Leaders Who Move the Needle: Building Belief in Uncertain Times

You can have a perfect cascade. The right governance rhythms. But if your leaders don’t believe they can move the needle, nothing gets executed.

And here’s the good news: that belief? It’s trainable.

Strategy doesn’t fail on paper. It fails in the mindset.

At Geigsen, we often get called in when the strategy is sound—but traction is missing.

• Execution is sluggish.

• Teams are confused or stuck.

• Leaders are “waiting for clarity.”

  
  

In those moments, we don’t start with more plans. We start with a powerful, often-overlooked lever: locus of control.

The Belief That Moves Teams

What we’re really talking about is agency. Agency is the belief: “I can do something here.”

Not “I control everything.” But “I’m not helpless.”

This is the core truth:

Execution lives or dies on agency.

When leaders hold an internal locus of control, they build momentum—even when clarity is incomplete. When they don’t, even the best strategy gets stuck in neutral.

Leaders who move the needle aren’t waiting for certainty. They’re building belief in motion.

The Framework That Unlocks Action: The Three Levels of Goals

To help teams shift from reactive to proactive, we use a simple but powerful tool called the Three Levels of Goals. It helps leaders reconnect with what’s possible—and start moving.

1. Reachable Goals

   Small, clear wins based on current capabilities. These build belief and confidence fast.
   

2. Stretch Goals

   Just outside the comfort zone. Enough tension to require growth, but not so much that people freeze.

   
   

3. Hail Mary Goals The big, audacious vision. These provide energy and aspiration—even if the path isn’t clear yet.

   
   

This structure creates traction. It meets leaders where they are—but doesn’t let them stay there.

What You Can Ask Right Now

If you’re leading through change, ask your team:

• “What’s in our control today?”

• “What’s one reachable goal we can hit this week?”

• “What stretch would move the needle?”

• “And if we were wildly successful… what would that Hail Mary look like?”

These aren’t just goal-setting questions. They’re belief-building questions. They signal to your team:

We’re not stuck. We’re in motion.

From Belief to Culture

The real power of this mindset isn’t just in what it unlocks for individuals. It’s what it builds into the culture.

A team of leaders who believe they can shape outcomes? They stop waiting for perfect conditions. They start moving the needle.

They take ownership. They build resilience. They grow traction.

And that’s how cultures of execution are built. Not through more dashboards—but through more belief.

Want Help Making This Real?

This is what we do. We work with executive teams who are ready to move from theoretical alignment to practical traction—from strategy decks to results on the ground.

And often, it starts with one internal shift:

“We have a role to play. We can move this forward.”

Let’s build that kind of leadership at scale.