Alignment
Do you ever feel like you are working on things that just aren’t valued, no-one else prioritises or seem a waste of time? You don’t understand where the company is heading?
If you know this feeling , you will understand why leaders need to create alignment for each of their employees to create meaning in their day job; this aligns to purpose and for some, creates passion for their day ahead. Research shows when Alignment is clear, engagement is high.
If you’ve been around younger children, you will know we constantly hear “BUT WHY”, as we ask them to do something. This is human nature, children want to know why this task is important, they want to understand the bigger picture and as they get older, the consequence.
Psychologically, as adults we are wired the same. As we get older the “Why” becomes things like ‘What is in it for me’ (WIFM)? What if I don’t do this (understanding consequence)? Why am I doing this as the company is not prioritising this? Why does that person speak to me in that way as it is not consistent with our values? Why does that team have so many people, what do they do all day?
Creating alignment removes this noise and creates focus and a shared sense of purpose.
As a leader when we communicate with employees , we lead with the What directly followed by the Why. This is critical when establishing alignment clarity for each of your team members.
Alignment is when we create a line of sight on why what we do is important to the company in achieving its vision, mission and strategy; collectively, the purpose. To experience a high performing growth culture where shared success is the norm, creating alignment on mission, strategy, and values with the team is critical.
In the simplest sense, alignment is being in sync with one another and the company and/or team purpose and behaviours are in sync with the values of the company. Alignment is part of the glue that binds employees to a company and to each other. In an ‘aligned’ team, each individual has respect for each other, they know what they do is important and their humble leader involves them, treats them with respect and enables them.
Alignment, done well, involves both consultation and collaboration. This is the job of every leader in the organisation, not just the Executives who have a key role in reinforcing the same key messages in all their communications. In the defining and facilitation of vision, mission and values employees from all parts of the organisation should be involved across work teams, focus groups and strategy sessions.
Alignment requires:
An empowering Vision and Mission creating Purpose
A clear Strategic Plan, both longer term (3 to 5 years) and priorities established for the next 12 months
An organisation structure that will enable and support the realisation of the plan
Teams with the right skill sets with ways of working that enable achievements gained through collaboration, process clarity and effectiveness
Values that align to the purpose of the organisation enables and helps shape the culture while unifying and engaging the team with each other. Values collectively give the organisation an identity and define behaviours that are acceptable to the team.
Alignment done well needs humble leadership, senior leaders that acknowledge they don’t have all the answers. They know that often it is the people in the organisation that know best our customer needs; our challenges in selling, and product development; and how effective and enabling our ways of working are.
Alignment to our values is the glue that binds us to an organisation; it is the reason you will or won’t take that call from the headhunter. A passionate employee will often have great alignment to the purpose of the organisation and the culture which is underlined by the values of the organisation; leadership behaviours are consistent with these values and team colleagues are collaborative, supportive and respectful.
Alignment is critical to developing a growth mindset and humble leadership is essential.
What can leaders do to create Alignment?
Facilitate a series of focus groups through the organisation to gain valuable inputs for the facilitation of vision, mission and values.
Facilitate a series of off-sites or small half day workshops with all leaders to collaborate and consult on defining vision, mission, strategy and values.
Run focus groups and/or team meetings to sense check vision, mission, strategy and values involving as many employees as possible. Use these focus groups to create energy around purpose and values. Think about creating your change agents through this process.
Through collaboration, define ways of working and this should be a bottom up process.
Challenge poor behaviours and don’t make excuses ie if a highly technical or high performing employee is not living the values or continues to work in a way that negatively impacts the team, be bold and take action.
Work with individuals on your team to define their role and their key deliverables so they know what they are doing and how this fits into the organisation’s purpose. Work with employees each year in setting goals or objectives so they have absolute clarity on their mission and how that adds value to both team and organisation achievements.
Employee communications strategy is key, reinforcing the key messaging around vision, mission and values creating alignment. The Executive team and Board have a key role to play here.
If you need assistance in the consulting process, focus group and off site facilitation, leadership development and/or employee communications strategy don’t hesitate to reach out.