Are You in Alignment with Your People?
Are You in Alignment with Your People?
A simple trick for testing how well everyone is working together
This week, I’m sharing an absolutely simple but insightful technique to determine whether your people are on the same page as your strategy. It works for management teams, boards of directors and definitely sales organizations. It’s also so easy, you’ll be surprised at what you can learn about your people’s alignment and how often you’ll want to use it.
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Synchronized Swimming
Just when you thought it was safe to start your annual business planning…..
About this time of the year, everyone’s talking strategy:
Evaluating current performance, making plans for future growth, and adjusting business tactics. We know we can’t just “surf” the next wave - we have to purposefully swim towards the important goals. And that takes a lot of effort —
Setting goals. Allocating resources. Delivering training. Measuring results.
We’re trying to anticipate market conditions, study consumer habits, and most of all, get everyone working on the same goals and objectives. Because as leaders, we know that one of the most powerful amplifiers of results is alignment.
How many times have you said: “If we could just get everyone working on the same page….”
Strategy is a commodity, and execution is an art. – Peter Drucker
One Page Alignment Activity
It turns out that’s exactly what you need: One page - in which you can evaluate everyone’s alignment to the strategic, cultural, operational and customer-experience goals you think they all know....
But do they?
Try this simple alignment exercise:
Gather everyone together - leadership, sales teams, support personnel, vendor partners, and anyone else who will contribute to your growth plan.
Put a flip chart in the middle of the room.
Hand out sticky notes (the larger ones work well).
Now, without a preamble, tell the team you’re working on the organization’s strategic plan and need help with one question. You want them to write an answer on their sticky note (to keep the answers anonymous) in the most clear, concise manner.
Tell them they have 3 minutes to reflect, write and post their answer. Remind them not to overthink it, be as honest as possible, and don’t be afraid.
Tell them you’re going to do the same thing. It’s an equal opportunity assessment.
Now, write the following on the flip chart:
”What is the single most important thing that must get done in the next 3 months in order for us to succeed?”
Start the timer and stand back.
The Orange Vespa
As a leader, we’re taught to celebrate creativity. The stand-out idea could be a big winner. No doubt there’s strength in diversity….
Most of the time.
One place where diversity can be detrimental is business alignment. Whether you have a team of 10 or a company of thousands, if people are operating from vastly different ideas about your company’s priorities for success, you won’t be going anywhere fast.
Imagine a brokerage firm where some leaders thought recruiting was the priority, while data shows retention needs the most attention. Where staff thought the priority was implementing more technology when high-touch relationship management was the key to your culture. Where salespeople were all over the place - some chasing buyers in a sellers’ market, others writing newsletters about inventory scarcity while company marketing focused on taking action before the end of the year. Where your vendor partners were promoting discounts while your sales strategy talked about full-fee-for-full-service…
Where everybody was out of alignment, but putting in maximum effort.
Who’s worried about competitors in a situation like that?!
Stop on Red, Go on Green
In a modern world where complexity is a feature, not a bug, of most competitive growth strategies, alignment is critical to success. The whole point of an organization is to unlock the network effects of many people contributing to a focused set of goals. This doesn’t mean that individuality and creativity won’t still matter: of course, they’ll amplify the joy of the work.
But if you want to make progress, everyone has to pull together, not apart.
"If you could get all the people in the organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time." - Patrick Lencioni
As a leader, the starting point of growth is setting the strategy. However, once the plans are in place, fidelity to their plans is critical to driving progress. Moreover, when misalignment occurs, it’s almost certainly unintentional; few people on your team are trying to mess up your strategy. It’s more likely due to miscommunication, or even lack of it, that takes people off track. In the absence of clear and consistent direction, people will fill in the blanks with whatever goals they think represent their best efforts to contribute.
The modern organization requires leaders to make harmony as important as strategy. All it takes is a pile of sticky notes to quickly assess what people think matters most — and for leaders to take action if there’s any confusion about it,
—M
Want more ideas on how to increase alignment in your organization? Here are ten ways you can drive collaboration and cohesion in your employees and salespeople.
Develop a Clear Vision and Mission Statements:
Ensure your vision and mission are not just statements on the wall. Regularly communicate and reference them in meetings, emails and public statements. Relate daily tasks and long-term projects to these core values whenever you’re giving updates or announcing new initiatives.
Example: Host a quarterly town hall where the leader highlights achievements and emphasizes their alignment with the mission and strategy, celebrating how all departments contributed to success.
Maintain Regular Communication:
Use a blend of communication techniques like email, newsletters, instant messaging, video recordings and meetings. Keep everyone updated on company goals, progress, and the overall strategic imperatives.
Example: A weekly newsletter can provide updates on achievements and milestones while keeping key goals and intentions top of mind.