“So, how does your group decide what needs to get done?” I queried the table of executives, all senior managers with ownership interest in their fifty million plus business. Puzzled looks reflected back the bewilderment they felt. We had spent the past two hours on the subject of “alignment,” a concept that in the past, to them, meant “agreement.” Everyone had confirmed that far too much waste had been going on in their team meetings; i.e., churning over issues and not resolving them. I turned to the CEO and asked for his perspective.

“Normally, we put a subject on the table, we discuss it, and I try to get everyone to agree on what we should do.” I asked everyone to comment on how that usually went. Finally, one person spoke authentically. “The truth is that we argue over the issues for hours, discussing them back and forth, and at the end of the meeting, no clear decisions are made. I personally leave frustrated and feel like we’ve wasted a lot of time.” Heads nodded around him. We had at least found one thing they agreed on – that they weren’t very good at getting to solid decisions as a group.

Alignment, I explained, is basically “rowing the boat in the same direction.” I then offered the notion that you don’t need agreement in order to get to alignment. “Alignment,” I said, “is when you agree, as a group, to support a decision regarding the direction of the company or a particular initiative of the business.” How do you get there? By following a process that allows for everyone’s input, and that results in a decision, in as timely a manner as possible. Less waste, more value.

“Imagine this scenario,” I said. “Your CEO, whose job it is to set direction for the company, comes to you with an idea for a new initiative: a new market space to pursue, a new system for getting things done, a potential merger, whatever. Now, picture yourselves in a lively but respectful debate about the issue. Everyone gets to speak, everyone gets to contribute his/her point of view, and everyone gets to query the CEO regarding his thought process on the item. The team refrains from comments that attack or diminish another person. Everyone speaks and listens respectfully, one at a time. If you feel strongly about the issue, you can say so and you can show it, as long as it doesn’t put someone else down.” Everyone nodded and affirmed that that sounded like a healthy scenario.

“Then,” I said, “your CEO thanks you for all of your input, and promises to process what he’s heard and come back with a decision.” Evelyn, one of the executives newest to the group, had a question. “One of the things I don’t like is when decisions are made and we have no idea why they were made. How about him letting us know how he arrived at that decision?”

“Great,” I said to Evelyn and to the group. “So how about he comes back and lets you know what he decided, plus explains his reasons and thought process, high level. That way, you’re included in the reasoning process, but remember, you still may not agree. How will you handle that?” After some discussion, the group strongly affirmed that even if they disagreed with the decision and the thought behind it, their job was to get on board at that point and support it. Through all this discussion, the CEO’s eyes were getting bigger and bigger. His “ah-ha” moment had arrived.

“This is awesome!” he said. “All this time, I thought that if I didn’t get everyone to agree on something I would never get it to happen. I think I’ve held back at times on going forward, or been deliberately vague, so that I wouldn’t provoke more disagreement.” I asked the group to comment. Every single one of them affirmed that they were actually hungry for direction-setting that was definitive, not vague. Every single one of them affirmed that if they had the chance to express how they felt, they would be glad to move forward even if they didn’t all agree.

Understanding the difference between agreement and alignment is the secret to gaining momentum in an organization. A team that is aligned, with a vibrant communication process for getting there, is a team that moves forward with initiatives quickly and easily, minus the in-fighting and politicking. How do you get there? While there may be team dynamics that need to be addressed first, this process helps move things in the right direction:

1. Bring your team together and explain the difference between agreement (we all see it the same way) and alignment (we all row the boat the same way even if we don’t agree); have the team discuss how incredibly difficult (almost impossible) it is to get everyone to agree on the same thing; have them discuss the absolute necessity of alignment to move forward as a company.

2. Introduce the process:

a. Idea/initiative brought to the group either by a member or by the owner/CEO.

b. Group discussion follows: everyone expresses his/her thoughts/feelings; questions are posed (doing “research”) and answered.

c. (optional intermediary step) if more information is needed, someone commits to gathering data and bringing back to a subsequent meeting, at which point there is more discussion.

d. CEO/owner commits to digesting what’s been offered from the team.

e. CEO/owner comes back to the team with a decision and explanation of how or why it was made; team can ask questions at that point.

f. CEO asks for a commitment from everyone to support the decision. If someone says he/she cannot support the decision, the CEO agrees to meet with the person offline to address his/her concerns (this step prevents the entire group from going back to point A and re-hashing the entire issue – a huge waste of time and dysfunctional dynamic).

3. Everyone commits to the process.

By the way, it doesn’t have to be this process as long as it is one that moves decisions forward rapidly. The important thing is that the executive team must agree that “this is our way of getting things done” and follow it each time they meet.

By creating alignment, organizations gain momentum in a marketplace that is changing at a remarkable pace. Waste in human interaction is reduced and value to customers, shareholders, and employees accelerates.

Nina Atwood, M.Ed., LPC, is a LEAN Affiliate executive coach who works with CEOs and owners of small to mid-sized businesses to help them lead major change initiatives – such as a Lean Enterprise Transformation. Nina leads our Managing Resistance to Change program that we offer for removing the waste from leadership communication and empowering mangers with the tools needed to align teams during times of organizational change. See www.ninaatwood.com for more information.