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T he A lignment F actor tm

T he A lignment F actor tm. Greg Walker Strategic Business Leadership Coach. What is Alignment?. The Pain of Non-Alignment. Poor business results. High levels of stress. Alignment eliminates the pain. Beyond the “One-Man Band”. Key Decision Maker (KDM)moves from

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T he A lignment F actor tm

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  1. The Alignment Factortm Greg Walker Strategic Business Leadership Coach

  2. What is Alignment?

  3. The Pain of Non-Alignment Poor business results High levels of stress Alignment eliminates the pain

  4. Beyond the “One-Man Band” Key Decision Maker (KDM)moves from “one-person band” to Conductor of the Direct Report (DR) “orchestra”

  5. How? Three Key Principles COMMUNICATION CULTURE COLLABORATION

  6. …unified by… COMMITMENT …which is what drives Alignment!

  7. Alignment COMMITMENT COLLABORATION COMMUNICATION CULTURE

  8. The Alignment Factors

  9. How Strong is the Alignment BetweenYou and Your Direct Report? As I discuss each of the 12 factors, think about how they apply to your company • Where is your Alignment now? • Where does Alignment need to be?

  10. Where Have You Experienced Lack of Alignment? COMMITMENT

  11. Alignment Factor 1: Commitment KDM permission/support needed for DRs to interact as needed for optimum alignment • Support not only with words, but in all actions Alignment among KDMs and DRs is a critical prerequisite to the highest levels of company success

  12. KDM and DR Commitment to Alignment “Invest time and attention to the Alignment process Pursue KDM’s long-term vision for company Be open to disengaging or delegating responsibility and authority Be open to receiving guidance

  13. Company Owners Report: • Better margins • More freedom • Higher productivity • Less time spent “putting out fires” • Less stress

  14. COMMUNICATION

  15. Aligning Alignment Factor 2: P.A.V.E. Your Way to Success The greater the mis-Alignment, the poorer the results, when DRs do not make maximum use of their competitive edge strengths High-impact DRs make maximum use of their competitive edge strengths

  16. Identifying DR’s Competitive Edge Strengths Four important criteria

  17. What Happens at One-on-One Meetings? • Private one-on-one with each DR • Review DR’s To-Do lists • Status review of each project plan for which DR is responsible

  18. Alignment Factor 3: Weekly 1-on-1 Meetings

  19. Alignment Factor 4: Weekly Strategic Leadership Team Meetings

  20. COMMUNICATION Fred's Story

  21. Weekly Strategic Leadership Team Meetings • Weekly Team Meetings among KDM and DRs • Should never be missed • Should never be canceled • DR to facilitate if KDM is unavailable

  22. Tara’s Story COMMUNICATION

  23. Alignment Factor 5: Annual Strategic Leadership Meetings • Annual retreat for KDM and DRs

  24. Why hold Annual Strategic Leadership Meetings?

  25. ALIGNED COMMUNICATIONBenefits Align to PAVE Your Way to Success - Greater productivity - Reduced turnover among key executives - Reduced stress Align on Plans and Priorities - Better prioritization of plans - Reduced overlap of responsibilities - Greater efficiency Align on Weekly Strategic Leadership Team Meetings - Greater team cohesion - Greater understanding of key projects among team members - Greater efficiency Align on Annual Strategic Leadership Meetings - Company stays focused on relevant Critical Success Factors - Greater Aligned thinking and consensus among team members

  26. CULTURE

  27. COMMUNICATION Julian's Story

  28. Alignment Factor 6: Working Dynamics No Two-Way Communication Less sharing of insights and ideas from DR KDM DR

  29. Goal of Communication Two-Way Communication Receive, internalize, take action on each other’s messaging KDM DR

  30. CULTURE Lisa's Story

  31. Creating Mutual Respect DR and KDM do not have to be friends, but do have to respect each other

  32. Eleven Destructive Behaviors: • Responding Poorly to Stress • Mood swings • “See Me First” • Hogging Credit • Constant Complaining • Meddling • Lack of Accountability • Backstabbing • Bullying • Second Guessing • Micromanaging

  33. Alignment Factor 7: Company Values and Working Environment • Are daily actions and stated Company Culture in Alignment? • If not…. • Double standards • Poor employee retention • Desired company culture not the same as Working culture

  34. Company Culture Alignment Brings Great Benefits

  35. Positive Culture Companies with a positive culture aligned to their business goals typically outperform competitors who lack such a culture by substantial margins, sometimes 200%or more in key metrics* Source: http://management.about.com/csgeneralmanagement/a/companyculture.htm

  36. Alignment Factor 8: Company Vision Confusion about Company Vision results in • Strategic misdirection • Company goals and strategies not in Alignment with KDM’s desired long-term vision of company

  37. What Causes Confusion about the Company Vision? • No written Vision Statement • Vision statement out of date • “Pocket Factors”

  38. Company Vision “Pocket Factors” Unshared “Pocket Factors” create lack of Alignment • KDM openness with “Pocket Factors” requires trust • One of most challenging alignment factors to overcome

  39. CULTURE Sarah's Story

  40. CULTURE Jan's Story

  41. ALIGNED CULTUREBenefits • Align on Working Dynamics • Clearer understanding of expectations and responsibilities • Greater sense of mutual respect and cooperation • Fewer conflicts and misunderstandings among team members Align on Company Values and Working Environment - Better, more productive performance evaluations - Greater levels of satisfaction in employees and • Align on Company Vision • Greater connection of projects with KDM’s dreams and aspirations • Greater buy-in and support from DRs for these projects

  42. COLLABORATION

  43. Alignment Factor 9: Roles and Responsibilities • This is a sign of an executive team that is out of Alignment Are you spending too much time “putting out fires”?

  44. Do You Have Too Much On Your Plate? • What is best and most enjoyable use of KDM’s time? • What responsibilities can DR successfully take from KDM with no loss in quality? • How can KDM spend more time working on the business instead of in the business? KDM’s Role in Company is Not “One Size Fits All”

  45. COLLABORATION George's Story

  46. Alignment Factor 10: Critical Success Factors Which activities and projects should have the highest priority? Lack of clearly defined Critical Success Factors (CSFs) results in poor investments of time, energy, and financial resources

  47. Critical Success Factors (CSFs)

  48. COLLABORATION Tim's Story

  49. Alignment Factor 11: Strategic Direction Initiatives Without alignment on company goals and strategies, inefficiencies are bound to exist • DRs may tend to focus on “pet project” plans • In more extreme situations DR efforts move in directions that conflict with company goals

  50. What is a Strategic Direction Initiative? • Company Goalsatisfies a Critical Success Factor • Company Goal+ Strategies to achieve that Goal = Strategic Direction Initiative • Tactics are the steps to complete the Project/Action Plans that satisfy the Strategies • Strategic Direction initiative+ (Project/Action Plans & Tactics) = Company Strategic Plan • A company CSF will have one company goal and a number of strategies to achieve that goal. This company goal and the strategies for achieving this goal is a Strategic Direction Initiative.

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