Getting Alignment is Messy (and Happens Out Loud)

Most (if not all) leaders are great at creating awareness of what needs to be done. If you asked anyone on their team about their current TKRs, they’d all know what those were. Alignment, on the other hand, is not so straightforward. Awareness is knowing the TKRs. Alignment is acting in ways that connect to the TKRs. It’s a deeper level of understanding that requires time and energy on behalf of the leader.

Let’s talk about how leaders can use the Alignment Process to get everyone on their team working toward a united goal.

The Alignment Process

We created the Alignment Process as a guide to moving beyond awareness. If you’ve completed the Lead in 30 course, this will be an excellent refresher on the steps required to get there. If you haven’t, here’s a sneak peek of the process and the skills required to complete it. The Alignment Process is a three-step sequence of skills where a leader explains the essential reasons for the TKRs, encourages honest communication, and works to make sure every person understands how their work contributes to the TKRs. This process will move your team beyond awareness. 

Make the Case

Teams need motivation to align with the TKRs. Sustainable motivation doesn’t come from negative sources, such as threats, authority, or penalties. It comes from people connecting with their work on a deeper level. If someone understands the way their work directly or indirectly impacts the TKRs, they’re more likely to be motivated. This is why the first step of the Alignment Process, 'Making the Case', is crucial. It means presenting the TKRs with persuasive arguments for why they are vital to the team and organization as a whole. 

The first step is to make the “why” compelling. Help your team understand why theTKR exists in the first place. This will help them move from “I want to hit that TKR” to “I NEED to hit that TKR.” The second step is to reveal the “gain or pain”. The goal of this step is to help your team emotionally connect with the future consequences of hitting or missing this TKR. Be upfront with them about potential pains they might face in reaching this TKR, as well as what they stand to gain. The third step is telling relevant stories. Stories are 22x more memorable than facts; use that to your advantage. Stories strengthen your case for the TKRs and are a powerful way to illustrate alignment's purpose, drawbacks, and benefits. 

Gauge & Discuss

Once you’ve made the case, it’s time to get messy. This step revolves around creating chances for people to express their genuine reactions and openly discuss the TKRs. In order to get the team’s honest thoughts, there needs to be psychological safety. This means people don’t fear negative consequences when speaking their minds. Assuming that already exists, the first step for this part is scoring everyone’s level of alignment. Score It is a vehicle for discussion and a simple way to gauge where people are with their alignment. Second, open the door for private and public discussions. Invite people to talk to you in that meeting or at a later date. Set aside open times where individuals can privately discuss the TKRs and their alignment with you. Not everyone feels comfortable speaking their mind in a meeting with the whole team. They will be more honest and comfortable one-on-one. Finally, focus on controlling what you can. Focus the team discussion on controllable choices and outcomes. Certain TKRs might have unavoidable roadblocks. However, if you can’t control it, you should redirect your focus to what is.

Get Involved

The final step of the Alignment Process is to ensure daily workflows prioritize TKRs. When gauging if a task prioritizes TKRs, it’s important to remember that there are direct and indirect ways to be involved. Direct involvement is a workflow that has an immediate impact on the TKRs. Indirect involvement are things that support and enable others who have direct involvement. Both are equally important and necessary for hitting goals. Help your team understand if their actions are directly or indirectly helping. You can also act as a sounding board when helping team members decide if an action prioritizes the TKRs or not.

Awareness is Not Alignment

Making someone aware of a TKR is fairly simple, but creating alignment takes work. Make the case so team members understand why the TKR exists and how it helps the organization thrive. Gauge and discuss each person’s level of alignment, as well as any concerns or thoughts they have. Get involved in ensuring each person’s daily workflow directly moves the needle on the TKRs. The AlignmentProcess is messy and happens out loud. It takes effort and skill to do correctly, but the rewards are well worth the effort. Work toward alignment on your team and watch their motivation, engagement, and performance increase.You’ll be shocked at how quickly it can happen. 

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