An execution diagnostic is not an audit. It maps the pain points that prevent a strategy from turning into practice.
A classic audit measures compliance. An execution diagnostic measures something else: the distance between what was decided and what is actually happening in day-to-day work.
Four areas of observation
Clarity: can everyone restate the strategy in their own words and say what it changes for them?
Capability: do the skills, tools and time exist to sustain the new practice?
Signals: does what the organisation values, measures and recognises support the strategy, or work against it?
Leadership: do managers embody the expected practice, or do they merely relay it?
An actionable deliverable
The output is not a hundred-page report. It is a map of pain points, ranked by impact and effort, with an action plan that can be adapted and cascaded by department.