Having an aligned and motivated team is key to business success. People are the heartbeat of many companies, and aligning those people—across all functional areas and at all levels of the businesses—is essential to reaching business goals on time and on budget.
If done right, workers are more productive, getting more done with less. These employees also feel valued, which leads to lower turnover and recruiting or training expenses. Good, solid alignment also often means less conflict and better communication and collaboration. All in all, teams often have better decision making.
So, then how to get good team alignment?
Certainly, creating a cohesive team and achieving good alignment is easier said than done. Often, it starts with good communication and ongoing dialog about how work is interdependent. This type of collaboration and education often starts at the top levels of the organization and moves down.
In the first step, executives must articulate the mission and vision of the overall organization and each individual department. Leaders must clearly highlight the goals, resources, and milestones. The CEO must take the big visionary lead on this, and then each department lead can hammer out the strategies and goals for each department.
From there, in the second step, it is time to narrow in on each individual and how they will contribute to the business objectives. Be very clear on these objectives. Some companies choose to use an OKR (objectives and key results) tracking model, which specifies what must be done by when and by whom. This process can either be done collaboratively or individually—but either way it is important to clarify roles and responsibilities at a granular level.
In step three, we must continually monitor progress. Keep track throughout the year to see if objectives are being met. This can be done with monthly reporting on progress to goals. Goals can be tracked individually or as a team. In this phase of monitoring, it is also important to get feedback from employees regarding their view on company and team alignment. Some questions to consider might include:
- Do they feel their work matters and is consistent with the company strategies and goals?
- Do they have sufficient resources to get the job done?
- Do they feel supported by their boss?
- Do they see collaboration in action?
These surveys often identify opportunities to address pain points, whether process or people driven, ultimately leading to more cohesive teams and alignment.
At the end of the day, alignment is key for all businesses. It is important to make sure leaders in the organization are willing to cooperate, as someone who doesn’t align could create disruption. Coaching from a top executive might be needed.
How is your business planning to create alignment in 2025? A good company starts with a strong team, and that is exactly what is needed in the year ahead.
