Is Your Team In Alignment? September 11, 2009
Posted by rdsinger in Uncategorized.trackback
A few years ago I noticed that the tires on my car were wearing very unevenly and when I inquired about it, I was told that they wouldn’t pass Pennsylvania State Inspection. I have the tires rotated on a regular basis, but that doesn’t accomplish anything if your front end is out of alignment. You would think the people doing the rotation would have noticed. As a result, I had to prematurely buy four new tires for the car and have the front wheels aligned.
As the car was being worked on, I thought about alignment as it applies to cars and to business. When an automobile is properly aligned, it gets better gas mileage, longer wear out of the tires, and it has a better, more enjoyable ride, just to name a few advantages.
So, how does alignment apply to business? In business, alignment means that you’ll stay on course with regard to goals and objectives, the business will have power to sustain itself, and its management group will be more stable.
If your wheels are out of alignment, the car could be pulling to one side or the other. In other words, it could be trying to go someplace that you don’t want to go. If the people who help you run your business are out of alignment with the vision and goals that you have set, then the business could be pulled in conflicting directions. The organization may not be meeting projections , and you may not know why.
Proper wheel alignment means that steering is smooth and the vehicle does not wander. It travels on the course to where the driver wants to go. Proper business alignment means that your “troops” are marching on course towards the point that you have set as the goal. Unfortunately it can be a lot more difficult to align your managers than to align your car. Just a few simple adjustments and your car is good to go. Your staff, on the other hand, might need a bit more of an adjustment.
This is a good time to check your company alignment as you begin to plan for next year, especially given current economic conditions. If an organization is not in alignment in this economy, it could face disastrous consequences. Find out what your people are thinking. Ask them what their vision of the future is for the company. Plan a day away from the office. Get them all in a room and have a free flowing discussion about the future of the company, with no restrictions on ideas.
It would be wise to have an outside facilitator so that the discussion doesn’t get “pushed” in one direction or another. Just remember that you are trying to get everyone on the same page with regard to the vision and goals of the company. A facilitator is the person with the objective point of view. He/she should have no agenda except to help the group achieve that goal.
The most important function for a leader in this situation is to listen to the ideas that are coming from his or her people. Treat every idea as a good one. The less judgmental the leader is, the less inhibited their managers will be. The good ideas will rise to the top and the team may be surprised from whom they come.
As you and your team go through this process, be sure that action items are assigned and milestones / deadlines are set up for accountability. This will help to keep everyone focused on their contribution to the whole.
It will take more than one meeting to determine the vision and focus of the company. Starting with a session in which everyone has input will help you to get the alignment you need from your managers. In this manner you will have created a level playing field for all to participate.
By the way, when was the last time you had the alignment checked on your car?
Gibsonia Gazette 
Dick,
I love analogies and this is a good one on many levels. I enjoyed the post.
As I am interested in consistently reading your new blog, I have just decided to “subscribe” and will describe the benefits and process for others who may be so inclined:
First the benefits: By subscribing, every time Dick posts new material, it will appear as if by magic on my computer. I don’t have to keep an eye out for his “heads up” email, nor do I even have to visit his blog site.
Another benefit not so obvious when you first start using the “subscribe” feature (FYI, it’s free and universally available for Internet text, audio and video content) becomes apparent as you start subscribing to other interesting authors and content producers: All that great stuff comes to you on one neatly organized screen, saving you time and trouble keeping up with it.
Now for the very easy process (for those who have never tried it): Scroll up to the top of Dick’s blog and notice the orange buttons below his photo. Click the one labeled “Full”. If you haven’t selected a feed reader before (see my recommendation below), your browser will suffice. In Internet Explorer (IE), after clicking the “Full” button, you’ll see a yellow box with a choice to “Subscribe to this feed”. Click that. You’re done.
Now, to access your feeds using IE, click the “Favorites” button and notice that there are actually three tabs there. Select the one for “Feeds” and you’ll find the latest posts from everything you’ve subscribed to.
I find the browsers to be poor feed readers compared to “iGoogle”. To get it, click this link: http://www.google.com/ig and then click the link labeled “Get Started”.
Each day, you’ll find that the value of subscribing increases. Welcome to the power of “opting in”. The underlying technology is RSS – really simple syndication. Unlike with email, you’ll be in control what you are receiving.