Achieving strategic alignment
By Priscilla L. Pipho
February 8, 2021
Imagine working in an organization where everyone is aligned. From the C-suite to the inventory specialists, everyone knows why they are there and feel a part of something bigger than themselves. We know from culture research that an engaged workforce is more productive, but there is also evidence that an aligned workforce is more efficient and produces superior results.
Strategy is a word that we use freely in business to describe a focused approach that has purpose. Strategic planning is a huge undertaking for organizations to develop a roadmap and funnel costs to initiatives and communicate direction. Unfortunately, strategic planning has its own set of problems as it becomes institutionalized and loses the edge of agility and adaptability. And there is no better place to find examples of this than in our current COVID-19 pandemic.
Get everyone on the same page.
Strategic alignment is first about getting everyone rowing in the same direction. Sometimes that means revisiting purpose, vision, mission, and sometimes revamping core values, but the end result is agreement. When we have alignment in a system there is a natural synergy that gets energy flowing. In business, when we add people systems that reinforce the purpose and values, that translates to motivation and engagement. Purposeful alignment becomes the way that strategy is actualized. It’s very exciting.
But don’t stop there.
You’ve seen it happen. The leadership team has met, held a few offsite sessions or maybe a retreat and comes back with the plan that will make everything better. Everyone is filled with a renewed sense of purpose and hope, ready to tackle the future and solve the problems of the world. But as we make it back to our desks and the inbox has overflowed and issues emerge, the alignment, that spark of inspiration, slowly fades. Reality sets in and we are back at the grind. So before the bloom is off the rose, take steps to ensure the momentum you gained is not lost.
Communicate purposefully.
It is naïve to assume that communication within an organization will occur because you have smart people working at all levels. We’ve discovered that approaching internal communication with the same purposefulness you would externally pays off in huge dividends. Aligned communication is purposeful. Engaging in a regular practice of cascading messages within an organization is a sure-fire way to make sure leadership teams are aligned when they leave a meeting, armed with messages to deliver, messages to NOT deliver, and timing. Cascading messages reinforce the alignment you have worked so hard to achieve.
Get metrics – take the pulse.
Measure what you want to have happen or repeated. Define outcomes and expected results before you start the work or the communication, and make sure those measurements ensure employee and customer reaction. The people who do the work and use your products and services can give you valuable feedback as to what was heard and how it affects them. If you don’t align the people with the expected action, it’s unlikely you’ll see the results you wanted.
Adapt and sustain.
Now is the time to look at planning to maintain the momentum. You can build it into a strategic planning framework if that’s your paradigm, or you can simply create a new framework that makes sense. Your chances at long-term success hinge upon your ability to sustain what you have started, which requires purposeful iteration. A best practice is to revisit your progress on a quarterly basis, performing a new environmental assessment to determine if plans need to pivot as a result of outside threats or opportunities or internal weaknesses and strengths. You’ll need to experiment with finding the sweet spot of how often to revisit purpose and direction, but starting with your leadership team and moving to your people management systems, you can build the structure that allows long-term sustainability and success.
Organizations require purposeful crafting of people systems; setting employees up to succeed at the right things and ensure strategic success. If you do it well, the people you hire will experience consistency throughout their life-cycle with your organization. From interviewing to performance management and promotions, consistent messages and rewards systems should reflect not only company values, but will ensure strategic alignment right down to the front lines. And that creates something great that can be sustained over time.