How Misalignment Masquerades as Underperformance

It’s not underperformance. It’s misdiagnosis.

In business, we’re taught to trust the numbers.

We measure performance, track progress, and build dashboards full of metrics designed to tell us what’s working—and what isn’t. The assumption is that if something feels off, the data will catch it. But what happens when the tool you’re using to measure success is broken?

What if your business isn’t underperforming—but your benchmarks are outdated?

What if your team isn’t misaligned—but your structure is built for a version of the business that no longer exists?

This kind of misdiagnosis happens all the time. I call it a “Knowing & Noticing” breakdown. (It's one of the core pillars inside the STACK method.) It occurs when the inputs you’re relying on—your metrics, your instincts, your feedback loops—are no longer calibrated to your current reality. And because of that, every strategic decision that follows is built on faulty information.

I’ve seen this play out in leadership teams, revenue models, and product launches. But recently, I saw it play out somewhere else: my houseplants.

When the Feedback Loop Fails

In the summer of 2019, my life looked very different. I wasn’t married yet. I didn’t have toddlers yet. I lived in a small apartment with a lot of free time—relatively speaking—and six hopeful houseplants.

Those plants have moved with me through multiple homes and major life transitions. They’ve survived spider mites, overwatering, toddler excavations, and me learning how to keep something alive that isn’t a business plan.

But lately, something had shifted. No matter how much I watered—or didn’t—the plants looked worse. I moved them from bright sun to filtered shade. I checked their soil constantly using my trusty moisture meter. And every time, it told me the same thing: dry.

Then one day, after yet another round of watering, I pushed the meter in and realized it was still reading dry. That’s when I noticed the bottom had snapped off—likely during one of the toddler adventures. I had been measuring for the right variable (moisture), but the tool itself was broken.

So every decision I made—every watering schedule, every adjustment—was based on a faulty signal.

This Happens in Business, Too

We build systems to help us sense what’s happening. We track OKRs, analyze conversion rates, and measure engagement. But if the tools we use to interpret that data are no longer valid—because the environment has changed, or the assumptions underneath them have shifted—we end up solving the wrong problem.

You think your team is underperforming.
But maybe they’re still aligned to outdated goals.

You think you’re not getting enough leads.
But maybe your offer has evolved, and your marketing strategy hasn’t caught up.

You think you need better delegation.
But maybe your org chart was designed for a business three years ago—not the one you’re running now.

Misalignment doesn’t always look like crisis. Sometimes it looks like quiet inefficiency, chronic overwhelm, or a vague sense that things aren’t clicking—but you can’t quite name why.

This is where Knowing & Noticing becomes critical.

Realignment Starts With Better Sensing

In sustainable operations, metrics matter—but so does intuition. So does context. If your only feedback loop is a dashboard, you’ll miss the deeper shifts until they show up as a problem. And by then, it’s often too late.

Instead, start asking:

• What am I measuring—and is it still relevant to the business I’m in now?

• What information am I taking at face value, without questioning its accuracy?

• What signs of change, growth, tension, or fatigue have I been ignoring?

When you rely on outdated tools, you start solving for symptoms instead of root causes. You tweak the schedule when the issue is scope. You add headcount when the issue is clarity. You launch a new offer when what’s really needed is a new structure.

Realignment begins by recalibrating how you listen to your business.

You Don’t Have to Burn It All Down

I did replace the broken water meter. The plants are still recovering—a little bent, a little worn from the stretch—but they’re reaching for the light again.

That’s how real growth works.

It’s not instant. It doesn’t always show up in the numbers first. But when you stay in relationship with what you’re building—when you listen, adjust, and respond instead of just reacting—you create the conditions for something more sustainable to emerge.

Because growth isn’t just about what you can measure. It’s about what you can tend to. Slowly. Honestly. On purpose.

And the same is true for your business.

here’s to your growth.

Brittany

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