Alignment: The Quiet Force Behind High-Performing Teams
Alignment is one of those things you don't always notice until it's missing. When leaders are aligned, there's a natural flow—decisions get made, goals are clear and people feel confident about the direction of the work. When alignment breaks down, everything slows. Meetings multiply, priorities compete and frustration grows.
I've seen talented leaders pour hours into solving problems, only to discover the real issue wasn't effort or skill—it was a lack of clarity at the top.
Why Alignment Matters So Much
The research backs up what many of us have experienced firsthand. McKinsey found that organizations with aligned leadership teams are 1.9 times more likely to hit above-average financial performance (McKinsey). Other studies show that highly aligned executive teams perform more than 70% better than their peers, underscoring the critical impact of leadership cohesion on profitability and growth (MatrixPoint).
In other words: alignment isn't a "nice to have." It's the difference between good intentions and real performance.
The Alignment Gap
And yet, alignment is surprisingly rare. One study found that in a group of 120 organizations, only 9% of respondents agreed on who was even on their leadership team (INSEAD). I've watched this happen too—leaders believe they're on the same page, but the way they communicate and execute tells a different story.
That disconnect is costly. People spend more time debating than doing and strategies stall in the space between agreement and action.
The stakes are especially high in mission-driven work. I recently worked with a leadership team facing the complex merger of healthcare philanthropy into a larger university advancement unit—two different organizations with distinct cultures, business processes and leadership styles at the top. Their weekly meetings had devolved into simple report-outs rather than strategic problem-solving. Sound familiar?
We focused on strengthening trust, inviting healthy conflict and creating real accountability. The transformation was remarkable. Not only did they successfully navigate one of the most challenging organizational changes possible, but their VP told us that if it wasn't for this work, they would not have had such a smooth and successful merger. They've hit record fundraising levels every year since—proof that when leaders align around what matters most, everything else follows.
What Leaders Can Do
Alignment doesn't happen by accident. It's something leaders build, practice and protect. Some of the most effective habits I've seen include:
Proactive communication. Everyone knows every step along the way without question.
Focused goals create clear priorities. Daily work connects back to the larger vision and the downstream understands how their efforts matter.
First team mentality. It's about the greater organization, not just your vertical. When the entire leadership team recognizes their impact is greater when they rise to strategic leadership and don't remain solely heads of their verticals, organizational transformation occurs.
These habits don't develop by accident. They require intentionality, discipline, practice and commitment.
Alignment as Leadership Development
Leadership development is often framed around individual skills: coaching, strategy, communication. But one of the most powerful leadership skills is the ability to create and sustain alignment. Leaders who master this don't just manage teams—they multiply effectiveness across the entire organization.
The impact truly cascades. A new SVP came to us with a team of strong individual contributors who had never worked together at the executive level. Each was an expert in their vertical, but they needed to learn strategic collaboration across different levels of experience and institutional knowledge. By focusing on shared values, trust and accountability, we helped accelerate their team development. Despite facing significant setbacks—attrition, trust rebuilding, team changes—the SVP recently shared that this is "the strongest, best executive team I've ever worked with in my career." Like the merger team, they've achieved record fundraising results every year since beginning their alignment work.
The alignment work created a foundation that held through every challenge and change. McKinsey's research shows that if executives could redo major initiatives, nearly half say they would spend more time aligning their top team (McKinsey). They know alignment at the top sets the tone everywhere else.
A Final Thought
If your days feel full but your progress feels slow, it may not be about effort at all. It may be about alignment. And the good news is, alignment is within a leader's control. It's about making the hard calls clear, focusing priorities and giving your people the confidence to move forward together.
When alignment is present, you can feel it—it's lighter, faster and far more human. And when it's missing, nothing else seems to work quite right. In mission-driven work, where every moment and every dollar counts, alignment isn't just about performance—it's about fulfilling the purpose that brought everyone to the work in the first place.
