Your business is growing, but you team alignment strategy is not working out well. Your team members appear more engaged than before. However you occasionally asked yourself; why does my team feel disorganized? Why are my employees not taking ownership? Why is my staff not aligned with the company vision?
Everyone is busy, but nothing strategic gets done, and you are bothered. You see, the problem isn’t the effort; it is the alignment. This is because everyone can be working hard, but without proper alignment and clear priorities, your team will move in circles. The sad thing about driving in circles is that you are actually moving, but not growing. And most of the time, those activities can be mistaken for growth. Guess what? This is exactly what team chaos means.
The truth is, it might be time you seek a third party solution for your team strategy. A business growth consultant can work with you to align your team members, business processes, and priorities with your company vision. Growth consultants do this by breaking down the vision into actionable, short-term goals. This way, your team members take ownership and work together to execute the company’s strategic vision.
What Team Chaos Actually Looks Like
When we say “team chaos,” the mind would naturally think of team members fighting, throwing tantrums, and whatnot. The truth is, 95 percent of the time, team chaos is not dramatic. In fact, the dramatic aspect comes when the subtle signs are ignored. So what exactly does team chaos look like?
Constant Miscommunication
The first thing about communication is that it is only complete when there is mutual understanding. This means that the receiver understands what the sender intended to convey in the way the sender intended. Most of the time, miscommunication occurs when directions are unclear and when there is no central framework for communication. As a result of this, team members work without proper clarity, which would result in chaos.
Duplicated or Missed Tasks.
When there is no proper structure that shows who is responsible for what, one task can be assigned to two persons. Even worse, some tasks get assigned to no one in particular. This would lead to failure in the execution of most tasks. In no time, the workload would increase, deadlines would be missed, and the productivity level would be very low.
No Clarity on Ownership or Outcomes
Are you wondering why there is no accountability structure in your business? It is because roles are not clearly defined. Hence, your team members are busy but not productive. They don’t know who is supposed to do what. Therefore, no one takes responsibility for the work to be done. Before you know it, growth becomes slow, and then you, the founder, end up micromanaging your team instead of leading.
Siloed Departments
Imagine a scenario where the different departments in your business work independently of each other. What this means is, the different departments don’t work in alignment to get work done. This leads to the biggest chaos you can ever imagine. In case you are wondering, here’s how: Working in isolation slows down the execution of tasks. Marketing launches a campaign, but sales hasn’t even seen the messaging. And when tasks are not executed in due time, deadlines would be missed, leading to reduced productivity.
Why Teams Fall Out of Alignment During Growth
As a founder, you might expect your team to stay aligned as you grow. But the truth is, it is very easy for your team to fall out of alignment as growth happens. This is because the structure that worked for a team of 5 people might be harder to maintain for 10. And this is almost normal. But here are the top reasons teams become misaligned as growth happens:
Lack of Clear Strategic Goals
When your vision is not properly communicated, your team members will work blindly. This is because it is from the vision that a well-defined roadmap is created to guide your team’s workflow. Without this, there would be no defined goal to achieve. And guess what? The different departments in your organization would be heading in different directions.
No Communication Cadence or System
Every business needs a proper framework or structure to aid easy communication. From standup meetings to dashboards, regular check-ins, and a working reporting system, a good communication system is highly required. Without this, your teams would become misaligned and end up in silos.
Founder Still Doing Too Much
Knowing when and where to step back, as a founder, is a big deal. When you are too involved in every operation and activity, your team members are likely to step back from working. This is because the different departments lack autonomy and wouldn’t know when and how to take the initiative. This slows down business growth.
Fast Hiring Without Process Integration
It is good to hire new people to join your team. But without a proper onboarding on the vision and mission of your business, there would be chaos. This is one of the leading causes of duplicated and missed tasks. Because the new hires don’t know what to do or how to do it.
No Performance or Accountability Structure
It is almost impossible to measure growth without a proper performance and accountability structure. How would you identify what is being done and what is left to do? How would you track your successes and challenges to work on? Structures like KPIs, accountability partners, and managers, dashboards help to track team success. Beyond that, it is also used to identify who is responsible for different tasks and outcomes. Without it in place, you would have team productivity problems.
The Strategic Role of a Growth Consultant
If you think that a business consultant for team strategy exists only to motivate your employees, well, then think again. Motivation is, in fact, the last thing a growth consultant would do for your team members. Their role is to check for the cause of the misalignment, create a system that works, and bring clarity.
Diagnose Alignment Gaps
A growth consultant understands that your team doesn’t become misaligned because they want to. They know that it starts with your team members not knowing the vision. So, they start by identifying the cause of the misalignment, from goals to communication, strategy, and execution. You can call the growth consultant a business doctor.
Creates clarity between vision → goals, → daily action
The vision of your business is the big picture and the end point of your business. Most of the time, businesses struggle because their goals, targets, and daily operations don’t align with the vision. A growth consultant creates a roadmap that connects your long-term vision to individual responsibilities and team targets. This way, there is clarity between the daily actions and goals.
Restructure Teams or Workflows for Execution
Sometimes, the execution of tasks is difficult because there is no proper team structure or defined workflows. A growth consultant identifies this and helps to restructure your teams to ensure the business runs smoothly. From defining roles to streamlining workflows, a growth consultant ensures that there is a working structure that makes consistency easy.
Introduces Tools for Clarity, Accountability, and Measurement
Some tools help to track performance, enhance accountability, manage projects, and measure general growth across teams. A growth consultant brings in these tools, depending on your business type, to ensure that there is proper communication among teams. Aside from proper communication, it is also essential to ensure deadlines are met and tasks are executed.
Facilitates Cultural Alignment Around Company Vision
Every company, business, or organization has a work culture that shows in how they operate. This goes beyond tools and systems; it is about the values of the company. A growth consultant ensures that your mode of operation reflects the company’s vision. They do this by aligning the mission and values of your company with your vision. This is because the mission is how the vision is expected to be achieved. Through this, your teams get to work together with a shared purpose.
How Growth Consultants Align Your Team With Your Business Goals.
As a founder, you definitely have goals for your business. But the most pressing question in your mind is “how can I align my team with my business goals?” We have good news for you. One of the important aspects of a growth consultant in your business is to create that alignment. And this is how they do it:
Vision and Goal Clarification
Your business goals are a product of your vision. And to align your team members to your business goals, they need to understand the vision properly. The first thing a growth consultant does is to break down your business vision into clear goals that can be executed easily. This is way better than having a big vision and a long mission statement that your team struggles to understand. It not only achieves team alignment, but it also gives the team members a sense of direction.
Roles and Responsibilities Audit
One of the major causes of team chaos is duplicated and missed tasks, especially due to undefined roles and responsibilities. A growth consultant handles this by auditing the roles and responsibilities of each department and team member. Through this, they would define the roles each team member is supposed to play towards the business goal. This would give room for clarity on ownership and outcomes among your teams.
KPIs and Accountability
The absence of a good accountability system tied to Key Performance Indicators is what keeps your team busy yet unproductive. To end this, a growth consultant helps to design KPIs that connect each role to the company’s objectives and quarterly goals. That way, performance isn’t only measured by showing up, but also by outcomes and results.
Communication Frameworks
Every activity, operation, and workflow in an organization thrives on good communication. And good communication can only be sustainable when there’s a thriving communication framework. Growth consultants introduce a communication structure that makes the passing of information clear and easy. This is how internal team communication is improved.
Cultural Reset
This has to do with reinforcing the company values among the team members. This is because, beyond the KPIs and metrics, your company culture connects your employees to the vision and mission. Growth consultants ensure that your company culture supports ownership and accountability.
Signs Your Team is Out of Alignment
Many founders don’t know when their team is out of alignment. And that is because they don’t know the signs as they come. The truth is, the signs are usually undeniable, but little to no attention is paid to them. Here are some of those signs:
Leadership Spends Time Fixing Internal Issues
This is when you, the founder, spend more time on other activities other than growth strategy. It is a clear sign that your team is out of alignment. As a founder, you aren’t supposed to be the one putting out fires and handling most operations. Instead, lead the team towards the vision, prioritizing growth.
Strategy isn’t Executed on Time
Missed deadlines are a big sign that your team is out of alignment. It usually starts gradually, and then grows until it becomes a habit to miss deadlines. And sometimes, it isn’t because the vision isn’t communicated. It is because it is not translated into actionable steps and goals.
Staff ask, “What is the Priority?” too often.
If your team members constantly need clarity on their roles and responsibilities, then it means they don’t understand the vision. They work every day, but they don’t know which task is more important than another. And it also means they are out of alignment.
People are Working Hard, But Results Don’t Show it.
The fact that your team members never run out of activities doesn’t immediately translate to productivity. When your team does too much without producing the desired results, it is a sign that you need realignment.
You Feel Like You’re Managing Chaos, and Not Leading Growth
If you feel more involved in operations as the founder, more than how you lead to grow, you are managing chaos. And this would lead to severe burnout for you, the entrepreneur.
The ROI of an Aligned, Point Team
Investing in a growth consultant for team alignment gives you more than smoother operations. It also gives you measurable and sustainable growth—both for you, your team, and your business, at large. With an aligned team, you’d achieve the following.
Strategic Execution Without Micromanagement
When you have a team with clear goals and a proper accountability system, you wouldn’t need to hover around every activity. This allows you to be more innovative and strategic as the founder, whilst they handle tasks and operations.
Better Employee Engagement and Ownership
An aligned team knows the connection between their roles and the company’s vision. This gives them a sense of ownership over the outcomes of their tasks. By this, they do not just work because they are paid to, instead they take responsibility for their job execution.
Faster Implementation of Growth Strategies
There is a certain level of speed that comes with alignment. With an aligned team, no one is confused about roles and responsibilities. Projects move from planning to execution more easily and quickly because of this. And guess what? This kind of speed doesn’t burn or wear out your team members.
Clear Connection Between Efforts and Outcomes
With an aligned team, there’s no confusion about the expected outcome of the efforts they put into work. They understand that it is the work they put into the business that drives the desired results. And this is because a growth consultant ensures that each activity is linked to the vision. This creates a system where performance is measured by the impact and growth of the business.
Choosing a Growth Consultant Who Can Align Your Team
Not every growth consultant understands team alignment. And in fixing team chaos in your business, you need someone who has strategic insight and understands leadership development. When choosing a growth consultant to align your team, look out for the following:
Cross-functional Alignment Experience
Growth consultants who have worked across multiple areas of business see the big picture better than those who haven’t. This means that they must understand leadership, sales, operations, and work culture. This way, they can relate to the team members on different levels without shifting the vision.
Team Restructuring and Leadership Coaching Expertise
There is no team alignment without restructuring roles and coaching leaders. It is a prerequisite for team alignment. A growth consultant ensures that each team member knows what they’re accountable for. They also coach leaders to reduce micromanagement and emphasize role ownership.
Systems and Human Dynamics Focus
True alignment happens when there is a balance between processes and the people. A good growth consultant creates or introduces tools, systems, and frameworks that simplify the processes for team members.
Conclusion
If team misalignment is bothering you, this is your moment to realign it. Don’t let it hamper your growth. Do you want to get the team aligned with the company’s vision? It is time to go ahead and book a diagnostic, audit, or strategy session with us now. The growth of your company is the focus of our business. Let’s now look at the alignment of your team. Contact us for a strategy alignment session, and let’s begin to build a solid team for your company.
