Alignment is a Choice

Welcome back to “NEXT LEVEL Leadership,” your weekly leadership coaching support to move you forward in the work you do and the responsibilities you manage on a daily basis.

As we coach leaders to their NEXT LEVEL, we consistently hear that they are seeking greater alignment with their teams and across departments within their organizations. 

Teams are working to find:

• Alignment in the work they do,
• Alignment in their priorities, and 
• Alignment in the outcomes expected of them

With this consistent need for greater alignment in mind, we want to let you in on a NEXT LEVEL mindset—one that we coach within TC&A’s NEXT LEVEL Leadership Tools.

In order for teams to experience the ALIGNMENT they desire to move their work and responsibilities forward – there are 3 things that teams need: Clarity. Clarity of priorities is often an overlooked component of alignment. An awareness to Slow Down. Rarely is slowing down considered when seeking alignment within the team. Prioritization. When the priorities are constantly shifting, clarity and alignment are impossible to obtain.

With the pace of business demands, tangible outcomes and the priority of a stronger bottom line, alignment can go by the wayside. Leaders tend to get so focused on those tangible urgent needs, which creates a cascading impact of lack of clarity, due to not slowing down, nor re-prioritization. EVERYTHING within the system begins to break down and employees are impacted by the strain. Within Leadership Coaching, this is where we appropriately challenge your approach when seeking alignment with your team and business goals.

An honest question to ask yourself – 

Am I getting the outcomes that I want and need for my team to be supported and in

reaching the financial business goals? Both are important for business sustainability. 

A few reflections that will support your ability to find clarity and alignment – 

1. Can you say there is full clarity with your team, across departments and within the organization as a whole? 
2. Do you experience efficient, aligned movement forward? 
3. Is there constant change, that goes unaddressed, which makes it hard to find clarity and alignment?
4. What can you do to create greater clarity and alignment for you, your team and your organization?

These are thoughtful questions. We understand, you may not be able to answer “yes” 100% across the board.

Yet, this is your opportunity to move toward greater alignment by seeking clarity, FIRST.

You can begin with these four steps:

1. Make sure you are clear on your own role and responsibilities.
2. During meetings, ask clarifying questions and have others repeat back what they hear. This confirms clarity.
3. Identify next steps, priority levels, and ownership.
4. Set reminders to follow up. When each person takes responsibility, accountability becomes more natural.

Imagine a train moving along its tracks. If there is not full alignment with the tracks the wheels of the train cannot move forward. You are the conductor of your train (team). You know when the team you are leading is off track. As the leader, it is your responsibility to slow things down, find clarity, and take action to realign towards the best possible outcomes.

Clarity and alignment are available to you. In fact, it is the first focus of four in 

TC&A’s NEXT LEVEL Leadership Tools, designed to support you in becoming the high-performing leader you are capable of being.

Book a call to begin your NEXT LEVEL. Schedule with Tess or Chelsea.