Team alignment is one of the most important yet misunderstood elements in organizations. Companies that get alignment right experience some of the greatest returns. Research by
LSA Global backs this up, showing that
highly aligned organizations grow revenue 58% faster and are 72% more profitable than those with weaker alignment.
I often talk about alignment like the wheels on a car. When those wheels are out of alignment, every rotation of the axle pulls you off course. It creates tension, stress, and ultimately breaks the entire system.
You see the same thing in teams. When a team is misaligned, even a small misstep can lead to big problems down the road. It shows up in the day-to-day: confusion, tension, duplicated work, and conversations that go in circles. When everyone is rowing in different directions, the whole organization slows down.
Alignment is about more than agreement. It’s about shared understanding, clear roles, and real ownership. It’s about making sure every team member knows where the team is going and how to get there, even when things get hard.
The reality is that alignment issues never fix themselves. They need leaders who are willing to step in and do the work. In this blog, I’m going to unpack what team alignment really means, how to build it, and how to sustain it as your organization grows.
Alignment means everyone knows where they’re going and agrees on the path to get there. Each team member focuses on their own job, not someone else’s. Like car parts, the wheels shouldn’t try to do the alternator’s job.
A well-aligned team shows clarity on its mission, at least at the team level. People know the critical metrics, such as quotas and goals, and they understand what success looks like beyond just the numbers. I’ve seen this in sales teams where everyone knows the quota and they’re all working toward that target.
Misalignment happens when individuals create their own, uncommunicated quotas or targets. Suddenly, you’re working toward different outcomes, and confusion takes over.
Alignment also means understanding the course to reach the goal. Everyone knows which “pass” you’re going over to get there, including how to tackle the inevitable obstacles like tech challenges, difficult clients, or friction between departments.
Misalignment can be subtle. Sometimes it looks like people rowing in different directions while the captain insists on going straight. It’s not chaos but people pursuing what’s good for them rather than the agreed-upon goals.
Hidden incentives, such as personal goals, bonuses, ego, or even values, can quietly pull people off course and create tension. Recognizing these signals is a critical step in keeping the team on track.
Values alignment isn’t just about writing words on a wall or putting them on a company t-shirt. It’s about how those values show up in real, day-to-day behavior.
When the stated values and the lived values don’t match, trust erodes quickly. You see it in quiet disagreements about what’s acceptable, different standards for success, or decisions that feel disconnected from the team’s purpose.
Values influence how your team reaches goals, even when everyone agrees on what those goals are. I’ve seen teams get to the same destination through very different paths—some questionable and others principled. For example, a team might hit its sales target by overselling products that don’t truly fit the client’s needs. They hit the number, but at what cost to reputation and trust? That’s a values alignment problem.
According to McKinsey, 97% of employees and executives believe a lack of alignment within a team directly impacts the outcome of a task or project. Misaligned goals can lead to confusion, frustration, and ultimately reduced performance, no matter how strong individual team members might be.
Without explicit values or clear expectations for behavior, misalignment is inevitable. This is where hidden incentives—like bonuses, personal ambitions, or the desire to look good—create friction that can derail progress.
Building real values alignment starts with making your values explicit and actionable. Go beyond posters and talk about how those values show up in decisions, interactions, and meetings. Create team agreements that spell out what it looks like to live those values, especially when things get hard.
When team members know what’s expected—and that everyone else is held to the same standard—it also builds psychological safety. People are more willing to share ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes. That’s where real growth and innovation happen.
Team alignment starts with leadership. When leaders are misaligned, that confusion trickles down to every layer of the team. I’ve seen it happen too many times: leaders unintentionally pulling in different directions, each with their own vision of success.
Sometimes it’s as simple as conflicting corporate policies. Maybe the finance team insists on one expense report format, while another leader quietly tells their team to skip those details to keep things moving. It’s like mom and dad fighting at the dinner table—team members end up getting mixed messages and picking sides.
Leaders have to be aligned on the big things: the overall direction, the expectations they set, and how decisions get communicated. When leaders operate with unspoken disagreements or hidden agendas — what I call “silent wars” — that confusion trickles down and creates tension in the team.
I’ve seen it happen too often: one leader tells their team “don’t worry about that,” quietly undermining a policy that came from above. When that happens, it creates mixed signals and erodes trust.
Alignment doesn’t just happen because people are in leadership roles. It takes real leadership buy-in: a willingness to have the hard conversations, to align publicly and privately, and to model the alignment they expect from their teams. When leaders
set clear expectations and consistently align their messaging, they create stability and momentum for the whole team.
If you’re a new leader, or inheriting a team, your first step is to do the damn work of telling people where they’re going and how you expect them to get there. Without a clear vision, any path will get you there, and that’s a recipe for confusion.
Start with clarity on vision. What are you actually trying to achieve? And how are you going to get there, even through the tough parts? Think about crossing the Rockies in December. You need to be honest about the obstacles, the chosen path, and the realities of the journey.
Then, focus on building consensus. Consensus doesn’t mean getting everyone to agree just for the sake of it. It’s a process of helping people mature their perspective, walk through why a decision was made, and feel like their contribution was valued, even if they ultimately disagree with the outcome. When you do this well, even people who didn’t get their preferred choice can still support the team’s direction because they understand how the decision came about.
Once you’ve got consensus, ask for explicit commitment. Don’t assume people are on board. Ask them directly: “How are you going to get there?”
Just like a wagon train, you can’t do it alone. Who’s watching the herd? Who’s fixing the wagons? Who’s navigating the rivers? Each person needs to define their role in executing the plan. That’s where real alignment starts.
Alignment issues never fix themselves. If your team has drifted off course, it’s your job as the leader to step in and fix it.
Start by understanding why the misalignment happened in the first place. It usually comes down to incentives. Some incentives are obvious, like bonuses or promotions. Others are hidden, like ego or the desire to look good.
Once you’ve identified the underlying incentives, work to reorient the team around shared values. Make sure everyone understands what matters most, not just what’s being measured.
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you’ll encounter people who refuse to align. You can’t let that slide. Part of your job is to remove the people who won’t get on board.
Because the costs of ignoring misalignment are high. Hewlett-Packard reported a
30% decrease in employee productivity due to team misalignment, underscoring the critical link between alignment and performance. Letting misalignment linger is a direct hit to your team’s effectiveness and your company’s bottom line.
Fixing misalignment is disruptive. It’s uncomfortable, and yes, some people will become enemies. But it’s the leader’s role to reset expectations, hold people accountable, and rebuild consensus. That’s what it means to be the proximal cause of change: someone who drives the team back on course, even when it means making hard calls.
Alignment gets harder as an organization grows. New roles, locations, and managers introduce layers of complexity that can easily throw a team off course.
What worked at 10 people rarely works at 100. Leaders have to adapt.
To keep the team aligned, reinforce expectations regularly. Make sure everyone knows the vision, the mission, and their role in achieving it.
Ask questions to understand what motivates your team members and what growth looks like for them. When you connect organizational goals to individual growth by showing people what skills they’ll learn, what experiences they’ll gain, and how it all supports their aspirations, you build a team that feels invested and empowered.
This is where alignment becomes personal. It’s where people see that their work is not just helping the organization reach its goals, but also helping them reach theirs. That’s where the magic happens. People row in the same direction not because they have to, but because they want to.
As a leader, it’s your responsibility to create those connections. It’s not just about sharing the vision; it’s about showing each person why that vision matters to them. That’s how you keep a team aligned even as you grow.
Alignment isn’t automatic. It’s built through daily conversations, clear expectations, and shared understanding. It’s cultural, not just procedural.
As a leader, ask yourself:
- Are we aligned on our goals?
- Does everyone on the team know how their work connects to those goals?
- Have we built consensus and commitment across the team?
If you’re not sure, or if you want to take your team’s alignment to the next level, explore our
free Language of Leadership course sneak peek. It’s a practical, actionable, low-stakes way to start strengthening team alignment today.
