The Importance of Strategic Alignment
Imagine a rowing team where each member paddles in a different direction. Where would the boat go? Your guess is as good as mine – but certainly not toward its intended destination. The same principle applies to strategy and transformation. Without alignment between leadership and initiative teams, even the most brilliant strategies remain just ideas at best – or sources of confusion at worst.
Getting Aligned: Building a Shared Understanding
Alignment starts before the strategy is even set. It’s not something handed down from leadership – it’s something built together. Aligned teams share a consistent understanding of their work and how it contributes to the organization’s broader ambition. This clarity not only increases motivation but also accelerates execution.
Jacqueline Madison of Ticketmaster describes the power of this alignment:
“The strategy should be so well understood by everyone that each team member makes decisions like any leader would – even smaller micro decisions.”
To get there, leaders must prioritize collaboration from the start:
- Before setting your strategy, listen to your teams. Involving team members early creates a shared sense of ownership and ensures you’re incorporating frontline insights. For example, a sales leader shaping a new go-to-market strategy should first engage with sellers to understand their challenges and perspectives.
- During the strategy-setting process, co-create the vision. Strategy should never be built in isolation. As Jacqueline explains, “Good strategies are ones that are co-created. Leaders don’t do strategy well by sitting in a box and not talking to other people.” In our sales example, a leader might hold a working session with key team members to draft the strategy together, ensuring alignment from day one.
Staying Aligned: Reinforcing Strategy Over Time
Alignment isn’t a one-time event – it’s an ongoing discipline. Once the strategy is in place, the real challenge is ensuring teams stay connected to it through execution.
- Communicate the strategy consistently. Jacqueline shares how she ensures continued alignment at Ticketmaster: “I communicate the strategy regularly to different groups of people, and while it may feel repetitive, it’s really required for everyone to be on the same page.” Leaders should make strategy discussions a regular habit – whether through team meetings, check-ins, or company-wide updates.
- Maintain progress visibility. For transformational initiatives, teams must regularly share progress with leadership to ensure continued alignment. This not only prevents teams from drifting off course but also reinforces accountability and momentum.
Too often, organizations invest heavily in setting a strategy, only to let it fade into the background. When leaders stop reinforcing key initiatives, teams lose direction, motivation, and ultimately fail to achieve results. Successful strategies don’t just live in a document – they live in the minds of every team member.
As Jacqueline puts it, true alignment means each person understands the strategy so well that their confidence “empowers them to show up and be successful.”
By treating strategy as a living, breathing part of daily work, leaders can ensure their teams aren’t just paddling – but paddling together in the right direction.