The case for alignment
Nature has a way of existing in harmony, where different species compete for resources yet thrive in their unique ways. This delicate balance is a perfect metaphor for team alignment. Aligning team members towards a common goal may not mean they agree, but ensures that the team as a whole is optimised for success. While agreement can often lead to compromise and mediocrity, alignment means everyone can stand on the same side, acting as a unified force towards achieving a common goal. In this blog post, we discuss why leaders should prioritize alignment over agreement and the benefits that come with it.
Seeking alignment means respecting the different opinions, perspectives, and beliefs within your team. It allows diverse thinking, encourages healthy conflict, and ultimately leads to better decision-making processes. When team members align, it means they're committed to supporting a decision as if it were their own, even if they might have done something different if they were in charge. Instead of merely tolerating a decision, they become active supporters of it, and that support will drive the team forward towards their common goal.
In contrast, seeking agreement often means leaders try to impose their decisions on team members, which ignores diverse thinking and disrespects differing opinions. This approach can alienate team members and lead to an overall lack of commitment. Not everyone may agree with the decision, but they feel compelled to tolerate it and go along with it due to a lack of choice, leading to a lower degree of engagement.
Alignment also allows room for feedback and constructive criticism, two critical factors for improving the quality of decisions. When people align, they feel safe giving feedback since they know they share the same common goal. This feedback can lead to conversations and new solutions that may not have arisen if agreement was forcing a one-track decision process.
When alignment is the norm, leaders can build a culture of trust and transparency, where team members feel supported, respected, and valued. Leaders adopt a more consultative approach to decision-making rather than an autocratic one, involving the team in the process and ensuring that everyone's opinion is heard and considered. Allowing the team to contribute will always build a culture of trust.
The Problem:
Seeking agreement often means leaders try to impose their decisions on team members, which ignores diverse thinking and disrespects differing opinions. This approach can alienate team members and lead to an overall lack of commitment. Not everyone may agree with the decision, but they feel compelled to tolerate it and go along with it due to a lack of choice, leading to a lower degree of engagement.
Or the other extreme is that the team tries to reach an agreement by compromise, meaning that a watered-down solution is often selected to keep everyone happy, but in truth no one wins, and the team suffers.
The Solution:
True success and high performance require something deeper - alignment. While agreement implies a superficial consensus on a particular issue, alignment means shared ownership of a common purpose and a deep commitment to achieving it together. Alignment means everyone is working in harmony towards a shared vision, leveraging each other's strengths, and holding each other accountable for results. The difference between alignment and agreement may seem subtle, but it can have a profound impact on the success of a team. Only when a team is truly aligned can it achieve its full potential and deliver exceptional results.
Healthy team ecosystems are built on alignment, where diverse thinking and healthy conflict are embraced, feedback is encouraged, and trust is established between team members and leaders. Seeking agreement can lead to mediocrity, alienation, and a lack of commitment, which harms the team's ability to achieve their goals. The key to a thriving team is to prioritise alignment over agreement, build a culture of trust, and involve all team members in the decision-making process. Only by doing so can you lead your team to achieve their full potential.