Top Minds Shared About Adaptive Strategy.
The pace of change isn't slowing down, so why are so many strategies stuck?
That was the question we put on the table at our recent panel event, hosted in partnership with The Icehouse and joined by some of Aotearoa’s sharpest strategic minds.
Unlike your standard business breakfast or keynote series, this was a deliberately intimate room. Less polish, more practicality. Less theory, more action. The goal was simply to unpack what adaptive leadership actually looks like in the real world and how businesses can move from well-written plans to real progress.
In a room full of ambitious operators and founders, we gathered to explore a question that’s on many leaders’ minds - how do you move forward when everything keeps shifting?
The event focused on Adaptive Strategy and Actionable Leadership. We were joined by three brilliant panellists:
Together, we dug into the real mechanics of leadership momentum. Here are four takeaways that left the room buzzing, and what you might do differently tomorrow:
Insight #1: Strategy Isn’t the Hard Part. Execution Is.
“There’s this weird moment where your strategy is done and everyone exhales.
But that’s when the hard part starts.”
Most businesses don’t fail because they lack strategy. They stall because the strategy doesn’t land or never gets translated into rhythm. Across the room, we heard echoes of the same friction:
Strategies written in isolation from the frontline.
Plans changing too fast for teams to follow.
Sales, marketing and delivery teams unsure how their work connects to the ‘big picture’.
Key provocation from Mark:
“If you don’t have a cadence between strategy and execution, you get drift.”
Too many leadership teams treat strategy like a one-off event, a milestone to reach, then shelf it. But the reality is, the moment you finalise your strategy, that is where the work begins.
Translation to execution is the hardest leap for most teams to make, and it needs intentional motion behind it to shift it from strategy to action.
What you can do make it work:
Co-create strategy and get buy-in early.
Define a single source of truth for direction, so everyone’s on the same page.
Mobilise and shift into action as consensus is reached.
Book recurring strategy-to-delivery check-ins (not just KPI reviews).
Create space for teams to name what’s not working early.
Insight #2: People Don’t Resist Change. They Resist Chaos
“Adaptive strategy isn’t a document you update once a year. It’s something you work with every week.”
So much leadership energy is spent on ‘managing change’ but what if the issue isn’t resistance... but disorientation?
What we surfaced in the room:
People can absorb change but not if the system is chaotic.
Strategic safety (clarity, consistency, communication) is just as vital as psychological safety.
Leaders need to create conditions for confidence and not just send an email update and hope for the best.
Key provocation from Marlene:
“If the plan keeps changing, no one will follow it.”
Resistance to change is often misunderstood. Most teams aren’t afraid of evolving. They’re afraid of being left to navigate complexity without clarity and support. What they need is structured autonomy and consistency, especially when the landscape is moving so they can make decisions, work together and execute without always having to run it up the flagpole. With clear structure on decision making and clear strategy, plus an executable plan you can power up your teams to lead with confidence.
What you can do to make it work:
Build and communicate a “safe-to-adapt” framework. What can flex? What can’t?
Reassure through structure. Use short cycles, consistent formats, and transparent priorities.
Sense-check how change is being received, not just how it’s being rolled out.
Insight #3: Governance Can Enable Motion…Or Kill It.
“The role of governance isn’t control. It’s ensuring the organisation is making smart bets.”
We’re often called in when boards and executive teams are misaligned. This panel made it clear that governance shouldn’t slow things down. It should anchor adaptability.
The tension between control and motion came up again and again. Boards want assurance. Execs want momentum. The real skill was building systems that give both.
Key provocation from Alex:
“There’s a ton of value lost in translation between boards and operational leaders.”
The truth is Boards and Exec teams are often misaligned on pace. That tension isn’t a problem, unless it goes unmanaged. The opportunity is to design governance practices that are just as adaptive as the businesses they serve.
What you can do to make it work:
Review board rhythms, are they enabling the business to move or slowing it down?
Encourage shared language around risk appetite and directional bets.
Integrate informal forums for board–exec dialogue outside of board packs.
Insight #4: High-Performing Teams Prioritise Alignment Over Perfection
“They check in regularly - not just on what they’re doing, but how it’s landing.”
“They treat strategy as a team sport.”
It’s not enough to just have a better plan. Businesses that outperform don’t just lead better, they lead as one system, they lead to win, they find, use and leverage advantages and opportunities fast. That means:
Continual check-ins on progress and landing.
Shared ownership across functions.
Permission to move before everything’s 100% nailed.
Key provocation:
“Alignment beats perfection. Every time.”
The highest performing leadership teams aren’t the most ‘visionary’, they’re the most connected. They move together, adjust fast, and don’t get stuck waiting for perfect 90 days plans.
What you can do to make it work:
Shift focus from deliverables to strategic landing, is the message and ambition resonating?
Involve cross-functional voices early not just for execution, but for shaping the shifts and architecting the play.
Define shared language around progress, pivots, and momentum.
Bonus Layer: Strategic Signals, AI, and the Messy Middle
In side conversations and post-panel huddles, there were new tensions emerged:
The disconnect between strategy and sales execution.
The danger of ignoring early signals and early feedback.
The difference between performative AI adoption and practical augmentation.
The smartest leaders aren’t actually trying to control the mess. They’re learning to read it, use it and see ways to adapt so they can play to where the ball will be be, not where it is now. They’re looking for new value creation opportunities, they’re looking for untapped pockets of opportunity, even in areas they might not fully understand yet.
So where to from here?
Our Icehouse event reminded us that strategy needs to be a social process, a team rhythm. And momentum isn’t about adding more noise, wasting time building decks. It’s about creating clarity despite the noise, and pushing forwards opportunities.
It’s not about predicting the future.
There’s no ready-made, proven playbook for what’s next. But there are better ways to lead through it. Adaptive strategy is human-centred and systems-informed.
It requires communication that lands, operating rhythms that keep momentum alive, and tools that amplify capability rather than complexity.
If you'd like to explore what this could look like inside your business, we can help.
Sometimes you don’t need more advice. You just need a smart room.
Book a 30 minute strategy assessment session with the Flux Team.
We’ll help you unlock clarity for what’s next, map what matters most, and chart a smarter way forward.
