Step 1-2 handoff:   The key to aligning an organization’s priorities and activities with strategic intent begins with the first, crucial handoff between the executive team and the extended leadership team. Companies often under-index on the effort and investment needed to educate, guide and deploy the extended leadership team; those whose day-to-day efforts are designed to drive activity and outcomes.  The outcome of this effort is ‘next level’ leaders who can accurately articulate ‘why, how and what’, and can translate those intentions into goals, objectives and critical success factors.  

How enterprise-wide goals and objectives are developed in the alignment process is critical. This is often an area where siloed thinking creates a disconnect. Although the alignment process accounts for collaboration and consistency within organizations, equally important is the alignment between organizations. This step involves organizational leaders sharing and ‘getting sign off’ from each other - a step which executives often consider counter intuitive. The ‘definition of done’ at this juncture occurs when organizational leaders understand the interdependent nature of their outcomes.

Step 2-3 handoff:  Alignment activities also consist of an assessment of current and needed leaders.  High performers and mission critical people should be assessed regarding their capacity, capability and commitment. Each of these people should be as articulate about the company’s strategy and positioning as the leadership team.

Step 3-4 handoff:  Processes and platforms must be aligned within and between organizations. Alignment activities at this level focus on evolving organizational information sharing from connectivity through communication and ultimately, collaboration. This is where evidence of true transformation can be found.

Step 4-5 handoff:  Information and metrics need to be on an agreed-upon cadence and consistent with the needs at each level in the organization. These agreements must be made at the front end of all initiatives and constructed across organizations in a collaborative framework.