This is the first in a short series I’m doing on alignment in growth stage organizations which I hope may be useful to for early-career staff, so thanks for reading/commenting.
Let’s start by defining terms. What do we mean exactly by Alignment?
To paraphrase a recent McKinsey & Company article co-authored by a dynamic & talented former colleague of mine, Drew Goldstein, real alignment – as described in that article – is best executed when leaders throughout the organization recognize their responsibility not just to communicate goals, but to connect work to those goals—and to make sure team members understand how their efforts contribute to the larger whole. When staff see how their work matters, and are supported and challenged to deliver their best, they work with more purpose and ownership. And leaders can trust that their staff will add value in important and novel ways, beyond merely doing what’s asked of them.
Alignment is the difference between a company that functions and one that thrives.
But what if your organization doesn’t seem to have created that environment (yet)? If you’re employed within such an organization, and not (yet) in a position to guide the entire organization, you can still create better alignment for yourself/your team. It requires thinking beyond your tasks to the overall organization as if you were responsible for it. Understand your business’ performance goals and the company’s progress towards those goals. Understand your contribution in achieving those goals. This framing makes you master of your own destiny, rather than a cog in a complex machine. It requires that you treat your boss like a client. And if you learn to think like your boss’s boss, you’ll anticipate needs before you are asked in the way truly great customer service orgs anticipate their customers’ needs. The more you think about what you can do to make your leaders’ role(s) easier, the more likely you are to be in alignment and to feel empowered in your work.
While true alignment is a two-way street, there’s no reason you – the employee/mid-level manager – can’t be the first mover to create it. And when you’re aligned, everything moves faster, more effectively, and with far greater impact.