PLAYBOOK: How to Align Conflicting Motivations
Misalignment within a team doesn’t just slow progress—it fractures trust, stalls innovation, and creates tension that drains productivity. Whether it’s conflicting priorities, unclear roles, or differing personal motivations, leaders must have a system to align their teams around a shared purpose.
If left unresolved, misalignment leads to indecisiveness, lack of accountability, and wasted resources. The good news? You can bridge these gaps by fostering trust, establishing clear communication, and reinforcing accountability—without micromanaging or forcing compliance.
At its core, leadership is the activity of influencing others to co-create coordinated movement in pursuit of a worthy ideal. If your team isn’t moving in the same direction, it’s not just a challenge—it’s a failure in leadership alignment. The key to success lies in creating shared ownership of the vision, rather than forcing compliance.
In this playbook, we’ll break down how to identify and resolve conflicting motivations, using principles from empowered leadership, the 4 Pillars of Trust, and proven alignment strategies from Blaine Bartlett’s work on leadership impact.
Key Takeaways
Why Conflicting Motivations Exist (and Why That’s Okay)
Every team is made up of individuals with different experiences, goals, and perspectives. Conflicts don’t arise because people are difficult; they arise because people are driven by different priorities.
Some common causes of misalignment include:
When these go unchecked, your team experiences decision paralysis, missed deadlines, and disengagement.
The solution? Leadership that creates alignment without stripping away autonomy.
Success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything right - Doland White
The 4 Pillars of Alignment: A Leadership Model That Works
To resolve conflicting motivations, we use The 4 Pillars of Empowered Leadership to bring clarity, accountability, and trust back into the team dynamic.
1. Trust & Autonomy: Build a Culture of Mutual Respect
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2. Communication & Transparency: Get Everything on the Table
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What does success look like for you in this project?
What concerns do you have that aren’t being addressed?
3. Growth & Innovation: Find Common Interests in Conflict
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4. Systems of Accountability: Reinforce Alignment Without Micromanaging
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Alignment Without Friction: A 3-Step Framework for Realigning Teams
To put this into action, use this simple process:
Step 1: Identify the Gap
Where is the conflict? What’s the root cause of misalignment?
Ask: What’s the main friction point keeping us from moving forward?
Step 2: Co-Create the Solution
Collaborate with the team to define what success looks like.
Ask: How do we move forward in a way that works for all of us?
Step 3: Implement, Measure, Adjust
Set clear checkpoints and realign as needed.
Ask: What’s working? What needs tweaking?
Key Action Steps
?? Run a 15-minute alignment check with your team: Ask, “What’s the biggest obstacle keeping us from full alignment?” and listen.
?? Use the 4 Pillars to diagnose your team’s misalignment and implement one change this week.
?? Share this post with a colleague who’s struggling with conflicting motivations in their team.
Alignment isn’t about getting everyone to agree—it’s about getting everyone moving in the same direction. Leadership is about co-creating coordinated movement in pursuit of a worthy ideal. That means engaging your team, clarifying their motivations, and ensuring that trust, communication, growth, and accountability drive performance.
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