EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
5 tests for identifying a highly aligned top team
Senior leadership alignment has a far-reaching impact on employee engagement, organizational performance and ultimately the success of the organization
Nothing does more damage to an organization than a lack of alignment in the senior leadership team. When alignment does not exist at senior levels, the entire organization feels it. The interesting thing about alignment is that it is a binary concept. It either exists or it doesn’t. Think about the wheels of a car — “almost aligned” is not good enough. Misalignment results in a bumpy ride not just for the driver, but also for all the passengers on board. However, unlike in a car, in an organization, misalignment gets amplified exponentially as you move further down the organization.
According to a recent AON Hewitt Global Best Employer Research Report ‘Engagement is derived from the way a senior leader connects with other senior leaders in the organization and how effective and accountable they are as a unit.”
Senior leadership alignment has a far reaching impact on employee engagement, organizational performance and ultimately the success of the organization in the market place. Organizations where senior leadership teams are aligned experience the following:
Is your team aligned?
No one can deny the importance of alignment but how can you actually tell if the organization is aligned? Here are a few tests that can help.
The interesting thing about alignment is that it is a binary concept — it either exists or it doesn’t
The Common Purpose Test
Nothing binds an organization more than shared vision and common purpose. Often in organizations, there is no clear understanding of the vision, mission and the raison d’etre of the organization. As Simon Sinek aptly points out, the “Why” of the organization is a compelling force that aligns the organization and helps marshal energies of team members towards a common goal.
The Big Picture Understanding Test
Going beyond the “Why” of the organization, it is imperative that the top team has a common understanding of the business realities. How does the organization create, deliver and capture value? What is the core value proposition to the customer?
The Goals and Accountabilities Test
Once alignment at the strategy and business model levels is established, it is time to look at goals and accountabilities. Every executive in an organization will have his/her own view of the strategy and hence may work on different opportunities and priorities. If clear goals and accountabilities are not established at the top, chaos and turf wars ensue.
The Sacred Cows and No-No Test
It is one thing to have a good understanding of the big picture and the goals of the organization and quite another to be aligned on the “how”. This is where culture comes in. What are some things that organizations always do and what are some things that the organizations would never do?
The Cascading Test
It is important for important messages to cascade down the different levels of the organization. A key metric one can track is the trickle-down time. This metric may be defined as the time taken for the awareness about a new idea to trickle down from the board room to the team, without losing its original form. An aligned top team passes down the message quickly and without distortions. If there is feedback on the message, that works its way to the top quickly as well.
How to create a cohesive and aligned team?
The lack of alignment is often wrongly treated as a behavioral or people related issue, but it is a combination of multiple factors:
How do we do it at KNOLSKAPE?
As a dynamic organization that is changing the contours of learning, alignment is a critical success factor for us. No one wants to run a long distance and then find out that it was the wrong track. We ensure that Knollies (as we call ourselves) are aligned by addressing all levels from mindset to methodologies.
The “Why” of the organization is a compelling force that aligns the organization and helps marshal energies of team members towards a common goal
Being a Knolly: One of our core values is “Make Others Successful”. By defining it as an integral feature of being a Knolly, we are able to recruit or assess behaviors. Every executive knows that he is expected to make others successful which includes all stakeholders, and this ensure collaboration.
Strategy Meet: At KNOLSKAPE nothing is decided in silos. The top team gets together frequently and locks itself in a room for a couple of days to brainstorm on the strategy. No idea is too trivial in this forum. The team of executives, pitch, debate and fight but when they come out, they emerge with a common understanding of the way ahead for the next year. Then they go back to their teams and come up with the 1st 100-day plan for the year.
100-day plan reviews: Well begun is only half done, so the top teams meet every month to discuss the progress of their 100 day plans. They present the achievements, challenges and opportunities to every other team. Together, they spot any misalignment and adopt a course correction.
Stand Up: Our Monthly Stand Up meetings are a two-way feedback forum where we ensure that the ideas reach everyone in the organization. It also serves to check the percolation levels. Such open house meetings are essential to create transparency and team spirit. Here teams open up, bond and feel proud about being a Knolly.
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