When intentions and actions don’t align: the impact on business leaders

Running a small business often means making decisions on shifting ground. A plan that made sense yesterday can look wrong today, whether driven by fluctuating demand, unexpected costs, staffing shortages, or events entirely outside a leader’s control.

This instability can create a gap between what leaders intend to do and what they actually end up doing. An owner might want to give their team full autonomy, yet feel compelled to step in as a critical deadline approaches. They might genuinely prioritise employee wellbeing, but face a crunch period where overtime is unavoidable. Or they might plan to focus on long-term strategy, only to spend the day putting out immediate fires.

This isn’t about dishonesty or broken promises; it’s a practical reality of leading under pressure. It’s a dynamic called “word-action misalignment,” and it can occur when a leader’s day-to-day actions diverge from their stated intentions.

Research from Durham University Business School has explored what happens when this gap opens: the emotional toll it can take on business leaders, and how it can shape their behaviour and performance.

What the research found

Across three studies involving more than 800 managers, the researchers examined how leaders respond when their actions don’t match their stated commitments. They found that recognising this mismatch was associated with feelings of shame, and that shame was, in turn, associated with greater avoidance of colleagues and lower task performance.

The findings don’t mean every instance of inconsistency will produce the same response. Instead, they suggest there can be a psychological cost when leaders recognise that their behaviour hasn’t matched their intentions.

For small business owners, these situations can arise for many reasons:

• Unrealised returns: A strategic risk or commercial decision fails to deliver the expected result.

• Paused commitments: Changing circumstances mean a planned staff perk, flexible working arrangement or pay review has to be reconsidered.

• A shift in focus: An urgent operational issue pushes a longer-term business priority down the list.

The researchers also found that the link between misalignment and shame was stronger among leaders who felt less able to influence the outcomes of their actions. That points to a more useful question than whether you stuck to the original plan: when a decision doesn't work out as expected, how much of the outcome was actually within your control?

A business owner can make a decision based on the information available at the time and still end up with a result they didn’t anticipate. The same applies when circumstances force a change to an existing commitment or priority. So, when compelled to change course, try to see it for what it usually is: the business adapting, not a personal shortcoming.

Key takeaways for business owners

The research points to ways business owners can manage the impact when plans have to shift:

• Separate the outcome from your self-worth: A logical decision can still yield an unexpected result. Recognising when factors were outside your control can prevent unnecessary self-blame.

• Avoid pulling back: Discomfort can make leaders retreat from their teams. Staying visible and keeping communication open can stop an operational pivot from eroding trust.

• Explain the ‘why’: Being transparent about why a commitment had to change can stop ambiguity from turning into performance issues, for both you and your staff.

Pivoting is inevitable when running a business, and recognising the emotional friction that can come with changing course is a good way to help you handle it directly, and of ensuring an operational shift doesn’t turn into team disengagement.