{"id":29619,"date":"2025-03-06T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=29619"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:10:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:10:46","slug":"organisational-alignment-takes-effort-heres-some-advice-from-our-members","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/organisational-alignment-takes-effort-heres-some-advice-from-our-members\/","title":{"rendered":"Organisational Alignment Takes Effort \u2013 Here\u2019s Some Advice from our Members"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 6 Mar 2025 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Organisational Alignment Takes Effort \u2013 Here\u2019s Some Advice from our Members<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/organisational-alignment-takes-effort-heres-some-advice-from-our-members\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n
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Tips gleaned from a Leaders Virtual Roundtable titled \u2018Generating organisational alignment: what to consider and work works\u2019.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By John Portch & Luke Whitworth<\/h6>\n
\u201cI very rarely see organisations that are genuinely working towards the same goal.\u201d<\/h6>\n

Alignment is perhaps more crucial than ever in high performance, yet as this practitioner noted, it is absent too often.<\/p>\n

They were speaking at a Leaders Virtual Roundtable that dug into the topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a large team of staff, whether that\u2019s coaches, practitioners, athletes, and that starting point of knowing where you\u2019re going or what you\u2019re aiming for is really important,\u201d said one attendee who works for a Premier League team. \u201cThen we build a strategy around that. So what we\u2019re looking to do and the type of things we\u2019re trying to do \u2013 and the things we\u2019re not<\/em> going to try and do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the point of making it intentional is a huge one for us,\u201d said another participant who works in the NWSL. \u201cThat\u2019s been a huge emphasis with us as a staff this year \u2013 just making sure that we are all aligned and all on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n

It takes time and effort and, over the course of the conversation, the participants shared their experiences and offered some best practice tips to help you and your team.<\/p>\n

Alignment starts at the top<\/strong><\/p>\n

The consensus was that alignment flows from the top of an organisation. The table said that senior leaders must articulate an organisation\u2019s goals and consistently reinforce them.<\/p>\n

\u201cOwnership has come in and been very clear about the goal of the club,\u201d said the practitioner from the NWSL. \u201cWe want to be a leading global sports franchise, not just within the soccer space, not just within the women\u2019s football space.\u201d It is a lofty aspiration but all staff members understand the aim.<\/p>\n

Find the low-hanging fruit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next is identifying the obstacles, \u201cthe low-hanging fruit\u201d, which means \u201ceach department approaching the general structure of practice by identifying what\u2019s important and then identifying how you\u2019re going to measure those things,\u201d as a participant working in Major League Baseball explained. \u201cThen you break that down into its subcomponents and figure out how you\u2019re going to identify where the lowest-hanging fruit is to then solve those problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frequent check-ins<\/strong><\/p>\n

Find opportunities to check against your team\u2019s objectives. As one attendee said of their team\u2019s meetings, \u201cwe started with the end goal for the end of the season and how we are going to break that up.\u201d<\/p>\n

It requires \u201ccrystal clarity,\u201d as another attendee put it. They said: \u201cdo we reduce the amount of interpretation, and then on the back of that, how are we checking for understanding?\u201d It cannot just be a case of the leader \u201cbroadcasting\u201d messages of expectation or definitions. \u201cWhat\u2019s actually being heard and understood? How frequently do we check that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Develop a common lexicon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Words are critical in ensuring that athletes are presented with a united front. \u201cThat comes with knowing what are the goals, the mission, the vision of the club,\u201d said the same attendee, \u201cand then all being able to speak from a common language.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in how we use strategy and try and bring it to life,\u201d said another attendee. \u201cI\u2019ve seen staff buy-in, not only in one-to-one meetings or annual reviews, but day to day. They are using the language that exists in our strategy \u2013 we\u2019re talking the same way, and we\u2019re trying to achieve the same things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let staff shape how your vision comes to life<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a leader, it is also critical to understand staff motivations and aspirations. \u201cThere\u2019s so many compartmentalised pieces to some environments,\u201d said one attendee with knowledge of the British sports system. \u201cHow do we actually align where there are different motivations and aspirations?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you get buy-in from people and input from day one, I always find that more impactful,\u201d offered one participant. When people are invested it leads to smarter ideas and strategies \u2013 and everyone understands how they can help to achieve them.<\/p>\n

Make accountability the norm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Each department must articulate their goals within the bigger picture. One attendee said: \u201cWe all have a vision of what each department is working towards and who\u2019s going to be responsible for those elements.\u201d A team can also ask, \u201c\u2018this is what this department is working on \u2013 is that getting us to where we want to go?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Where your values are on the wall, they can serve as a useful conversation-starter. One attendee, who works as a director of performance, spoke of approaching a staff member \u201cstanding in front of our strategy and saying, \u2018where\u2019s the work you\u2019re doing? Where does it fit in our strategy? The acid test is they say, \u2018oh, yeah, I work on this, and I know I contribute to that\u2019. If they can\u2019t do it then that\u2019s on me, because we haven\u2019t made it really clear where their work fits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where there\u2019s progress, you can celebrate the wins. \u201cPeople get the chance to be appreciated. \u2018OK, this is what you\u2019re working on, this is how it\u2019s going\u2019\u201d said the participant from a club in the NWSL, \u201cand we can celebrate the victories where we\u2019ve started to move the needle towards that ultimate goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Be agile in your programmes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alignment is not fixed, it requires constant revisiting. As one attendee said, \u201cwhen we start to add more staff and the structure sometimes becomes redundant\u201d as reporting lines change. The risk is \u201cyou have people who are tied to titles and roles that may not function anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Therefore, it is important to move beyond grand gestures of alignment and place emphasis on those day to day interactions. \u201cThe behaviour layer\u201d, as one attendee phrased it. \u201c\u2018If we do this well, we would see this, this and this\u2019. So now you actually have things to hold people to or, if they are demonstrating it, celebrate it. \u2018Great! Let\u2019s have more of that\u2019. If they\u2019re falling short, \u2018let\u2019s have a conversation. Why aren\u2019t we seeing some of that? It\u2019s taking it from the grand gesture to the day to day: \u2018demonstrate it, live it, breathe it\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n

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