Why one email isn't enough for team alignment

In 1985, Coca-Cola spent $30 million ensuring everyone knew about New Coke. 100% awareness. 0% alignment. Total disaster. Here's why most leaders make this same mistake: In 1985, Coca-Cola rolled out New Coke with one of the most aggressive marketing campaigns in its history. TV commercials blanketed the airwaves. Taste tests showed people preferred the new, sweeter formula. Billboards popped up in every major city. Within weeks, the entire country knew about New Coke. And just 77 days later, Coca-Cola pulled it off the shelves. Not because people were unaware of the change, but everyone was. They just didn’t buy into the change. This is where most leadership initiatives quietly fail today. They confuse awareness with alignment. Coca-Cola thought they had succeeded by getting the message out. But awareness doesn’t mean agreement. Just because people hear you doesn’t mean they’re with you. I saw this same pattern in a corporate case study. Elaine, a senior leader, helped roll out a new expense policy. Dozens of emails went out. It was covered in town halls. Every employee received detailed instructions. Six months later? Almost no one followed it. Elaine’s team had created total awareness, but zero alignment. Everyone knew about the policy. No one cared enough to change their behavior. Here’s what I’ve learned: - Your team can repeat the strategy. - They can cite the new rules. - They can even quote your vision. But unless they believe in it, none of it sticks. Alignment is invisible, but powerful. With awareness alone, people nod in meetings... then do what they’ve always done. With alignment, they speak up in support, even when no one’s watching. Alignment isn’t compliance. It’s conviction. The problem? Creating awareness is easy. You send an email, check the box, and move on. But creating alignment takes more effort: • You have to start with why • You have to repeat the message through stories, not just slides • You have to invite feedback, not just deliver instruction • And most of all, you have to show how the change connects to something meaningful Want more research-backed insights on leadership? Join 11,000+ leaders who get our weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/en9vxeNk

When I was a new marketing leader, I believed that great marketing would speak for itself. Just build strong campaigns, generate pipeline, and drive results—everyone will see the impact, right? Wrong. The truth is, if you're not actively communicating marketing's value, most people won't fully understand it. And that can cost you big time on buy-in, budget, and alignment. One of the most important (and underrated) responsibilities of a marketing leader is continuous internal communication—keeping stakeholders informed, aligned, and engaged with marketing’s impact. Here’s the reality: → It takes 7+ touches for someone to remember a message. Just because you said it once in a meeting doesn’t mean it stuck. → Different stakeholders need different information. Sales cares about pipeline, product cares about messaging, leadership wants the big picture. → The best way to drive alignment is through consistent, structured communication. Here’s what I do today: • Weekly leadership updates: A quick email to execs and key stakeholders covering pipeline, top priorities, and what’s coming next. • Monthly company-wide updates: A broader email highlighting key campaigns, content, and how marketing is driving company goals. • Regular feedback loops: I proactively ask: What do you need from marketing? What’s working? What’s not? And here's why it's important to make time for regular internal comms: ✔️ Better cross-functional alignment ✔️ Fewer misunderstandings about marketing’s priorities ✔️ More visibility into marketing’s impact Marketing is one of the most cross-functional teams in a company. Keeping internal stakeholders informed isn’t a nice to have—it’s mission-critical. If you’re a marketing leader (or aspiring to be one), don’t let internal communication be an afterthought. Make it a habit. How do you keep your internal teams aligned? Would love to hear what’s worked for you! 👇

The gap is staggering. 87% of employees feel they are productive. 12% of employers agree. 70% of emails are opened (30% of your messages aren't even seen!) Of those that are, more than 50% of the openers spend 9 seconds are less looking at the email. Is it any wonder that: 😠 Leaders wonder why their people don't know what's going on ("I'm sending emails - and let me tell you - my emails are clear and engaging") 🆘 Employees at all levels want to know more about what is happening ("What is our strategy? What are our plans and goals? Where do I fit in? Why are we doing/not doing things?) I was talking with a client recently, and when I asked about whether people in the organization are clear and aligned on what is most important, he replied "Yes, we do a good job of that." I asked how he knows that people are aligned. This was met with silence - not only by him, but also the ~10 others on the call. It wasn't intended to be a "gotcha" moment, as much as a reflection moment. A moment for leaders to do a more consistent job of checking their assumptions ("everyone knows that"). Want to know if you've got the kind of clarity and alignment required to foster a healthier and higher performing culture? Start here: ✅ Ask better questions (example: "How clear are you on our strategy?" "How clearly can you see the connection between your work and our company goals?" ✅ Rethink your listening strategy. Annual surveys aren't enough. You can pulse people more frequently, hold skip-level meetings, engage team members in group meetings, hold focus groups, and use collaborative online communities to get more real-time input ✅ Overcommunicate (this doesn't necessarily mean more meetings or emails, though). Nothing is obvious unless you make it so. Want to know if your message was heard? Check for understanding ✅ Hear from your people - what do they think you need to hear, and what do they want to hear more of from you? Possible mindset shift? Think of yourself as the Chief Alignment Officer. Be the facilitator of organizational systems that create space for (and recognize and reward) deep, focused, intentional, high-quality work that produces consistent value for external and internal customers. Need help taking steps to get your team more aligned, out of frustration, clearer on priorities, and/or performing at higher levels on a consistent basis? Send me a DM to schedule a Leader Alignment Pulse Check.

What every one of your internal comms leaders is thinking. ⤵ Please *trust us* when we tell you: 🚫 Culture change doesn’t happen overnight. 🚫 Employees don’t become engaged from just one email. 🚫 Trust isn’t built through sporadic, one-way communication. 🚫 Strong leadership isn’t developed through a single motivational speech. 🚫 Employee well-being doesn’t improve after one wellness program launch. 🚫 Managers don’t create psychological safety for their teams automatically. 🚫 A positive work environment doesn’t grow from one team-building exercise. 🚫 Inclusion doesn’t exist just because you hired people from different backgrounds. These things take effort. They take planning. They take strategy. And they take TIME. ⏳ And yes, *time* is one of the most important words here. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Big, systemic shifts need strategies that work in the immediate, short-term, mid-term, and long-term to see real change, engagement, and trust take root. As communications leaders, please trust us when we say: 👉 That AMA won’t fix a disengaged workforce. 👉 Company swag and pizza parties won’t rebuild broken trust. 👉 An email won’t solve your company’s communication issues. 👉 One training session won’t turn managers into great leaders. 👉 Adding a ping-pong table won’t foster genuine collaboration. 👉 A single employee survey won’t magically transform workplace culture. 👉 Posting your mission statement on the wall won’t make people live by it. Employee engagement and internal communication aren’t just a nice to have—they’re essential to creating an informed, engaged, and thriving workforce. Without them you’ll face silos, disengagement, and distrust—the telltale signs of a low-performing organization. The choice is yours. Invest in your internal comms team. ✊ Does your company have dedicated resources for internal #communications and employee engagement?