The Sweet Spot

There’s a distinct sound a baseball bat makes when it connects with the ball in just the right place. Clean. Crisp. Effortless.

It’s not just about power — it’s about alignment. When everything lines up — your swing, your stance, the pitch — it sings.

That’s the image that came to mind during one of the toughest seasons I had leading a company. The culture was strained. Performance was a problem. Meetings felt like déjà vu: same issues, same explanations, same results.

I kept asking,

“Why aren’t they getting it?”

But the harder truth was, I hadn’t gotten it yet.

I hadn’t done the work to get fully clear on my why — and without that, how could anyone else align with it?

That’s job number one as a clinical CEO: Create clarity and alignment.

Not just in strategy documents, but in the bones of the business. But you can’t create what you haven’t owned.

Clarity starts inside.

I watched this unfold with a clinical owner who ran a thriving practice with strong values — but she couldn’t stop the exodus of clinicians striking out on their own.

At first, she took it personally. But then she did the work: → Clarifying the purpose of her business → Naming the impact it was built to make → Grounding every decision in that clarity

What happened next was messy — and essential.

She reworked hiring to screen for alignment. Let a few folks go. Made purpose a visible filter in decisions, coaching, and even how the org chart functioned.

That clarity reshaped her leadership. No more hedging. No more trying to be everything to everyone.

Just quiet confidence and consistency.

And just like the swing that finds the sweet spot, the organization started to resonate differently.

✔️ Employees re-engaged ✔️ Managers stepped up ✔️ Conversations got clearer ✔️ Standards held firm ✔️ Processes shifted to support purpose, not just efficiency

She wasn’t pushing alignment anymore. She was living it — and people followed.

Alignment doesn’t start with your team. It starts with you. When you lead from clarity, you build a business others can align with.

Where in your business are you swinging hard but missing the sweet spot?