Why You Need to Align Your Board (and C-Suite) With a Brand Manifesto

Uniting your top leaders is fundamental to your organization’s success.

What’s the one thing you want your audience to know about your organization? The one thing that, if you articulated it well, would align your board and thereby put you fully on track to deliver on your mission and vision? The answer is at the heart of your brand manifesto, a statement of the aims of your company or non-profit.

Take the case of The Atlas Enterprise , which publishes the resource lovingly known as “the Bible of neurosurgery.”

When The Atlas Enterprise worked with Revealing Genius and strategy consultancy Clarke & Esposito to build its brand manifesto, it created unprecedented alignment among its leadership team members—the board directors and its founder and public voice, Aaron Cohen-Gadol, M.D.

Before creating the brand manifesto, the non-profit’s leaders were struggling with how to talk meaningfully and compellingly about the organization’s portfolio of products together, then as stand-alones. Since developing the brand manifesto, the team has been able to describe the non-profit’s offerings so their complexity is heard and understood.?

In addition, the brand manifesto development process helped Dr. Cohen recognize and acknowledge that his personal brand was just as important to organizational success as the overarching brand. He wrote a brand manifesto for himself, too! (Read the case study about this initiative .)

Board and leadership alignment are clearly key to organizational success. Let’s dive deeper into the ways it can help with high-level strategic work and day-to-day governance, key obstacles to achieving board alignment, and strategies for overcoming those obstacles, including the brand manifesto.

The Board Alignment Imperative

At a high level, board alignment is fundamental to overall organizational health and success because it boosts decision-making, organizational culture, stakeholder confidence and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.?

The benefits of board alignment in day-to-day governance also are many. A board that’s aligned:?

• Ensures the organization’s mission and strategic pillars are promulgated. When everyone on the board is on the same page, working collaboratively towards common objectives becomes easier, increasing the likelihood of success in achieving the organization's mission.
• Streamlines consensus in decision-making and actions. When board members share values, vision and goals, gaining consensus on critical decisions becomes easier. Alignment also enhances the effectiveness of the board's actions.
• Helps raise the floor on organizational culture. A cohesive board with shared values and a unified vision can set an example for the rest of the organization, demonstrating a culture of teamwork, trust and collaboration.
• Inspires stakeholder confidence. When stakeholders see a united front, they are more likely to trust the organization's leadership and support its initiatives.
• Can better adapt the strategic plan to changing circumstances. Alignment is crucial during the strategic planning process. A unified board can more effectively develop and implement strategic plans that reflect its collective wisdom and vision. This enhances the organization's ability to adapt to changing circumstances and achieve long-term success.
• Provides common ground for conflict resolution. In any organization, conflicts can arise. Shared values and goals provide a foundation for finding common ground and working toward mutually beneficial solutions.
• Increases board member commitment, engagement and retention. Members are more likely to be engaged and committed when they feel the board aligns with their interests and values. This, in turn, fosters a stable and supportive community.?
• Increases the effectiveness and efficiency of governance processes. For example, when board members are aligned, onboarding and offboarding board members become seamless.

10 Obstacles to Board Alignment

An organization benefits when its board and leadership team are aligned, but getting there isn’t always easy. Here are some common obstacles that can get in the way of uniting your top leadership.

1. Diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Board members often come from diverse professional backgrounds, disciplines and experiences. Balancing these diverse perspectives and aligning them toward a common vision can be challenging, especially if differences in values or priorities exist.
2. Competing interests. Board members may have different interests or priorities based on their roles, affiliations or professional agendas. Conflicting priorities can make it difficult to achieve alignment on overarching organizational goals.
3. Limited communication. Inadequate communication or information-sharing among board members can hinder alignment. If members aren’t well-informed about the organization's mission, goals or ongoing activities, it can become difficult for them to align their efforts.
4. Lack of trust. A lack of trust among board members can lead to skepticism, resistance to change and difficulties in reaching consensus on important decisions.
5. Turnover and transitions. Board turnover or changes in officers can disrupt alignment efforts. New members or board chairs may bring different perspectives or priorities, and it takes time for them to integrate into the existing culture and align them with the organization's objectives.
6. Resource constraints. Limited financial or human resources can lead to competing demands and priorities. Board members may struggle to align with one another when faced with resource constraints or competing for the same limited resources.
7. External pressures. Changes in regulations, economic conditions or shifts in the academic and professional landscape can create challenges for board alignment. Adapting to external pressures while maintaining alignment requires excellent strategic planning and effective communication.
8. Lack of strategic planning. Without a clear and well-defined strategic plan, board members may lack a roadmap for alignment. A lack of strategic direction can result in disparate efforts and conflicting actions among members.
9. Cultural differences. In organizations with international or diverse memberships, cultural differences can contribute to challenges in achieving alignment. Different cultural perspectives and expectations may need to be navigated and harmonized.
10. Communication styles. Differences in communication styles among board members can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations, making it difficult to establish a shared understanding and alignment.

Overcoming the Obstacles & Reaping the Benefits of Board Alignment

Overcoming the challenges above requires thoughtful and proactive efforts from board leaders, including employing effective communication strategies, fostering a culture of trust and collaboration, and investing in team-building activities. Regular assessments of board dynamics and a commitment to reaching a shared vision also are essential.

At Revealing Genius, we recommend a brand manifesto to support board and leadership alignment and effectiveness. Developing a manifesto based on our time-proven Excavate -Tell -Affirm ? process helps excavate your company’s purpose, what it stands for and whom it most wants to serve. Once you’ve excavated your brand, you can affirm it until all your leaders feel it with conviction and more effectively tell all your stakeholders about it.

Considering a brand manifesto for your organization or yourself? We’re honored to work with boards and leadership teams and individual leaders . You can also learn more via our free 10-minute webinar , Brand Leadership Summit or online course .?

An executive advisor, educator, speaker, author and producer, Mary E. Maloney, FACHE , is the founder of Revealing Genius and the expert that accomplished leaders trust for positioning, messaging and brand strategy for themselves, their teams and their organizations. A former CEO and CMO, Maloney guides healthcare C-suite leaders, founders, physicians and board directors to powerfully and strategically message their expertise and “why” so they lead with conviction and achieve their most coveted goals. She is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), one of only ~8,000 in the world to earn the credential, the benchmark for board certification in healthcare management.