Transforming Business Leaders – Bridging the Gap Between Strategy and Mindset for Real Impact
- Brainz Magazine
- Jul 17
- 5 min read
Luis Vicente García is a business coach, international speaker, and best-selling author, known for helping entrepreneurs and leaders elevate performance through mindset, motivation, and strategic leadership.
In today’s dynamic business environment, great leadership goes beyond strategy, it requires a transformative mindset. In this article, Luis Vicente García, a seasoned business coach and founder of Incrementum Academy, explores how bridging the gap between strategy and mindset can unlock lasting impact. He shares insights on how leaders can shift from reactive to visionary thinking, enhance resilience under pressure, and inspire their teams to navigate uncertainty with clarity and confidence. It’s a call for leaders to transform themselves in order to lead with purpose and drive real results.
“Leadership transformation is about shifting the way you think, act, and inspire others.” – Luis Vicente Garcia
Why leadership transformation matters now
In times of uncertainty, great leaders aren't defined by the strategies they create but by the mindsets they cultivate to bring those strategies to life.
The world of business has always been dynamic, but today it feels different. Markets can shift overnight. Customer expectations evolve faster than any trend report can predict. Even the most brilliant plans can falter if the leaders behind them lack the clarity, adaptability, and resilience to inspire action.
As a business coach, I've seen this reality play out across industries and cultures. Leadership without a mindset often becomes rigid and reactive, unable to pivot when challenges arise. Strategy without mindset stays on paper, never fully executed. And mindset without strategy lacks the focus needed to align teams and drive results.
The leaders who make the most significant impact aren't necessarily the smartest in the room or the most experienced. They're the ones willing to do the inner work to shift their thinking, inspire their people, and embody the vision they ask others to follow.
The strategy–mindset gap
So, why do so many organizations struggle to bring their strategies to life?
It's not because they lack resources, tools, or even talent. Often, there's an invisible gap between what leaders know and how they think and act. This gap manifests in subtle yet powerful ways: hesitation in making bold decisions, difficulty inspiring commitment within teams, and an overemphasis on control rather than cultivating adaptability.
Bridging this gap isn't about learning yet another framework or management tool. It's about transforming the way leaders show up for themselves and for those they lead.
Leadership under pressure: A lesson from Doha
I saw this dynamic vividly during a recent five-day leadership training I delivered for senior oil industry executives in Doha, Qatar. These were seasoned leaders, responsible for navigating a highly competitive and geopolitically sensitive market. In the training room, they spoke confidently about KPIs, innovation, and growth models. Yet, beneath the surface, a lingering sense of unease persisted.
One afternoon, during a particularly candid discussion, an executive voiced what many were quietly feeling:
"We have the plan. What we need is the right people with the best attitude and commitment."
It was a powerful moment of clarity for the group and an opening to go deeper.
That simple statement revealed a universal truth. Strategy alone isn't enough. It's the mindset of the people and especially the leaders that determines whether plans succeed or stall.
What made this moment even more striking was what was happening outside the training room. Regional tensions were escalating as U.S.–Iran–Qatar relations grew strained, and missiles were launched onto a U.S. base in Qatar (just 25 miles from where we were staying). The leaders in my program weren't just managing businesses; they were operating in an environment filled with real-world uncertainty and risk.
This created the perfect backdrop for me to help them explore the kinds of leadership required in volatile times. Together, we examined how leaders often default to a reactive mode, focusing on survival and putting out fires. Some move into strategic thinking, seeking alignment and clarity to guide their organizations. A few elevate themselves even further, becoming visionary leaders who inspire others to move toward a bigger picture despite the turbulence. And those who are truly adaptive learn to balance decisive action with the humility to pivot when conditions change.
The challenge for these executives and for leaders everywhere was clear: How do you transform from a reactive to a visionary mindset when the world around you is anything but stable?
It became clear to everyone in the room: To succeed in a volatile world, leaders must first transform themselves.
Coaching leaders for transformation
This is where coaching makes a profound difference. When I work with leaders, our conversations often begin with strategic priorities; performance, innovation, and team dynamics. But as we dive deeper, what emerges are the personal patterns, limiting beliefs, and blind spots that shape their decisions and behaviors.
Leadership transformation isn't about adding more to your to-do list. It's about shifting the way you think, act, and inspire others. It's about cultivating emotional resilience to lead under pressure, developing clarity of purpose to align your team, and fostering the adaptability needed to navigate change.
To support this process, I often use my R.A.C.E. model as a guide. This framework emerged from my work with executives who were trying to navigate volatile and complex environments. While VUCA and BANI helped them understand the challenges around them, I realized they needed a mindset shift a way to move beyond reacting to uncertainty and toward thriving in it. R.A.C.E. invites leaders to build resilience, practice assertiveness, strengthen connection, and commit to evolution, equipping them to lead with clarity in unpredictable times.
A call for reflection
If you’re leading in uncertain times, ask yourself:
Am I clear on my vision, not just for results, but for people?
What mindset shifts do I need to move from reactive to visionary leadership?
How can I align my personal growth with my organization’s goals?
These questions may seem simple, but they are the starting point for profound transformation.
Final thought
“You don’t rise to the level of your strategy. You fall to the strength of your leadership mindset.”
Great leaders aren’t just strategic thinkers. They are mindset shapers. They inspire action, build resilience in their teams, and navigate complexity with clarity and confidence.
And it all begins with a single step: deciding to grow as a leader. Strategies set the course, but it’s a leader’s mindset that drives the journey and creates real impact.
Take the next step
The difference between a leader who reacts to change and one who inspires it often comes down to mindset.
If you’re ready to align your leadership with a powerful vision, bridge the gap between strategy and execution, and create a lasting impact on your team and organization, let’s start the conversation. I’d love to hear from you.
Email me directly at luisvicente@incrementumacademy.com to start the conversation about how I can support your growth and transformation as a leader.
Read more from Luis Vicente Garcia
Luis Vicente Garcia, Business Performance-Leadership-Success Coach
Luis Vicente García is a business performance coach, international speaker, and best-selling author with over 35 years of experience in leadership, motivation, and strategic growth. A former CFO and CEO, he now empowers professionals through Incrementum Academy and his signature concept, Motitud, the fusion of motivation and positive attitude. Certified by Brian Tracy and Jack Canfield, Luis helps entrepreneurs and leaders unlock their full potential. He writes regularly for global platforms and is a recognized voice on mindset, productivity, and leadership transformation.
