The Power of Alignment at the Top

CEOs and executive team members of large organizations are usually talented and highly effective individuals; however, they often don’t operate an as aligned, healthy, high-performing, Thriving Leadership, at the top. They often run their business units or functions well but they could perform more effectively together at the enterprise level. 

Many, if not most, of the teams that we work with at the very top of the organization face the question, “Are we or do we need to be an integrated team or can we operate as high functioning independent business units and functional leaders?” 

It is much easier for a specific business unit with clearly defined initiatives, resources and goals, to see the need to be an aligned business unit leadership team. 

By a team at the top, we simply mean: The CEO and senior leaderships and the next tier below the senior leadership. These leaders need to commit (and learn how) to work together in a way that maximizes the value of the total enterprise. This includes making decisions for the greater good, being mutually supportive and aligning around the organizational purpose, vision, values, and key strategies and initiatives so that they understand them, support them, and speak with one voice to the organization. 

Leaders at the top of the company cast a leadership shadow that sets the direction and cultural example for the organization to follow. That is why it is important for leaders who report to the CEO to align themselves with the company’s purpose and vision, define how they need to work together most effectively, and model the desired culture needed to execute the strategic goals. 

Without good teaming skills at the top, the organization will rarely reach its full potential. Without alignment at the top that is clear and visible to the entire organization, things will be poorly executed down the line. 

Some specific things senior teams need to be aligned around include: 

• How do we use shared services such as Human Resources, Legal, IT, etc. to get the best result for the overall organization?
• What are the ways we can work better among business units to gain any synergies or better serve customers? 
• How can we impart common, aligned messages, throughout the organizations? (in words & actions) 
• How can we collectively define and shape the culture to best execute our strategies? 
• What can we personally do to align the organization around the company’s purpose and vision? 
• How do we develop a true, shared, accountable, and ownership mindset across the senior team? 

The subsets of the senior team also need to collaborate and align. People in each functional area will constantly need to ask how they can be even more innovative, and resourceful and foster a learning environment to support other functions and divisions in the business. 

Rigid adherence to “the way we do it around here” will erode cross-functional support and alignment and teamwork. 

Some common examples are: 

• How can HR be more innovative to help other business units? 
• How can Legal better help manufacturing or distribution with legal issues? 
• How can Finance gain better visibility or provide better information to operating units
• How can brand or divisional leaders share resources to achieve better enterprise goals? 

The value of openness and trust 

When high levels of openness are reached, great teams at the top have members seek the combined wisdom of the group when they are grappling with major issues or challenges. The open discussions they have around strategic issues create more understanding and buy-in minimize blind spots and provide a useful range of views for the CEO and senior team to consider in the decision-making process. 

For all these reasons, companies, even those with a holding company format, build teams at the top. This is a standard practice in complex businesses today, particularly in public companies where the bar has been raised in terms of goals, accountability, and enhacing shareholder value. 

To have the top executives “team” in any of the ways described requires making a focused effort to increase openness, align on a common vision, build trust and understand one another’s styles and points of view. 

To achieve this world-class teamwork requires bringing the team together in a well-designed insight-based learning process. It increases alignment, openness, and truth, bonds the team, develops the individual leaders and has a positive impact on the team’s culture.