Team Alignment

One of the most important things we can do as leaders is ensure that our team is in alignment. Alignment with the organization, with the mission, with us as a leader and with each other.

There’s are a few key elements that directly contribute to the alignment of our team.

• Coherence — Are we on the same page as a team and individually? Do we have trust and respect for each other?
• Path to win — Do we feel that we are set up to succeed individually and collectively? Do we see a path that is achievable and inspiring?
• Optics — Do we have visibility into what’s going on in the organization and why our work matters?
• Input — Does anyone listen or care when we see something and speak up? Do we feel that our input matters and is being taken into consideration?
• Recognition — Are we being seen for our contribution to the mission? Are we being appreciated and recognized for our hard work?

Sure. There are other things that affect a team’s alignment, but these are the major one’s that I’ve seen at the head of the pack over and over again.

If we are deficient in any of these areas, we either need to over compensate in another area to make up for it or accept that our team isn’t going to be all in.

Whenever we’re experiencing some resistance as a leader, check in on coherence, the path to win, optics, input and recognition. We’ll almost always find some opportunities to bring our team further into alignment.