Four Types of Leadership Alignment

in Agile Contexts

In a July 2024 Moose Herd discussion, the notion of organization alignment came up. I’ve always used the term broadly as in—leaders need to be thoroughly aligned, as if it was a singular event or action. But as we explored it more in the group, I began to realize that there might be multiple aspects to it. As I reflected further, fours levels came to mind—

1)     Principle Alignment (Individually)

• Mindset

• Values

• Principles

2)     Cultural Alignment  (Group/System)

• Gustavo Razzetti’s – Culture canvas

• Constellations

• Lencioni’s work on First Teams

• Culture-shaping, micro-behaviors

3)     Value Stream Alignment (The Investments)

• Work visualization

• Value Visualization

• Portfolio investments aligned

• Capacity / Team investments aligned

• Negotiating from – We need MORE

4)     Strategy Alignment (The Big Picture)

• Organizational & Team Alignment

• Goal alignment

• Execution Flow

• Measures

I think of these as serial activities. For example, I often see organizations jump into 3 & 4 first. You can certainly do that, but the fact that there is a misalignment in 1 & 2 always comes back to undermine your overall alignment congruence.

Not to be too prescriptive, but I recommend going through these alignment steps serially.

Testing for Alignment

I don’t think leaders agreeing or saying they’re aligned is the litmus test for accurate alignment. Unfortunately, this is often the go-forward test.

Instead, I think you should test for alignment at the other end of the organization. That is—does the behavior of your cross-functional teams embody your alignment?

Wrapping Up

The #1 problem in agile transformations is a lack of leadership team alignment. The real challenge is that it’s often invisible, hiding below the surface. Everyone thinks they’re aligned, but they’re not.

As a systems coach, I leverage several tools to surface these misalignments to help the organization reflect and realign.

A final point. This is often not a one-time activity. As leadership teams and organizations evolve, it’s often necessary to realign things. Think of it as you would periodically align the wheels of your car. That is if you want to be driving straight with little tire wear. 😉

Stay agile, my friends,

Bob.