A brand’s value proposition is more than just a message to the market: it reflects its identity and the way it is structured internally. When that proposition fails, it is not merely a marketing issue – it is a symptom of strategic disorientation and, often, of flawed leadership. The true strength of an organization does not lie in who speaks the loudest or seems to know everything, but in those who can build consensus, inspire trust, and align teams around a common purpose.
In recent years, many companies have fallen into the trap of presumed universal competence; the belief that every area can, and should, invade the territory of others. Marketing wants to be strategy; sales want to be marketing; management wants to be communication. At first glance, this tendency may seem like a sign of dynamism, but it reveals a deeper imbalance: a lack of organizational focus and humility. When everyone tries to be everything, no one performs their actual role well. And when the value proposition loses clear ownership, it dissolves.
The presumption of competence quickly turns into collective incompetence. Teams that should collaborate begin to compete. Internal communication becomes a battlefield, and decisions are made based on egos rather than data. The client feels the impact –
contradictory messages, unrealistic promises, inconsistent experiences. The company loses credibility and starts living on appearances rather than substance.
The problem worsens when this confusion is fueled by weak leadership that confuses authority with infallibility. The leader who believes they are always right ends up silencing their team’s contributions, isolating themselves within their own convictions. In the short term, they impose themselves; in the medium term, they demobilize; in the long term, they destroy. Business history is full of cases where the absence of doubt killed innovation.
True leadership, on the other hand, has the courage not to know everything. It understands that strength lies not in certainty, but in the ability to listen, deliberate, and build consensus. A good leader is a lucid mediator – one who turns differences into contributions and disagreements into strategy. They are also the one who protects the boundaries of competence: knowing what belongs to marketing, to sales, to operations, and building bridges instead of creating chaotic overlaps. This is not rigidity but clarity. And it is that clarity that sustains a strong value proposition.
When enlightened leadership is lacking, the contagion of presumption sets in. One department’s mistake spreads to the rest of the organization. People no longer know who defines the direction, teams turn inward, and purpose gets lost in the noise. Demotivation becomes inevitable, and talent drifts away. The market, ever perceptive, notices the incoherence. No campaign, no matter how creative, can disguise a structure without direction.
Ultimately, a brand’s value proposition is only as strong as the leadership behind it. And the strongest leadership is not the one that imposes, but the one that inspires. Not the one that dominates, but the one that unites. When marketing returns to being marketing, sales return to selling, and leadership returns to leading with purpose, value ceases to be a promise – it becomes a reality felt in every gesture of the organization.
In the end, it all comes down to this: the hardest thing is to make things simple. An organization’s maturity is measured by its ability to focus talent, energy, and intelligence on what truly matters – doing well, or very well, what it is meant to do. There is no need to be everything, to be everywhere, or to occupy others’ space. It is enough to be good at what you are, consistent in what you promise, and rigorous in what you deliver.
True value is born from clarity. And clarity requires humility: knowing where our competence ends and another’s begins; recognizing that success does not depend on the presumption of knowing everything, but on the ability to work together while respecting boundaries and roles. Teams function when there is trust – and trust is built when everyone performs their job well, without trying to be the protagonist on every stage.
Pedro Celeste, Professor at CATÓLICA-LISBON