Alignment is More Than Car Repair
by Larry Wenger

Watch an experienced crew boat team.  It's a vision of alignment, synchronization and harmony.  Aligned in rowing rhythm and rowing intensity, a crew boat team is in good shape to win a race.  Lacking that description however, the boat slows down, stalls, or goes in a circle.  If one rower tries to be the star or if a rower decides to take the day off, the chances of success decrease dramatically.   The crew must be accountable to each other; there may be a team captain, but they do not win races without a common understanding of team work and what they individually must do to be successful.  

So it is in organizations.  If everyone is rowing together the organization can produce achievements and performance beyond anyone's expectations;  they will have a sustainable advantage over any form of competition.  

But why do we so rarely see this kind of alignment in organizations. It all starts at the top.  Senior Leaders must set the example.  Their work must illustrate principles of good team work.  For example they will:

• trust that other team members will be committed to the success of the team
• honestly communicate, even when it means conflict and disagreement
• be considerate of the opinions of others, especially those directly effected by the issue at hand, but in the end they commt to a single clear strategy
• they commit to quality improvement; to be a better team member  (and a better team) today than was true yesterday
• monitor results, observe and listen; paying attention means you will have an "early warning" when a strategy is working or not working and to identify the lack of success honestly and without defensiveness.  That's the way to solve problems quickly.

In implementing these five characteristics, Senior Leaders set the model for the rest of the organization to follow.   The result is clear tasks and objectives.  Everyone knows exactly what they have to do next in order for the their team to be successful.  

Success is not reliant on superstar talent, great equipment and lots of money; it has to do with the staff, from top to bottom, and the degree to which they are in agreement (alignment) about what's most important.