Arguing and Alignment 26 January, 2018

Often in a company or team, there is an individual that does a great job of shouting the loudest. Sometimes groups rely on someone being very opinionated in order to make a decision. If you find yourself in this kind of situation, your group may not be aligned towards the same goals or strategy.

Probably the biggest indicator that this is happening is the loss of priority of an idea because its advocate is not there to defend it. It means that the members of a group aren't aligned on what the most important things are. This is a different manifestation of the classic company values test. If you publish a list of company values, and there is laughter or mocking, the values won't affect the work.

What can you do to help combat this problem? Here are some ideas.

• Before you publish a strategy, make sure all your influencers are aligned with it.
• Make sure your organizational structure supports the strategy.
• Be transparent in what teams are excited about, and what teams are alarmed about.
• Make sure everyone has a way to propose ideas and be heard.
• Teach everyone some strategy fundamentals.