> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Why Strategy Fails (and How to Make It Real)
- URL: https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/why-strategy-fails-and-how-to-make-it-real/
- Published: 2026-09-15T11:27:49.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T11:27:49.000Z
- Description: Alicia appears on Thriving Leaders podcast with Claire Gray
- Author: Alicia McKay
- Tags: Podcasts, Strategy, Systems, Leadership, Public leadership, #podcast, Press

In this episode of the Thriving Leaders Podcast, Alicia McKay speaks with Claire Gray to challenge familiar assumptions about strategy, leadership and collaboration. We also examine what may be lost when judgement and decision-making are increasingly handed to automated systems.   
  
If you have ever watched a strong strategy lose momentum after the planning session, this conversation will give you a different way to understand why - and what you can do about it.  
  
In this episode, we cover: 

- How strategy is different in local government and the public sector than in corporate organisations
- Why strategy often loses momentum after the planning process
- How strategic thinking shows up in everyday leadership
- What leaders may misunderstand about people and change
- The transition from subject-matter expert to strategic leader
- What gets in the way of cross-functional collaboration
- How organisational systems influence behaviour
- The relationship between trust, agency and accountability
- What automation could mean for human judgement

Watch the full episode to learn what it really takes to turn strategy into action.

[Why Strategy Fails (and How to Make It Real) with Alicia McKayPodcast Episode · Thriving Leaders Podcast · 14 September · 59min![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f6/ea/f6eacf9c-bf08-4a3e-b200-2a209bebe3ad/content/images/icon/favicon-32-f182f92a-fdce-42c6-94a2-c77657bd6265.png)Apple Podcasts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f6/ea/f6eacf9c-bf08-4a3e-b200-2a209bebe3ad/content/images/thumbnail/1200x1200ECA.PESS01-60-ce068662-0138-47af-b3a1-98bccecd5ab6.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/why-strategy-fails-and-how-to-make-it-real-with-alicia-mckay/id1742899265?i=1000789600141&ref=aliciamckay.co.nz)