In my coaching work, I meet many leaders who already have loads of insight. In fact, can’t count the number of times a client has said to me, “I know what I should be doing… I’m just not doing it.” They’ll even rattle off (cue ominous music) “the list”: delegate more, ask better questions, listen to understand, stop over-functioning, have the tough conversation, get out of the weeds, make time for strategy.
They can talk about these things eloquently. They’ve attended the workshops, read the books, or journaled about it on a retreat. But when Monday morning rolls around and their calendars fill with the usual urgent meetings, all that knowing and good intentions get choked out by old habits and urgent priorities. And when one of those priorities starts flaming, it’s hard to remember what we ‘know’ but haven’t quite ‘embodied’ yet. And for many leaders, that’s where progress stalls.
The struggle to turn knowing into consistent behavioural change is real. Researchers Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton at Stanford call this the knowing–doing gap – the persistent tendency for organizations and individuals to know what to do, but failing to act on it.
WHY KNOWING IS NOT ENOUGH
Pfeffer and Sutton’s research showed that the problem isn’t knowledge, it’s follow-through. Leaders nod along in agreement during training, then return to business as usual.
Neuroscience helps explain why. Aha moments have been linked to activity in our reward circuits, which helps to explain why it feels so good when we have an insight. That spike of reward makes us feel like something has shifted, but unless it’s paired with concrete practice, the idea remains an “interesting thought” rather than becoming encoded in us as a new behaviour.
In other words, insight is the spark, but repetition is the fuel.
DANIEL’S STORY: FROM INSIGHT TO IMPACT
My client Daniel had been in his VP role for 3 years. During a triangulation meeting at the kick-off of our coaching program, Daniel’s leader told me that he was a brilliant strategist, and deeply respected, but she worried about his pacing because he often seemed exhausted. At our next session, I asked Daniel about that comment, and he told me, “I know I should be delegating more, but when the stakes are high, it just feels faster if I do it myself.” His team had stopped bringing him fully formed solutions because they knew he’d jump in and fix things anyway, so why bother?
We didn’t start with a grand delegation overhaul. Instead, Daniel chose one recurring meeting (a weekly project status update from his team) and agreed to limit his contributions to clarifying questions only. No problem-solving, no swooping in to rescue, no taking the wheel because ‘his way’ was the ‘right way’. Just genuinely curious questions intended to help his team think more deeply about their progress.
The first week of experimenting was painful. “I bit my tongue so hard I thought it might bleed”, he told me in our next session. His team knew something felt different, but didn’t know quite what to make of this different version of Daniel. They presented their updates, looked at him for answers, and the silence made him squirmy – his people too. But he sat in the discomfort of it and managed to stay quiet.
By the third week, something shifted: one of his directors spoke up with a decision Daniel would normally have made. Another shared a bold idea that improved the way they did project oversight. Daniel told me later, “They weren’t perfect, but they were better than I expected them to be. And that’s when I realized that I’ve been underestimating them.”
Shortly after, the team was running the meeting without him stepping in at all. Delegation didn’t happen because Daniel suddenly “knew” he should. It happened because he behaved differently. Daniel had chosen one small, visible experiment and stuck with it long enough for this ‘new way’ to become ‘the way’.
THE TRAP OF “GOOD INTENTIONS”
For many leaders, reflection feels like progress, but without action, it isn’t enough. Sure, after a new aha moment, we can sometimes translate “knowing better” into “doing better.” But other times, awareness shakes us to the core, because we can see the gap clearly, yet have no idea how to close it.
Research from Harvard Business School (Gino & Pisano, 2014) shows that reflection paired with practice improves performance, while reflection on its own rarely shifts behaviour.
“I’ve been thinking about how I need to have that tough conversation.”
“I’ve been meaning to make more time for strategy.”
“I know I should stop filling silences in meetings.”
Thinking about it feels productive. But teams only experience behaviours, not intentions. If you intend to empower yet keep jumping in with answers, your impact is still disempowerment, no matter what you “know.”
BRIDGING THE GAP: WHAT WORKS
Here are four evidence-backed moves that help close the knowing–doing gap:
1. Tiny Experiments
Start small. Insights stick more reliably when translated into if–then plans and repeated practice. Instead of “be a better listener,” try “count to three before responding.” Instead of “do more strategy,” try “schedule 30 minutes every Friday to explore one strategic idea.”
2. Make It Visible
When people track and publicly share progress, they follow through more often. Tell someone what you’re experimenting with: your team, your coach, your peer, and invite feedback.
3. Tight Review Loops
Don’t wait a quarter to reflect. End the day with a simple check-in: Did I run the experiment? What happened? What behaviour do I need to adjust? What will I try tomorrow? Research shows short, structured reviews enhance learning and later performance.
4. Look For and Celebrate the Micro-Wins
Momentum matters. When you notice even a small improvement, pat yourself on the back. It helps you build the confidence to keep experimenting.
Leadership credibility isn’t built only on what you know. It’s built on what people see you do when it counts. So keep seeking out insights and then dare to act on them, letting those actions quietly reshape how you show up. The ripple effects will be visible in your team long before you may even notice them yourself.
Have you been sitting on an insight that hasn’t yet made its way into action? If you’re ready to close your own knowing–doing gap, you don’t have to figure it out alone. If you’re ready to explore, experiment, practice, and see real, lasting results, I’d love to be your coach. Let’s connect at www.leslierohonczy.com.