Great leaders understand that their organization needs to be aligned around a shared purpose and direction. They know what to say No to. It’s a simple statement with wide-ranging implications. And the How matters here.
Sometimes that vision comes from the top but is not widely understood – even on the executive team. So, alignment – and by that we mean simply getting together and having a full-throated conversation about it, understanding the knowns/the unknowns – becomes imperative. If there are questions or disagreement about direction, your organization will be less productive – wasting time and money. No time to align in your fast-moving business? Watch your execution suffer. The upside: spending the time to have a robust debate increases engagement on the team, will likely result in a better plan, and helps leaders find a common way to talk about your direction and priorities with others in the organization.
Action: Check your team’s alignment. Can everyone on your executive team state your purpose and direction? If there’s noise in the signal at this level, know that it only gets louder further out in the organization. Time to have the conversation.
“It’s not about any one person. You’ve got to get over yourself and realize that it takes a group to get this thing done.” – Gregg Popovich