I sometimes volunteer to drive race officials at Dragonboat regattas. This gives me the opportunity to sit back and observe the start of a Dragonboat race. After the on the water umpire hands the race over to the starter, the starter brings all the Dragonboats up to the start line. Once the starter gets every boat in position in perfect order on the start line, they call out:
“We have alignment.”
In working with business leaders I often wish that I could call out “We have alignment”. The truth is that the strategy and goals set by senior management are not aligned to their own compensation or to the accountability and rewards of the organization.
Accountability: Clear lines of accountability must be a set. Groups, entities, and concepts can not be held accountable. Only a person can be held accountable. For every critical project and responsibility there must be one person who accounts for performance to the rest of the team. This person will rarely have direct control of all the people reaching for the goal. They do have a responsibility to know what is going on and report when things are not on track.
Rewards: Have you ever seen a senior management team set goals for the year without changing their bonus and reward structure to be tied directly to the goals? Accountability and leadership has to start at the top. This then needs to be reflected throughout the organization so that everyone is being rewarded fairly for the goals that are being set for the organization.
Investors: Are the investors goals aligned with the goals of the organization? Investors are often looking for financial, growth, or other goals that are not aligned with the strategic goals of the company. This creates tension and distraction that can pull everyone off course.
High performing businesses ensure they have alignment from the top to the bottom of the organization and the accountability to report on that alignment. Are you aligned?
