Why Messages Break Down in the Middle

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲.

“I shared what mattered for my team." 

“If I hear it twice from my leader, I’ll know it’s important."

 “I know that’s important, but I’m too busy getting my job done. I’ll get to it when I have time."

These weren’t offhand remarks. They were our leaders’ actual responses to a new company strategy from our new CEO.

The plan looked perfect on paper: C-suite cascades to their direct reports. Direct reports cascade to theirs. Internal comms follows up to reinforce and keep strategy front and center.

But when leaders aren’t clear on priorities—by adding competing ones or sidelining them for urgent “run-the-business” work—even with good intentions, employees follow the voice closest to them. That’s how corporate strategy slid to second place.

Nobody is ignoring strategy on purpose. But without a clear source of truth, aligned priorities, and reinforcement, cascades turn into competing storylines and execution stalls.

The result is delayed outcomes for the company. And frustration, distrust, and wasted effort for employees.

Managers often get blamed when a message doesn’t land. But in most cases, they’ve been handed too many messages, too little context, and no time to align before speaking with their teams.

This is a system issue, not a people issue.

If you want your message to survive the middle and spark action:

 • Align leadership before the cascade begins

 • Make priorities crystal clear (one “most important” at a time)

 • Give managers, tools, context, and time to prepare

Next week, I’ll be sharing a practical tool to help you spot the early red flags of a failing cascade—before they cost you time, trust, and momentum.