What is Alignment?
When we work with businesses at Echelon Front, we often hear people say things like: “we can’t agree,” or “we have competing priorities,” or “they don’t get it.” These situations often prompt leaders to ask, How do I implement team alignment, in the face of competing viewpoints. It’s the proverbial “us vs. them” mentality that reveals itself through these phrases. This mentality often leads to what we call perceived misalignment. So, if the feeling of misalignment is so obvious, it would be easy to assume that alignment is just its obvious opposite.
However, what we’ve found to be true as we’ve worked through these situations with our clients is that teams are, more often than not, completely aligned strategically. More commonly, team members struggle to actually detach from their own perspective to determine how they are, in fact, strategically aligned, and then work to find tactical alignment. Understanding this distinction is a powerful first step in answering how do I implement team alignment effectively.
Many leaders ask, how do I align my team when facing these types of challenges in perspective. Whether it is strategic or tactical, alignment ensures that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same outcome. Answering how can I incorporate alignment in my team often starts with identifying whether the issue is truly misalignment or just a matter of misunderstood intent. This distinction is critical in how to align leadership teams effectively.
Q. What is leadership team alignment?
A. Everyone working towards a common goal/outcome.
Q. What is an example of teams being tactically misaligned but strategically aligned?
A. The Sales and Customer Service teams work closely together to support their clients, and they all want to do that in the most effective way possible. However, they disagree on what technology is best to accomplish that.
Why Alignment is Crucial
To understand the importance of alignment, we must understand what will occur if we are not aligned. Teams that are truly misaligned are working towards two completely different end states (Goal A and Goal B). When this happens, it is almost impossible to work together, and you will almost always end up competing against each other. However, even perceived misalignment can lead to friction. Perceived misalignment is what we encounter most often, and when teams have poor relationships, a lack of understanding of the other, gaps in communication, and a culture of blame, it is almost guaranteed that it will occur. The end result is the same as actual misalignment – a complete inability to work together and accomplish the mission. This makes the question how do I align my team more urgent than ever for today’s leaders. Understanding what is leadership team alignment is helps leaders ensure that both strategic goals and tactical execution are harmonised across departments.
The Dishwasher Example
Here is an example to demonstrate how perceived misalignment can occur:
Suppose there is a husband and wife who have a sink of dirty dishes in their home. The husband has a very particular way that he wants the dishes loaded in the dishwasher. He has thought deeply about the most efficient way to load the dishwasher to ensure as many dishes as possible can be cleaned and that the dishes are positioned in such a way that unloading is also most efficient. However, when the wife loads the dishwasher, she does not follow the husband’s protocol. This creates conflict between the two of them. Now the husband is thinking: “Why won’t my wife load the dishes as I’ve shown her? It doesn’t make any sense not to use my protocol. It makes things easier for everyone.” He thinks they aren’t aligned and assumes that she must have a different goal from him, so he starts thinking things like:
- “Why won’t she just do it this way?”
- “She must want to make things difficult for me.”
- “She just doesn’t get it.”
- “She doesn’t care.”
Meanwhile, the wife has very specific reasons why she did not load the dishwasher using the husband’s protocol, and when he gets frustrated with her for how she did the dishes, she also assumes they aren’t aligned. She starts thinking things like:
- “Why is he so ungrateful?”
- “He just doesn’t get it.”
- “He doesn’t care.”
What they both fail to realize is that they are, in fact, both trying to accomplish the same thing – cleaning the dishes (Goal C). Therefore, they are strategically aligned, but the friction is caused by tactical misalignment on how to do the dishes (A vs. B).
Creating and Finding Alignment
So, if most misalignment is only perceived, how do you avoid that perception in the first place? You have to create and find alignment using the principles of Extreme Ownership and the Ladder of Alignment.
Just as there is tactical and strategic alignment or misalignment, there are also strategies and tactics for creating and finding alignment.
Here are the strategies:
- Build and maintain solid relationships
- Keep an open mind
- Communicate consistently
- Take ownership
Here are the tactics:
- Ask earnest questions
- Use the Ladder of Alignment
Relationships Create Alignment
When you have a strong relationship with a person you seem to be misaligned with, it is much easier to create or find alignment with them because you are both more inclined to give the other the benefit of the doubt. When you lack a relationship or have a strained relationship with someone you feel is not aligned with you, you will assume the worst, and it will be extremely difficult to climb the ladder of alignment with that person.
Q. How can I incorporate alignment in my team?
A. Build relationships with your team members.
Stay Open-Minded
One of the easiest ways to stay aligned with others is to not care about how things get accomplished. Instead of forcing your opinions or plans on others, keep your focus on finding a safe, efficient, and collaborative way to accomplish the overall mission, and you will be much less likely to create perceived misalignment.
Going back to the example, unloading the dishwasher:
- If the husband were willing to relinquish control over how the dishes are done in favor of having clean dishes, there would be no conflict.
- If the wife were willing to just do the dishes as the husband wanted, there would be no conflict.
Communication is Key
Conflict is created in a vacuum. So is misalignment. The best way to create alignment is to ensure the team remains focused on the overall vision, mission, and values of the organization at all times. This cannot be accomplished through a yearly all-hands meeting or a pretty poster on the wall. Don’t leave space for confusion to arise. Alignment requires intentional, consistent, repetitive effort to bring teams back to that common goal while they are executing.
When perceived misalignment does occur, not addressing it will inevitably lead to failure. When you sense the team may not be aligned, talk about it. Ask questions and uncover where the misunderstanding occurred.
Q. How to align leadership teams effectively?
A. Communicate about your vision, mission, and values often. Always tie the current project/tasks/decisions back to those three things.
Take Ownership – Always
When perceived misalignment occurs, you should always be looking to find ways that you can take ownership of the situation.
- Where did you fail to communicate clearly?
- Who did you fail to inform?
- Did you fail to explain the why?
- Did you fail to consider the impacts on other teams?
Ask Earnest Questions
As you work to resolve misalignment, the best tactic is to ask earnest questions. These are not leading questions that get to the answers you want, but truly curious questions that help you understand where you missed the mark. The answers to these questions will reveal the best path forward for finding alignment.
Q. What is an example of an earnest question?
A. When you see a flaw in someone’s plan, instead of asking: “Won’t this part here cause a problem?” Ask: “Do you have any concerns about this part of the plan?” In both cases, you are addressing the thing you are concerned about, but one is meant to get them to see what you see. The other is intended to reveal to you what you don’t yet know about their plan.
Use the Ladder of Alignment
The Ladder of Alignment is a tool to create and find alignment within any organization. It enables leaders to pinpoint the specific areas in which you might be facing misalignment and identify the direction they need to go to find alignment. The best way to learn how to use this tool is to take the course on The Ladder of Alignment on our Extreme Ownership Academy, which is taught by Dave Berke and Jocko Willink.
True Misalignment
When true misalignment is the issue, this is an indication that you won’t be able to get the team working together. However, this is rare. Most misalignment is only perceived, and true misalignment typically only occurs in situations like:
- Someone isn’t capable of performing the job at this organization
- Business partners actually want completely different things for their business
- Two people in a relationship don’t want the same type of future life
Q. Can I be truly misaligned with my boss?
A. Yes. If your boss is asking you to do something that is immoral, illegal, or unethical, you may have a true misalignment that cannot be corrected. In this case, you might consider looking for a new job or even escalating your feedback within the organization, depending on the situation.
Conclusion
Alignment is crucial for any team’s success. Most misalignment you sense is only perceived, and creating and finding alignment can be accomplished through strong relationships, effective communication, open-mindedness, ownership, asking questions, and climbing the ladder of alignment. True misalignment is rare and likely not correctable, but when your team is aligned, it will be unstoppable. If you’re still wondering how do I align my team, start by applying these principles with consistency and intent.
