Drifting

Let’s talk about something that quietly derails even the best teams…not bad strategy, not bad people… but drift. (and not the cool kind of drifting!)

You know the feeling.

Your team kicks off a new initiative with energy. You hold the meetings, outline the action steps, and even start to see some early wins. But fast forward a few months, and it’s like the momentum disappeared. The enthusiasm fades. The results stall. And without anyone meaning to… you’re back where you started.

The Subtle Pull Away From What Once Worked… AKA ‘Drift’

In fact, over 70% of change initiatives fail, and not because of bad planning or flawed strategy. They fail because of poor follow-through.

Here’s what that looks like in real life:

• You roll out a new meeting rhythm…but no one owns the follow-up.

• You coach your team on priorities…but the urgent always wins.

• You introduce new values…but three months later, no one remembers what they are.

• You create a vision…but culture never shifts because execution doesn’t follow.

Before you know it, the team falls into a stop-and-start rhythm.

Always reacting, rarely sustaining. Meetings start to feel repetitive. People show up but stop engaging. Progress feels just out of reach.

After all that, here’s the kicker: When teams operate this way for too long, it doesn’t just stall results. It erodes trust. People lose faith in initiatives because they’ve seen this movie before. A big announcement… a short sprint… and then silence.

So What’s The fix?

It’s not more vision casting. It’s not another strategic plan.

It’s consistent follow-through —the boring, practical work of building habits and trust that last.

That means:

• Assigning a clear owner for each task and the next steps after meetings

• Checking in weekly (not quarterly) on progress

• Creating rhythms of accountability that don’t rely on reminders

• Celebrating small wins so the team sees the progress and feels momentum

• Revisiting core priorities until they’re muscle memory

Yes, it takes effort. But when your team experiences sustained progress, they start to believe in what’s possible. They trust leadership. They commit deeper. And the culture shifts, because what you do always speaks louder than what you say.

So if the culture’s feeling off or the results are slipping, don’t assume it’s a people problem or a strategy issue.

Zoom Out And Ask Yourself 3 Power Questions

• Where have we drifted from what we said we’d do?

• Where is execution falling short, not because of bad intent, but lack of clarity?

• What habits can we build to keep the main thing, the main thing

Drift is subtle. But with intention and consistency, you can fight it—and build a team that doesn’t just start strong but stays strong.

Let’s lead with traction, not just vision.

— Michael

Thank you for joining us on this journey towards stronger leadership, and for your time reading The Credit Union Playbook. Reply to this if you’re experiencing the ‘drift’, we’d love to help!