Aligned?

It is not capital, not technology, not strategy. It is an aligned team that brings the strongest competitive advantage any company can have. Alignment is something that a team has or it doesn't. It is a multi-faceted concept. So how do organizations construct uniform teams that are strategically and operationally synchronized &; coherent about goals and accountabilities?

Heroic leadership is a passe! It is time for non-positional leadership that aims to impact, influence and inspire through broader engagement and ownership. And for achieving this, having an aligned top team is paramount — every leader needs a real team for support and validation in decision-making and in strategic execution of those decisions — a real team that is a combination of the right people, a compelling direction and collaboration. It is indisputable that top teams are critical to an organization's success; yet, only a few top teams get it right!

It is generally observed that the CEO, senior leadership and the tier of next-level functional heads usually excel as independent individual runners of their own business units or functions; however, it is not always, that they are impeccably collaborative and aligned to lead the organization to high performance. For any organization, its top team needs to be in sync, interdependent, decision-making, consultative and stable. Where a lack of team alignment at the top breeds silos, competing agendas, turf wars, doubt and uncertainty; alignment in the top teams ensures organization's sustained &; consistent performance, and success.

This alignment manifests itself through the critical responsibilities that are shared by the leadership team on established business goals and agreements. Moreover, "there are different kinds of alignment that are needed to be built — around trust, processes, values, strategy, goals, priorities. The top team alignment is not just a feel good factor, but more of a granular alignment around specifics, trust, processes, values, strategy, goals, priorities, methods of execution, resource allocation" as Dr. Santrupt B. Misra, Director- Group HR &; CEO - Carbon Black Business, Aditya Birla Group, aptly states it.

However, alignment is something that a team has or it doesn't. It is a multi-faceted concept. And the insidious challenges arise in the form of conflicting agendas, personal motivations and behaviors. Most often "People find it difficult to breakdown the silos and reconcile with conflicting agendas when it comes to their departments and the business as a whole" as Arvind Pandit, Founder and MD at Ishwa Consulting puts it.

But how do organizations construct uniform teams that are strategically and operationally synchronized, coherent about goals and accountabilities, address issues or challenges prescribed by the conventional rules of propriety, and join together to work transparently?

From stating what the organization is doing to why it is doing it, establishing omni directional communication channels, creating synergies across the spectrum, implementing deep levels of democracy in decision-making, developing capabilities or defining the rhythm that forms the soul of an organization — this Cover Story presents the views of the top leaders who share their insights into why top team alignment is paramount and what makes their top teams aligned.

Read Dr Santrupt Misra’s article >>