I recently came across an interesting quote that “95% of human life is spent feeling misunderstood.” That is a heck of a part of our lives. I am not sure where the rationale for 95% came from; but no matter what that percentage is, I am sure it is a significant percentage. We all experience being misunderstood in different aspects of our lives. It is certainly not a good feeling and absolute deterrent to growth – both personally and professionally. Imagine the impact of it in a business setting where the leaders, employees, partners, and customers feel misunderstood most of the time. It is a recipe for disaster.
When was the last time you measured the social impact of misalignment on your business?
If we step back and think deeply, this feeling of being “misunderstood” is fundamentally caused by the lack of ALIGNMENT. But alignment around what? There are many dimensions to it:
Alignment of Opinions
Alignment of Goals
Alignment of Needs
Alignment of Priorities
Alignment of Strategy
Alignment of Execution
Alignment of Outcomes
Alignment of Tolerance
Alignment of Satisfaction
Alignment of Commitments
Alignment of Accountability
Alignment of Respect
Alignment of Values
Alignment of Likes and Dislikes
Alignment of Culture
Alignment of Styles
Alignment of Beliefs
Alignment of Success
Alignment of Happiness
…and on and on.
So, why is it so difficult to get aligned?
Of course, the obvious answer is because there are innumerable permutations of aligning ourselves with so many different people and facets of lives that we deal with every day. It is a never-ending problem, isn’t it?
Not really! Re-read the question, “Why is it so difficult to get aligned?” What I described above is simply a scale issue (which is a valid problem by the way), but it does not explain the fundamental issue.
The fundamental issue stems from a lack of communication. We simply forget to ask, “Are we aligned?” and not just ask but also make sure that we are aligned on what matters. The “what matters” is the key phrase here.
I am sure we all experience similar instances of such misalignment every day in our personal lives as well when couples argue, or parents and kids argue. In all these situations, the fundamental gap is a lack of communication among family members to have an open conversation about “what matters” to them and so that the family can agree on a set of “what matters” to the family.
Similar challenges exist in the corporate world. Those set of “what matters” are seldom discussed as a cross-functional team or within a team or between a manager and employee. They must be identified with customers and partners and aligned across cross-functional teams – sales, product, finance, marketing, engineering, support, operations, HR, etc. Likewise, similar alignment around “what matters” is warranted within the individual team and across teams to create a healthy and productive work environment.
Now you might be thinking isn’t that what the overall mission statements, GTM strategies, quarterly business reviews, weekly team meetings, team-building exercises, off-site meetings, and one-on-one meetings intend to do – i.e., make sure everyone is on the same page and marching towards a common goal? Well yes, and no. Yes, because that’s the intent. No, because it does not always get fulfilled and more importantly, it does not ensure alignment.
Just having discussions on company goals and objectives, defining a prioritized task list for the year, or saying “we are aligned” is not enough. I am sure you have been in situations where you said to yourself (or heard someone else say) “what a complete waste of time” or “that doesn’t make any sense” or “I am not sure what we are trying to do” after a strategy meeting even though you nodded your head in affirmation during the meeting. This is a classic example of gaining perceived alignment (vs. actual alignment), which may not be as bad if everyone does what’s agreed to be done. Worse things happen when people say they are aligned, but they still do what they plan to do regardless of its support of the stated mission, or they don’t do it with their full enthusiasm because they are fundamentally not aligned. That’s disastrous and impacts the overall productivity of the business.
Alignment is not a one-time activity. It is a culture and to be an honest attitude on its own that business and individuals need to inculcate. It is a must within every function of our professional and personal lives. The challenge is that even if it is identified to be important, it is hardly measured and assured. I will write about how to measure alignment in my next blog. In the meantime, I encourage you to consciously try to 1) avoid making any assumptions, 2) make sure all adjustments are understood and acknowledged, and 3) have the attitude to stay aligned under any circumstances.
At the end of the day, alignment brings harmony, harmony brings happiness, and happiness brings growth.