Organizational alignment is one of the key factors for the good performance of a business. In this way, the actions of the different areas of the company will be synchronized, greater collaboration between teams will be achieved, and effectiveness will be ensured when defining priorities and business focus. Allen Woo, a specialist in proper business management, provides some steps to follow in order to have an aligned company.
People will work hard to realize a company’s vision if they are clear and united. Creative strategies are key to achieving the vision. These two elements provide a solid foundation, energy, and inspiration to help everyone find their place in the world.
Many people still question why strategy execution is a problem for many organizations. Woo says there may be many reasons. However, Woo believes that strategy execution is difficult because of too many strategic initiatives. Strategies don’t match the budget and people don’t fully understand the strategy. A framework is necessary to make your vision a reality.
“Key performance indicators (KPIs) should be linked to the vision and place them on one side and the strategic initiatives on the other,” Woo suggests. “Building this map can serve as a powerful tool for aligning your organization and a mechanism for executing your strategies.”
Most business focus reports consolidate financial information important to a company’s KPIs. But establishing accountability requires a different focus report (one for each individual). The individual focus report should show the direct impact roles, horizontal and management influence for each KPI on the alignment map, as well as the assigned strategic initiatives that build your company’s future. A well-constructed focus report provides a clear and measurable focus for the work and a clear look at vision and strategy.
Woo recommends keeping alignment with feedback information. Managers need to have the right information in order to do their jobs. Managers need to be able to give feedback about their performance as well as the performance of their employees. The expert says that managers can adjust their course to suit their needs and those of their employees with timely and accurate feedback.
Management is improved when there are individual focus reports and when feedback is provided to each person. But, to maintain alignment, a leadership process is needed. Leaders can maintain alignment by inspiring collaboration from people who tend to focus on their own agendas and work within their silos.
Now, there is a growing awareness of the importance of linking management with that of your own employees, creating a virtuous circle that has a powerful impact on competitiveness and business sustainability. Knowing this experience and managing it with the right tools allows organizations to predict and anticipate potential problems and seek solutions by addressing the priority factors for two of the greatest assets of any company.
Suppose the CEO is able to communicate the values and purpose of the organization. In that case, he or she will make sure that his or her teams guarantee that these values and the consequent actions are coherent down to the last level of the organization. Simple to explain but difficult to implement since it requires leaders to constantly and consistently ask themselves if daily decisions are aligned with those values and if they lead to organizational goals.
Leaders have the opportunity to help their people become more aware of cross-functional needs. Leadership involves breaking down silos. It requires entrusting the workforce to make their own determinations.
These steps are the key to establishing and maintaining alignment in your company and will help you transform your work culture over time. Through them, you will move toward full alignment and see excellent results year after year.