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by Jeanne Bell and Dan Tucker, Co-Founders
Photo by: Timon Studler - from Unsplash
Blog No. 8 - July 2024
Organizational alignment is not the same as continuous agreement. It is not a moment, or an event, or a document, or a destination. It cannot be demanded nor enforced. Organizational alignment is a practice.
And as the definition of practice above suggests, it is not the naming of values, or strategies, or intentional ways of being with one another, it is consciously enacting those things. And doing so with the curiosity and commitment and grace we need as humans to keep embracing the complex together.
Unsurprisingly then, the practice of organizational alignment takes, you guessed it: practice.
For some organizations, this might feel like a tall order. How do we practice a new practice when the world is coming at us at this pace? How do we practice a new practice when some of our staff are really tired, or hurt, or angry?
The better question, in light of those very real forces facing progressive organizations, is how do we not? Not moving into alignment is exacerbating those dynamics terribly. The absence of an alignment practice is, as uncomfortable as this is to write, the choice to live with sustained misalignment.
It is useful to look to other forms of practice that are exactly what we need when the world feels wild and beyond our control: meditation, faith, movement/yoga, art-making. While we can certainly appreciate episodic dips into these practices, their transformational impact on our lives comes from intentional, continuous practice. Organizational alignment is the same.
The image on the top is how many organizations are currently trying to achieve organizational alignment: through episodic events and strategic language/tool creation. While these are vitally important catalysts for an alignment practice, they are not the practice itself. The image on the bottom includes those same catalytic events, but also has elements of a sustained alignment practice: actionable strategies, fluid structures, and strong decision-making. In this case, people across the organization are continuously strengthening their capacity to practice alignment together.
Again, let’s look to other transformational practices for direction. When we strip back to the elements of a practice, we find: core tenets, dedicated time, conducive space, essential implements, and very often, the guidance of more seasoned practitioners. The practice of organizational alignment requires all of these elements, too.
Just as we design practices like meditation and art-making into our personal lives, we need to design the elements of an organizational alignment practice into our organizations. Below is an offering about how leaders can think about this.
More than ever as progressive organizations, we need to practice the practice of alignment. Ensuring this practice is happening is among the most important responsibilities of senior leaders and executives today. Viewing alignment as a practice that we are continuously–even joyously–cultivating gives us an affirmative, long-game mindset rather than a short-term, “how do we fix this?” mindset. Everything we know about transformational practices in our lives tells us this is the right path.
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