Establishing a “shared objective” and believing it aligns your cross-functional team is like drinking saltwater thinking it will quench your thirst.
A shared objective alone creates shallow alignment, a mere agreement that the group has a reason for existing.
There are a multitude of other criteria the savvy collaborative leader understands must be achieved to accomplish deep alignment, including:
- Are team members equally and intrinsically motivated to deliver the objective?
- Is the shared objective evenly prioritized across the group?
Are there equal consequences for team members if we fail? - Do we have a process to harmonize execution towards our shared objective?
- Are we clear on a process to draw collective insights and meaning from new information or date that becomes available?
- Is our culture – specifically, how we’ll think and interact – established as a non-negotiable?
Too few organizations develop leaders to align cross-functional teams in the flow of work. Which is a shame, because energy flowing vertically in an organization doesn’t serve the customer.
The next time the team establishes a shared objective, and someone says “Okay, we’re aligned, right?” smile and respond: “We’ve made a good start. And now let’s ask ourselves a few questions…”