In our first blog of the Growth Strategy series, we shared our framework for crafting a comprehensive growth strategy. While this framework helps to bring clarity to the strategy, it is only the beginning of the journey. Once defined, a variety of roadblocks exist that deter success, the first of which is organizational alignment. In this blog post, we outline the importance of alignment, share some tips and tricks for creating alignment, and overview some of the challenges associated with creating alignment for a dynamic strategy.
The Vital Role of Leadership Alignment
Organizational success hinges greatly on the alignment of its leadership. Much like an airplane flying a long distance needing to stay aligned to its course, even a one-degree deviation from the charted flight path can substantially alter the flight’s destination by hundreds of miles. In a business context, the flight path can be likened to the business’ growth strategy, and leaders serve as pilots steering the organization. If the pilots aren’t fully aligned with the intended flight path, keeping the organization on the path to fulfilling its growth strategy becomes an arduous task.
Alignment as a Recurring Objective
Navigating the ongoing battle of alignment within an organization is a continuous process that extends beyond a single meeting. We often find that business leaders assume that creating alignment is a single, one-time event. In reality, even as they define their strategy, different leaders can walk away from the same meeting with different focuses and takeaways. Then, as leadership communicates the message they interpreted to their direct reports, a game of telephone arises leading to additional miscommunications and confusion. As this confusion is discovered, leadership rinses and repeats the same conversation they started with, once again communicating the message to direct reports who understand a bit better. However, as weeks and then months go by, they may forget other key aspects. Achieving true alignment requires a consistent effort to check in with employees across the organization, ensuring they grasp the nuances of the strategy and how it can be applied to their roles. Employees are immersed in their demanding day-to-day responsibilities, layering in strategic initiatives on top of their existing workload presents a challenge. Regular discussions provide a means for them to grasp and maintain alignment without being overwhelmed.
In the quest for organizational alignment and understanding, going beyond verbal exchanges and creating tangible documents can be valuable reinforcement tools that serve as constant reminders as to what the strategy is and what the strategy is not. This documentation not only acts as a reference for the current state of alignment but also lays the foundation for future conversations. In addition to tangible documents, we’ve found that developing short videos for weekly team updates or establishing a frequently asked questions (FAQ) summary can also be useful. Regardless of the medium, repetition and reminders help to support organizational alignment.
Alignment Within a Dynamic Strategy
Alignment challenges arise not only as a result of our own human tendencies but also as a core tenet of dynamic strategic planning. As highlighted in our last blog and to be further discussed in our next blog, dynamic strategies built upon differentiation are constantly being evaluated and adjusted as new opportunities arise. For a leadership team focused on alignment, re-adjusting a strategy means updating communication plans to be cascaded through the organization so that everyone understands what the adjustment is, why it is being made, and whether or not they are impacted. After all, what is the point of identifying an opportunity and making an adjustment if we are not going to unify the organization to go and achieve it?
This may sound like a lot of work (because it is), but we can leverage our creation of previous documents and build upon existing understanding. Simple discussions framed with what the strategy was, what the change is, and how that change effects individual responsibilities can help steer the organization one degree in the right direction with every repetition, and as we mentioned at the beginning of this blog, one degree makes all the difference.
Conclusion
The pursuit of organizational alignment is an ongoing and dynamic endeavor with leadership alignment acting as a pivotal force steering the collective course toward strategic objectives. Alignment achieved is not a guarantee of alignment months later. By embracing the reality that strategies built on differentiation are not static, organizations can create a continuous commitment to alignment that positions their business to navigate the complexities of change. In our next blog in this series, we further discuss this need for evaluation and adjustment of the growth strategy.
Written by: Mark Slotnik and Jack Draeb
Mark Slotnik has spent nearly 20+ years advising clients in the areas of designing and taking to market high-value business solutions, solution portfolio management, talent development, resource management, business process re-engineering and commercial software.
Jack Draeb is a Senior Consultant with McMann & Ransford who has experience working with Fortune 1000 companies to identify issues, define solutions, guide change management, and deliver lasting results.
