The Gap Between Intention & Impact
Intention of this post
To maintain an authentic online presence - and yes, to attract clients.
AI Disclaimer
I wrote this post myself, then used AI to sense-check the flow and grammar and add some the headings.
When Good Intentions Fall Flat
Imagine this: you’re a leader and you feel that you have done all the right things with your team. You’ve set goals, shared a vision, defined roles, and built the team charter. Your intention has been clear - to empower, to guide, to delegate, and to build trust.
But when you step back, things don’t flow as expected: targets are missed, frustrations rise, and personalities clash. Your team reacts in ways you never intended and suddenly, you start to doubt yourself. Why aren’t they seeing what you mean?
Welcome to the “intention and impact gap.”
The Invisible Filters We All Carry
The reality is we all experience the world differently. No matter how clear your intentions feel to you, each team member may perceive them in a very different way.
Some people move fast and think aloud, while others reflect quietly before acting. Some interpret directness as clarity, while others hear it as criticism. Some experience trust as freedom, while others feel it as distance.
Even when your intention is crystal clear to you, it can land very differently with others. This invisible space is where so many teams get stuck - in the gap between good intention and mixed impact. Frustration grows when one person’s good intentions are interpreted negatively by another.
A Story: When Strengths Become Blind Spots
I once worked with a leader, let’s call her Daphne, whose natural style was direct, focused, and outcome-oriented. These traits had driven her success and earned her promotion to team leader - but now, they were creating friction. Why?
Although Daphne’s boss was happy with her results, her style was isolating peers and team members. In meetings, she took over, eager to reach conclusions quickly. In emails, her messages lacked sensitivity, even for high-stakes news. She connected well with similar personalities and task-focused bosses, but noticed growing fractures where others felt “steamrolled.”
Her team didn’t always speak up. Some withdrew, others slowed down, and in some cases, disengaged entirely. On the other hand, Daphne grew frustrated that her team stopped speaking up, couldn’t keep pace, and delayed actions. In response, she became even more direct and hands-on - widening the gap further.
Add the weight of leadership, and the result was frustration, broken relationships, and quiet dissatisfaction.
Understanding Personality Differences
Working with Daphne and her team, we began with a personality profiling session.
Daphne had a dominant, direct, decisive style - a “doer.”
Two team members had a very different style: steady, supportive, and harmony-focused. These team members naturally avoid confrontation and prefer a measured pace, reflecting before acting. They struggled to keep up with Daphne’s speed and assertiveness. Frustrated, they withdrew, put the brakes on, and stopped voicing concerns.
Bridging the Gap Through Awareness
Through team profiling, Daphne and her team took a step back and gained perspective. No one was intentionally being “difficult” - the friction was rooted in personality differences. Once the team understood these dynamics and had the safety to acknowledge and even celebrate each style, tensions immediately eased.
With this shared awareness, team coaching becomes a powerful way to bridge the gap and translate intentions into impact. An external team coach helps make this visible:
By creating a safe space for people to see themselves and each other more clearly.
By helping translate intentions into impact across different ways of thinking, feeling, and working.
That’s where alignment starts - and where genuine high performance becomes possible.
A Reflection for You
Now, back to your experience of this post. You knew my intention and saw my transparency. How did it land for you? Some might find it refreshing, others assertive. Some honest, others strategic.
That’s the power - and fragility - of intention.