Fueling Performance Through Organizational Alignment
According to McKinsey, the best predictor of long-term performance is organizational health: How well organizations align behind a common vision, execute their strategy, and renew themselves over time. Unfortunately, only 14% of workers feel entirely aligned with business goals.
Improving alignment—and organizational health—starts with having conversations that matter with employees and what they care about the most:
Operational changes, like process and policy updates
Organizational goals, plans, and new initiatives
Employees want to better understand strategy and how they can support it. The payoffs of an aligned organization are huge: it deepens trust and relationships; clarifies possibilities and problems; and accelerates planning and execution. (Forbes)
Is Your Organization Aligned?
If you want to know whether your organization is strategically aligned, start with these questions:
Do your leaders embrace a shared vision and mission? In other words, is everyone rowing in the same direction? This doesn’t mean there can’t be differing perspectives among leaders, but once a direction is agreed upon, leaders need to push forward. A breakdown at this level can lead to a fractured employee base, with teams focused on conflicting priorities.
Do your employees understand the organization’s strategy and their role in it? Successful organizations can articulate their strategy to employees on a single page or slide. As important as what’s included in a summary of organizational strategy is what’s not included. Employees need to believe they can say “no” when asked by managers to do something that’s not aligned with strategy. This level of clarity and empowerment ensures alignment.
Are your employees motivated and empowered to contribute to the organization’s success? The most productive employees understand what they’re accountable for, how they’re measured, and how they’ll be compensated for a job well done. They also make smarter decisions about their work.
Why It Matters
In addition to improved productivity and innovation, organizational alignment deepens employee engagement. Recent upticks reflect more employees know what's expected at work and have the materials and equipment to do their work. These are key components of organizational alignment.
Additional Perspectives
Healthy Organizations Keep Winning, but the Rules are Changing Fast. Driving performance means empowering employees to make decisions.
Here’s Why (and How) Leaders Need to Learn to be Silent. Creating a culture of curiosity means employees can find answers to their questions (vs. requiring leaders to always provide them).
Now is the time to align your organization for success in 2025. Reach out if you’d like to get started.
