In a recent LinkedIn post, Janna Bastow explores a common pitfall in large enterprise transformations: focusing on teams rather than the underlying decision-making processes. Bastow, drawing on conversations with a ProdPad partner who has extensive experience in these environments, argues that the root cause of breakdowns often lies higher up the organizational chain than the execution teams themselves.
Bastow highlights a key observation from her partner: “Very quickly, we get to see that the problem is not with the teams.” This sentiment aligns with Bastow’s own repeated observations in her work. She contends that teams are typically adept at responding to the signals they receive and are rarely the bottleneck due to a lack of technical ability.
“When things break down, it’s rarely because people don’t know how to build.”
Instead, Bastow points to flawed decision-making as the primary culprit. When the directives teams are asked to execute are fundamentally unsound or contradictory, the team’s efforts, no matter how skilled or dedicated, will inevitably falter. This leads to a cycle of perceived underperformance that can be mistakenly attributed to the teams themselves.
The Illusion of Team-Centric Solutions
Bastow elaborates on the ineffectiveness of solely focusing on team-level interventions. Retraining, reorganizing, or optimizing teams, she argues, will yield minimal results if the core issues in strategic direction and priority setting remain unaddressed. The underlying problem, according to Bastow, is a lack of clear objectives and undefined success metrics.
“You can retrain teams, reorg teams, and optimize teams forever. If priorities stay fuzzy and success stays undefined, nothing really changes.”
This perspective reframes the challenge of enterprise transformation. It suggests that leadership must first ensure clarity and coherence in strategic decision-making before expecting significant improvements from the execution layer. Without this foundational alignment, any efforts directed at the teams become superficial and ultimately futile, merely managing symptoms rather than curing the disease.
The Real Bottleneck: Decision-Making Frameworks
Bastow’s analysis emphasizes that true progress in complex organizational changes hinges on robust decision-making frameworks. When these frameworks are weak, ambiguous, or lead to conflicting instructions, the entire system suffers. The teams, acting as the engine of execution, will inevitably stall.
“Fixing teams without fixing decision-making is just symptom management.”
The implication for leaders is clear: before initiating extensive team-level adjustments, a thorough review of the decision-making processes and the clarity of strategic priorities is paramount. Bastow’s insights suggest that identifying and rectifying issues at the strategic and leadership decision level is the most effective path to driving meaningful and sustainable change within large enterprises.
Concluding her post, Bastow invites further discussion, asking readers where they have observed the primary bottleneck in their own work – whether it lies with teams, leadership decisions, or elsewhere. This open-ended question encourages a broader conversation about the systemic factors that influence organizational effectiveness.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Janna Bastow on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on January 19, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →