Organizational Alignment 101: If Who’s on First and What’s on Second, Then How the Heck Are We Ever Going to Get Home?

Organizational Alignment 101:
If Who’s on First and What’s on Second,
Then How the Heck Are We Ever Going to Get Home?

Yes, you probably remember that classic Abbott and Costello signature routine with the fun-loving word play intertwined with wit, banter and verbal jousting. While this was fun to watch onstage or on TV, it’d likely be far less entertaining if a confusing and mischievous dynamic like this comedy showed up regularly at your business.

Can you imagine coming to work every morning not knowing
“who was on first or what was on second”?

Or roughly translated, how could any organization function effectively without the essentials of clear communication, the spirit of cooperation and well planned coordination? Furthermore, if the individual roles and collective goals are poorly communicated or perhaps even unknown, the end results can be only mediocre at best.

Yes, how do we ever get to “home” if we don’t know where we’re going as a team?

Without communication, cooperation and coordination, you have fertile groundwork for a highly dysfunctional group of confused, irritated and resentful workers.

Not good, because that can lead to navigating the workers compensation in san diego due to a misunderstanding at work!

How, then, can these core elements be properly developed, maintained and cultivated in an organization?

It starts in the Heart.

The what?

The Heart. The Heart of the organization, that is.

So what does that mean?

The Heart of any organization, no matter how large or small, answers the following questions:

• Who are we?
• Where are we going?
• Why are we going there?
• How will we get there?
• What’s most important to us?

In other words, this defines the organization’s values, mission and vision.

When the organization has clearly defined these Heart dynamics, then, and only then, can there be an alignment of the organization, from the executive suite to the maintenance shed.

Organizational alignment is much like the alignment of a vehicle: When all the tires are going in the same direction, the vehicle operates as effectively and efficiently as it can, and this same alignment helps to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on the vehicle while also providing the smoothest ride possible.

The goals, roles, responsibilities and strategies
MUST come first from organizational alignment.

If there is no alignment or even a lack of well-defined alignment, much like the car out of alignment, the organization will likely veer off course.

In an unaligned organization, people and teams will begin to function in their own silos, with the infamous left hand not knowing what the right foot is doing. Efforts are replicated, projects are left partially complete, resentment festers and the blame game grows stronger every day.

Teams grow further apart. Resentment grows into hostility and antipathy. Instead of working together, teams work against each other.

So, as the simple saying goes, the solution begins with “First things first.”

The leadership team must come together and agree on
the mission, vision and values.

Input from ALL employees can prove to be a beneficial engagement mechanism. A bottom-up inclusion will help middle and upper management know the wants, needs and workplace perspectives from each and every organizational member.

“One for all and all for one,” is the call of the aligned organization.

Not sure where to start? Ask your entire workforce those previously mentioned five questions:

• Who are we?
• Where are we going?
• Why are we going there?
• How will we get there?
• What’s most important to us?

Then, work with your management team to create powerful and empowering vision, mission and values statements.

When the organization has a clearly defined “home plate,” cohesion and alignment will happen much more effectively and efficiently. The Heart drives the entire body of the organization and when all the wheels are aligned, the organization can then achieve maximum performance.

Remember: Everyone has to know Who’s on First and What’s on Second!!

Start with YOU: Marry YourSelf First!

Read more about Ken Donaldson…

Professional and Confidential Mental Health
Counseling and Organizational Alignment Coaching