{"id":34536,"date":"2026-04-14T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=34536"},"modified":"2026-05-13T11:04:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:04:24","slug":"business-and-performance-people-dont-always-resist-alignment-they-just-dont-know-what-it-entails","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/business-and-performance-people-dont-always-resist-alignment-they-just-dont-know-what-it-entails\/","title":{"rendered":"Business and Performance: People Don\u2019t Always Resist Alignment, they Just Don\u2019t Know what it Entails"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 14 Apr 2026 <\/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

Business and Performance: People Don\u2019t Always Resist Alignment, Just Don\u2019t Know what it Entails<\/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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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/business-and-performance-people-dont-always-resist-alignment-they-just-dont-know-what-it-entails\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n
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At a recent virtual roundtable, members of the Leaders Performance Institute raised common tensions and discussed how business and performance operations can function more effectively alongside one another.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By John Portch<\/h6>\n
\u201cThere are no sides\u201d<\/h6>\n

So said RC Buford<\/a>, the CEO of the San Antonio Spurs, when recently asked how the NBA team reconciles the commercial and basketball branches of their organisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all on one side,\u201d he added for emphasis.<\/p>\n

It is true of the Spurs, where in addition to serving as Spurs CEO, Buford also serves as President of the team\u2019s parent company Spurs Sports & Entertainment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are basketball units<\/em>\u00a0that are part of a team and there are business units<\/em>\u00a0that are part of a team; and if they\u2019re not working together, neither is going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is true of the NBA and the wider sporting world beyond as denser competition schedules, rising commercial pressure and increased performance expectations dissolve the boundaries between business and performance.<\/p>\n

Not that all teams have got a handle on this (the Spurs themselves say they have some way to go), which is why the Leaders Performance Institute recently hosted a virtual roundtable for members to identify the common tensions in this area, the biggest opportunities, and the initiatives that have promoted greater alignment and collaboration.<\/p>\n

The member comments below have all been lifted from the Slido interactive questionnaire that accompanied the virtual discussion.<\/p>\n

Four common sources for the tensions that exist between business and performance<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. The perception of competing agendas<\/strong><\/p>\n

The idea persists that commercial success and performance success are not only mutually exclusive, but\u00a0actively competing.<\/p>\n

\u2018Is this taking them away from the day job?\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 it\u2019s a common question posed by coaches when their athletes are engaged in commercially focused activities.<\/p>\n

The same contributor spoke of the battle for use of facility space by highlighting the ever-present dichotomy of \u2018commercial vs performance\u2019<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Another attendee pointed to \u2018incentive misalignment\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0while another cited a common concern: \u2018Do I or my programme get that money or is it going elsewhere in the organisation?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Limited exposure to other units<\/strong><\/p>\n

Business and performance units too often work in silos.<\/p>\n

\u2018They do not understand each other or do not prioritise time to understand each other,\u2019 <\/strong>wrote one attendee, capturing the experience of most practitioners and coaches at the virtual table. \u2018Sometimes there may be a lack of understanding of each other\u2019s priorities or needs,\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0added another.<\/p>\n

Nor does it help that \u2018people are often changing organisations and working at larger scale or stakes than previously experienced\u2019<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

3. The idea that people don\u2019t necessarily resist alignment, they simply don\u2019t understand what it entails<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since\u00a0\u2018there\u2019s a lack of communication or understanding on what the priority really is\u2019,<\/strong>\u00a0 as one member suggested, it is not surprising that there is a \u2018lack of awareness of opportunities to engage or collaborate\u2019<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Inevitably, \u2018sometimes one interest is given precedent over the other\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0and, on a daily basis, stakeholders are left asking \u2018what\u2019s for external and what\u2019s for internal?\u2019 <\/strong>when it comes to business practices.<\/p>\n

4. Individual roles that become ambiguous at cross-department level<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is too often a \u2018lack of clarity on individuals\u2019 roles with regards to performance or the organisation\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0and that aforementioned tension between external and internal interests has given rise to the perception that \u2018business is outward\u2011facing and performance inward\u2011facing\u2019<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Four opportunities for increased collaboration<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Be ahead of the game<\/strong><\/p>\n

Collaboration tends to be an afterthought; and this inertia comes at a cost, as one attendee noted:<\/p>\n

\u2018Some of our best work [in both business and performance] is done with paying clients and externals vs doing it for ourselves \u2013 that\u2019s wrong and needs to shift.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Involve performance earlier in the process,\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0wrote one member; \u2018build shared metrics so both sides are measuring success the same way,\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0added another.<\/p>\n

2. Find ways to better leverage your team\u2019s efforts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Units are invariably working for the collective good, but this is not always recognised or celebrated collectively.<\/p>\n

\u2018There needs to be better capture of the actual activity that\u2019s going on to use in multiple ways,\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0said one member with both commercial and performance interests in mind.<\/p>\n

Such a collective approach \u2018would also help impact awareness, understanding and people being able to use comms and talk about it more effectively.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. Promote decision clarity (and discourage \u2018heroes\u2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is best for all if stakeholders can \u2018clarify decision rights\u2019<\/strong>, as there tends to be one person who is best-placed to make a judgement in each of a team\u2019s units.<\/p>\n

This need not undermine efforts at cross-collaboration. As one member noted, stakeholders must \u2018focus on the \u201c80%\u201d and providing consistent delivery\u2019<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Nor should people over-extend themselves to plug gaps. \u2018Hero behaviour during tentpole moments creates panic,\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0wrote another member.<\/p>\n

4. Understand that relationships come first<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Take time to build the relationships and trust first,\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0wrote one attendee. This can help create a \u2018greater sense of community beyond the organisation,\u2019 <\/strong>added another.<\/p>\n

One member suggested that teams ask themselves: \u2018How can our communication be clear and consistent?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three approaches that have worked:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. The creation of cross-functional teams<\/strong><\/p>\n

The table noted the value in having:<\/p>\n