How to Improve Team Alignment Through Communication

Ever feel like your team meetings are just a bunch of talking heads? You're not alone… But what if I told you the key to unlocking better collaboration, higher engagement, and stronger results lies in something often overlooked? Active listening is more than just keeping quiet while someone speaks… It's about truly paying attention, understanding the speaker's intent, showing the speaker you understand them, and responding thoughtfully I recently coached an David (an engineering manager) on this His team was brimming with talent, but constantly missing deadlines, struggling to collaborate, and fixing mistakes that were caused by misunderstandings David noticed frustration and a lack of engagement, and after digging a little deeper, we identified a core problem… Team members weren't actively listening to each other! Ideas were interrupted, and some felt their voices weren't valued, which created a culture of hesitation and hindered creative problem-solving But changing a team culture starts at the top… Through coaching, David honed his active listening skills and implemented these practices with his team: **Give Full Attention:** David learned to silence distractions, make eye contact, and truly focus on the speaker. This simple act communicated respect and encouraged open communication **Practice Reflection and Paraphrasing:** David began summarizing key points to ensure everyone was on the same page, which clarified understanding and fostered trust **Ask Clarifying Questions:** David encouraged questions to delve deeper into ideas and build upon each other's thoughts, which fostered a more collaborative environment **Embrace Silence:** David created space for thoughtful responses instead of jumping in to fill pauses, which allowed for deeper reflection and richer discussions **Active Listening for All:** David encouraged team members to practice active listening with each other, which fostered a culture of mutual respect and understanding These simple practices produced remarkable results! Communication improved dramatically, deadlines were met, innovation soared, and the team thrived on collaboration because everyone felt empowered to share ideas freely, knowing they would be heard Implement these active listening techniques in your next team meeting and see the difference! #Leadership #CivilEngineering #SoftwareEngineering

Are you part of a real team? Or do you sometimes feel isolated, unclear, and disconnected, even though you're surrounded by colleagues? Early in my career, I naively believed that assembling a group of high performers automatically equated to a high-performing team. But reality proved otherwise. Instead of synergy, I witnessed friction. The team wasn’t meshing; it was like gears grinding without proper lubrication. Each high performer, while brilliant on their own, seemed to have their own agenda, often pulling in different directions. The energy and time spent on internal friction was enormous, and the anticipated results? Well, they remained just that – anticipated. It was a stark realization that a team's effectiveness isn't just about individual brilliance—it's about harmony, alignment, and collaboration. With our workplace becoming increasingly diverse, dispersed, digital, and dynamic this is no easy feat. So, in my quest to understand the nuances of high performing teams, I reached out to my friend Daria Rudnik. Daria is a Team Architect - specializing in engineering remote teams for sustainable growth. She shared 5 key insights that can make all the difference: 1. Define a Shared Goal ↳Why? A team truly forms when united by a shared goal that can only be achieved together, not just by adding up individual efforts, ↳How? Involve the team in setting a clear, measurable goal at the project's start. Regularly revisit and communicate this goal to keep everyone aligned and motivated. 2. Cultivate Personal Connections ↳Why? Personal connections hold a team together, boosting trust, support, and understanding for a more productive environment. ↳How? Begin meetings with a social check-in. Let team members share updates or feelings, enhancing connection and understanding. 3. Clear Communication ↳Why? It’s the backbone of a successful team, preventing misunderstandings and building trust. ↳How? Hold regular team meetings and check-ins. Ensure a safe environment for expressing thoughts and concerns. 4. Defined Roles and Responsibilities ↳Why? Clear roles prevent overlap and ensure task coverage, giving a sense of ownership and accountability. ↳How? Outline everyone’s roles at the project's start, ensuring understanding of individual contributions to overall goals. 5. Provide Regular Feedback and Recognition ↳Why? Feedback clarifies strengths and areas for improvement. Recognition boosts morale and motivation. ↳How? Hold regular, constructive feedback sessions. Publicly recognize and reward achievements. Remember, 'team' isn't just a noun—it's a verb. It requires ongoing effort and commitment to work at it, refine it, and nurture it. 👉 Want to supercharge your team's performance? Comment “TEAM” below to grab your FREE e-book and learn how to 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦'𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 in just 90 days, courtesy of Daria.

As a leader, one of the most crucial elements to monitor for the success of your endeavors is team alignment. As cheesy as it sounds, it truly is the glue that holds everything together, ensuring that every member is moving in sync towards shared goals. After realizing that there was opportunity for alignment, in August, I began regular check-ins with my leadership team. The group meetings, like the one in this photo, are still important. However, individual structured meetings have proven to be the cornerstone of maintaining this alignment. It provides an opportunity to assess progress, clarify objectives, and address any discrepancies before they snowball into larger issues. However, it's essential to approach these meetings with intentionality to reap their full benefits. Far too often, well-intentioned check-ins devolve into daily stand-ups that function as mere status updates, where team members recite their tasks without meaningful engagement. This not only wastes everyone's time but also fails to foster the alignment necessary for collective success. Instead, here are some tips to ensure your check-ins are effective in promoting team alignment: 1. Set a clear objective: Before each meeting, define specific objectives or topics to be discussed. This provides focus and ensures that conversations are purposeful and productive. 2. Focus on goals, not tasks: Rather than dwelling on individual tasks, steer the conversation towards broader goals and objectives. This helps contextualize individual contributions within the larger picture, promoting alignment towards overarching targets. 3. Address roadblocks proactively: Use check-ins as an opportunity to identify and address any obstacles or challenges hindering progress. By proactively tackling issues, you can prevent them from derailing the team's alignment and momentum. These strategies have helped transform "quick conversation in passing" into powerful tools for fostering team alignment and driving collective success. Effective alignment doesn't happen by chance – it requires intentional effort and consistent communication. So what does your team do to stay aligned?

When a misaligned project team succeeds, it’s an accident. Without alignment — that is, a shared understanding and commitment — team members work at cross-purposes and doom projects to failure. Unfortunately, it’s an easy trap to fall into. When project managers simply assume their team is aligned, or when they accept head-nodding and verbal confirmations as proxies for actual alignment, the risk of failure increases dramatically. When I served as a manufacturing plant manager, I put a project team together to figure out how to increase throughput on a production line. Not long after, throughput had increased by nearly 9%, but yield had decreased by nearly 4%, increasing our costs and canceling out all the gains. The words “I thought that’s what you wanted” still ring in my ears. The fact that the team had decreased overall performance was my fault. I didn’t clarify objectives to ensure a thorough understanding of acceptable trade-offs. I learned that ambiguity was always my fault and could quickly compound into further misalignment. In a world in which projects have become more emergent, project managers need to ensure alignment — not wait for a lagging indicator to reveal that the team doesn’t actually have a shared commitment and understanding. Here are five questions every project manager should periodically ask their teams to create and maintain alignment: 1. What is your understanding of the project? When you achieve shared understanding, or cognitive alignment, you reduce the unit costs of making decisions, accelerate execution, and remove unforced human error. 2. What concerns do you have? To keep the team aligned, you need to pay close attention to every form of data. Never assume that concerns will find you. Go find them. 3. How do you see your role? When team members don’t have a clear understanding of how their role contributes to the project, they get off track or disengage. Don’t assume role clarity — verify it. 4. What do you need? This question requires the individual to think through the personal, tactical, cultural, and strategic implications of any change in project requirements. 5. How would you describe your current commitment to the project? This last question gives the individual an opportunity to share their commitment as a snapshot in time, including caveats, contingencies, dependencies, concerns, and limitations.

Your team isn’t overwhelmed because of work. They’re overwhelmed because of confusion. I see this in almost every team I coach: → Everybody's busy and end up working in silos, → Everyone's "running with the ball" but not necessarily towards the same goals → Teams duplicate efforts because no one knows who's handling what → Every request feels urgent because context is missing. Here’s what intentional leaders do differently:👇🏻 1️⃣ Define Goals That Actually Guide Decisions: Not just what we want to achieve - but what we're willing to sacrifice to get there. Clear goals eliminate the guesswork about what matters most right now. 2️⃣ Create a Decision Framework: Who decides what? What needs consensus? What doesn't? Clarity reduces rework. It speeds things up. 3️⃣ Set Bright Focus: Every week, every month, every quarter - name 2–3 things that matter most. Not 10. Not 5. The discipline of saying "not now" is what creates real momentum. 4️⃣ Build Rhythms, Not Just Sprints: Chaos loves irregularity. When you anchor decisions, feedback, and strategy into consistent rituals - chaos has fewer places to hide. 5️⃣ Communicate the "Why" - Not Just the "What"  Without context, people overwork. With context, they align. And alignment is the antidote to chaos. You don’t need to control everything. ❌ You need to architect enough clarity that your team can navigate the unknown with confidence. ✅ Because work doesn't need to feel like chaos - even in a startup. What’s one structure you’ve introduced that made your team calmer and faster? Drop it below - let’s build better together. 👇 Follow Alexandra Erman for more! 🫱🏻🫲🏼

Last week, I attended my first (ever) non-TMT offsite/ SKO. And… I loved it. It was valuable. Not overkill. Not a waste of time. I returned energized and more ready than ever to make 2024 a standout year with the team. Here’s what stood out... I thought sharing 4/7 highlights might be valuable for planning your next SKO or offsites: 1. Clarify and communicate your strategy. There cannot and should not be any ambiguity when it comes to your strategy. Don’t overindex on trying to cram in a ton of workshops, vendor exhibits, or training sessions; instead, prioritize your strategy. Bonus points if you share the company OKRs linked to your strategy. 2. Get feedback on your strategy. While there are different ways to operationalize this, it’s crucial to create an environment that welcomes honest and constructive feedback. Ask simple yet impactful questions like, ‘Does anyone have concerns or issues with the strategy? Are there any blind spots we might be missing? Any angles we should consider? Are we focusing on what matters?’ Empower your teams to raise their hand and speak up. Your strategy should pulse like a heartbeat. If you can’t bring tweaks, revisions, or pivots… it may signal that you haven’t established the right strategy and systems to win in today’s dynamic environment. 3. Secure alignment on your strategy. Is everyone on board? I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Alignment eats strategy for breakfast. You can have the best strategy, but without alignment, it’s just not going to happen. Secure or re-secure alignment at your offsite. Ask, ‘Are you on board and committed to the strategy? Who’s in and who’s out?’ And if you’re not on board, that’s okay. Leadership will help you find another opportunity. It’s a tough market out there, but high-impact players are always an asset to any organization. 4. Educate and reinforce what’s in it for the team and the opportunity for them long-term at the company. Speak to it, map it out, make it tangible, provide examples, and encourage follow-up conversations to make sure it’s clear and your team members are aligned. In other words, tie your strategy and where the company is headed to your team’s personal growth plans. Curious to hear your thoughts on the above, and stay tuned for the remaining 3/7 highlights, coming early next week! 

Imagine a gladiator standing in the ancient arena, under the scorching sun, facing a lion. The crowd holds its breath, anticipating the clash. This vivid imagery is not too far removed from the moments of conflict we encounter, be it with a client, colleague, boss, parent, child, sibling, or friend. Have you ever found yourself in such an arena, feeling the tension of an impending confrontation? I can guarantee we’ve all been there. For many of us, especially those in leadership roles, navigating these disputes is a daily challenge. Just as the gladiator must find a way to coexist or overcome the lion, so too must we navigate the complex dynamics of human interaction. How can we transform these moments of conflict into opportunities for collaboration and mutual success? ▪️Embracing Empathy: The First Step to Understanding In the face of conflict, empathy is our shield. It allows us to genuinely understand and share the feelings and perspectives of others, fostering a sense of shared humanity. This approach can shift the dynamic from confrontation to cooperation, enabling all involved to see beyond the immediate dispute. ▪️Prioritizing Clear, Calm Communication: The sword of calm, clear communication is essential in the arena of conflict. Structured dialogue that emphasizes respect, active listening, and the avoidance of accusatory language is key to de-escalating tensions. This process allows individuals to express their needs and concerns constructively, facilitating a more productive exchange of ideas. ▪️Seeking Common Ground through Collaboration: Collaborative problem-solving unveils solutions that benefit all parties. Identifying shared goals or values can lay the groundwork for creative resolutions. This not only addresses the immediate conflict but also strengthens relationships by demonstrating a capacity to work together towards common objectives. ▪️Establishing Clarity in Roles and Expectations: Many conflicts arise from misunderstandings about roles and expectations. Establishing clear communication about these aspects can prevent disputes. By ensuring everyone is aligned, we minimize potential misunderstandings and the likelihood of conflict. ▪️Cultivating a Culture of Continuous Learning : Each conflict presents an opportunity for learning, offering insights into areas for improvement in future interactions. Adopting a reflective approach to conflicts can enhance our conflict resolution skills and foster stronger, more resilient relationships. Navigating the arena of conflict, much like the gladiator facing the lion, requires courage, strategy, and the right tools. By fostering an environment where empathy, respectful communication, shared goals, clarity of roles, and a commitment to continuous learning are valued, we can transform potential conflicts into opportunities for collaboration and growth.

This week’s leadership tip is visualizing your Strategic Plan, sometimes called “Line of Sight,” a transformative method that has been instrumental in driving our company's culture. After we’re done with strategic planning, we visualize our annual plan (Goals and Strategies) through “Line of Sight.” As seen throughout our corporate offices, showrooms and warehouses, all over the walls, discussed in our meetings, near our KPI boards, etc.   At CITY Furniture, it's crucial that we not only have a clear vision for the future (this comes directly from strategic planning week) but also a structured approach to achieving it. That's where "Line of Sight" comes into play. In Lean Thinking, Line of Sight is the process of creating a clear and direct connection between an organization's strategic objectives and the daily work of its associates. This ensures that associates at all levels can see how their daily tasks contribute to the organization's overall success. It’s also a good reminder of what the company is trying to accomplish, what success looks like for the year, and the steps needed to get there. We monitor progress, celebrate wins, and learn from setbacks. Through this alignment, the company can focus efforts on what matters most, improve communication and collaboration, and drive continuous improvement.    We’re far from perfect but this is an important concept we try to live by throughout our entire organization. Why? Because when everyone understands their role in our shared vision, incredible things happen, such as:    🎯 Improved Communication: With the Line of Sight, communication flows seamlessly across all levels of the organization. Everyone knows the game plan, and they know how their contribution matters. That means fewer misunderstandings, a stronger sense of purpose and of course better alignment.   💡 Innovation and Problem-Solving: When associates see the bigger picture, they're more likely to spot opportunities for improvement and tackle challenges head-on that help us hit our annual goals.   🤝 Cross-Functional Collaboration: Teams across different departments collaborate more effectively because they understand how their work interconnects. This cross-functional synergy is a game-changer.   🌐 Growth & Expansion: As we continue to grow, Hoshin Planning ensures that all of our teams are all pulling in the same direction. Our corporate culture and strategic objectives remain consistent, regardless of where we operate.   There are many benefits to implementing Hoshin Planning Line of Sight because it's not just a tool; it's a mindset shift that can propel company growth, improve company culture, and encourage continuous improvement. Again, we’re far from perfect at it but I like how we are improving as a team. Proud of my CITY Family and working towards living this method. Hope this helps. 😊🎯 🚀 🔄 📈🌐  #HoshinPlanning #cityleads #LineOfSight #StrategicVision #Leadership #ContinuousImprovement #leanmanagement

Most impactful advice I've ever received: "It is always better to overcommunicate". When I was a junior engineer, features I worked on didn't depend on others. As I grew into the mid-level I started to work on projects that required collaboration and had stakeholders. At first, I wasn't used to keeping others up to date on the status of the work. This made it so that I wasn't as effective as I could've been. My manager, Lukas Camra, gave me this feedback and ever since I've taken it to heart. Here's a few ways I've used it: 1. Owning outages - When systems break, it's critical for the person owning the outage to keep everyone up to date until it is mitigated 2. Project updates - When you're leading project that others depend on, it's important to communicate progress and blockers on some cadence. Once every two weeks is a good default, but it depends on the project 3. Persisting alignment - Aligment can happen in private channels (e.g. chat threads, meetings). If the decision affects others, it's useful to write a quick summary and publish it to include others and keep a record of it Overcommunicating helps groups of people stay coordinated and increases your visibiltiy. Both of these are critical for growth into senior levels. To learn more about visibility, see here: https://lnkd.in/gH6uuN49 What is the most impactful feedback you've ever received?

In my 35+ years of experience, one key takeaway is clear: success in the business world hinges on effective communication. Clarity, simplicity and precision reduce misunderstandings, paving the way for streamlined collaboration. 👉 Active listening is paramount. Engage attentively in conversations, absorbing insights before responding. This cultivates a culture of respect within the team. 👉 Openness is key. Encourage an open-door policy, creating an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas and concerns. This fuels innovation faster than you’d think. 👉 Leverage technology wisely. Embrace tools that facilitate seamless communication, from project management platforms to video conferencing. Consider the global context. Tailor your message to resonate with diverse audiences, understanding cultural nuances. At the end of the day, effective business communication is a strategic asset, fostering strong and collaborative connections. #effectivecommunication #tech #businesscommunication #smartData #collaboration