I've been learning a lot about the importance of alignment. It may be a business buzzword but if you take the time to dissect the meaning it has real power. So many times companies, divisions and teams are not aligned with their purpose. They may understand the task at hand but when it comes to creating the climate and culture to accomplish those tasks on a consistent basis, they struggle. I had the opportunity to witness a team struggle with this very issue. This team is comprised of brilliant men and women who lead hundreds of team members and who are responsible for millions of dollars.
Just minutes before an offsite that I was facilitating, a call came in from corporate. As is many times the case, an order was given to deliver tasks that were of little or no use to the team.This team could have bemoaned the burden of bureaucracy or stressed over the unreasonable demands laced upon them.Instead they spent time making sure they were aligned with their purpose, value add, effective systems and priorities.They put their own interests aside and worked tirelessly to increase the organizational capacity. This meant being willing to sacrifice their own best interests for those of their team.
I watched as they committed first to lead as a team that was alignedand then to saturate that alignment to those who were in their circle of influence. The corporate C-suite gurus were delivered their tasks without tarnishing the integrity of the team. This could only have been accomplished with strong leadership who were committed to executing with prescribed alignment. In other words, they were leading in the right direction.
Choose to take the time to make sure your team, company or organization is aligned and you will make a difference.
Larry
The Right Direction
