Your team's priorities are scattered. How can you align them with the overall strategic vision?

The first thing would be to make sure everybody knows and understands the strategic vision. It may seem obvious, but by experience, people not knowing the meaning or how to translate the strategy to their activities is a common issue among several companies. To give an extreme example, once I interviewed all the directors and several managers before starting a project, just 2 of them (out of 25) clearly understood the corporate strategy and its implications. By the way, strategy is not just about the things to be done, but also about what we decide not to do. There are trade-offs. Once the strategy is clear, we need to bring everybody on the same page. People need to know how to execute their activities aligned to the corporate strategy.

Clarity drives motivation: When team members understand the bigger picture, they're more engaged and purposeful in their work. Alignment boosts efficiency: A shared vision helps eliminate conflicting priorities and wasted effort. Innovation thrives: Teams aligned with strategic goals are better positioned to propose creative solutions that truly matter. Key steps to achieve this: Communicate the vision clearly and frequently Connect individual roles to larger objectives Encourage questions and discussions about the vision Regularly review and adjust priorities.

You don't need to reinvent the wheel; just connect the dots! Use your company's existing vision as the foundation and link your team's tasks, responsibilities, and deliverables to it. Even if your team is diverse and involved in various activities, there's a common thread—your reason for being a team. That's where your vision lies. Think of it like a pizza: the vision is the crust, holding all the toppings (tasks) together. A well-communicated vision ensures that everyone knows their role in the big picture, much like knowing your favorite pizza toppings. Invite your team to share their thoughts on how their work aligns with the company's vision. This fosters a collaborative environment where everyone feels connected to the larger goals.

Communicate Clearly: Ensure everyone understands the strategic vision of the organization. This may involve meetings, presentations, or detailed documentation that outlines the vision, mission, and long-term goals. Clarify Objectives: Break down the strategic vision into specific, actionable objectives that are relevant to different teams and departments

C’est intéressant de comprendre la vision. Notre société très branchée « cerveau », et assez peu centrée sur le corps et les émotions a toujours cette idée que si les choses ne se passent pas « bien » c’est parce que les gens ne comprennent pas. Or comprendre n’est qu’un aspect du problème. Car c’est bien l’émotion qui répond en premier aux informations dans notre organisme et pas notre mental. Donc je proposerai de demander: qu’avez vous compris? Quelles sont les compréhensions divergentes? Quand je vous montre la vision, quelles émotions et qu’est ce que cela vous fait dire et faire ? Bref passer par d’autres chemins, plus inclusifs et collaboratifs et moins intellectuels.

To align scattered team priorities with the strategic vision: 1. Clarify the Vision: Ensure everyone understands the strategic goals. 2. Set Objectives: Break down the vision into specific, measurable goals. 3. Communicate: Keep open, regular communication to align efforts. 4. Prioritize Tasks: Use frameworks like OKRs to prioritize tasks. 5. Monitor Progress: Regularly review and adjust priorities as needed. 6. Encourage Collaboration: Foster teamwork to ensure efforts are complementary.

To align scattered team priorities with the overall strategic vision, start by clearly communicating the vision and its importance. Set specific, measurable goals that directly contribute to the strategic objectives. Prioritize tasks and delegate responsibilities based on these goals. Regularly review progress and provide feedback to keep everyone focused and aligned. This approach ensures that each team member's efforts are in sync with the broader strategy.

The best way would be gathering everyone and understand what is actually the vision, and have them repeat it in their own understanding. It might be a simple exercise but having them repeating it actually tested their understanding of it and see if they shared the same vision we wanted. Only after having understood what the vision is, they can see if their current actions align with the grand strategy. Self-evaluation is the highest order of correction.

This is where a bit of micromanage would need, to check their priorities and activities, discuss , re-arrange the priorities with the timeline and monitor the progress accordingly

One of the ways that I usually assess different activities in how they tie to the strategy is, first of all, creating themes around the different activities, grouping them in logical groups. I also make an assessment of how directly or indirectly they support the strategy. And finally, I also measure the potential impact that they will have on the strategy, from high to low. It's based on all these parameters that you then have a picture of what activities actually are important to your strategy.

I would say this step is more similar to when you create a road map for product development. You have to create a roadmap for all these strategic initiatives through time, where the point is maximizing the growth that the strategy is driving. That is going to necessitate a balance of investments and go to market activities.

Do not just set current priorities but be sure you are aligned on WHY they were priortized and have the same prioritisation language and criteria. A useful exercise is creating a prioritisation matrix. That will help you then as a team find autonomy for prioritisation of new incoming tasks/projects/etc or deprioritisation and to start embodying innately the new vision and its priorities.

Ensure that you appeal to the individual personal drivers for each of your team members. In your communications couple the mutual success for your business of reaching the overall strategic vision to satisfying 'what's in it for me?' for your team members.

La réception claire de l’information me semble plus importante qu’une communication claire. En effet une communication claire peut être inaudible parce que : trop d’infos en même temps, les personnes vont écouter le message qui les intéresse, les conforte, les rassure, et peut être pas le votre. Pour cela je chercherai plutôt une communication adaptée à la capacité de réception des personnes et en tenant compte de leur contexte. Est ce que mon message peut être bien entendu, bien reçu ? Comment favoriser sa bonne réception?

If you don't measure, you will never understand how you're doing, but also you will never understand if you need to make adjustments. I normally create a dashboards that automatically pulls in the KPIS tied to my strategy. This eliminates a lot of the effort require to gather the information so that more resources and time can be spent on understanding what the data is telling us, and then making adjustments on the strategy based on that data.

Scattered team priorities often result from a lack of strategic direction, unclear company strategy, or inherent plurality in modern strategies. Identify the plurality of organisational purposes. Map your team’s priorities to these purposes, revealing if they juggle different goals. Next, map all players (internal and external), their needs and interests. Evaluate the expected impact on these players and how it aligns with your purposes. Lay down these maps clearly and collaboratively. Understanding the plurality of purposes and players makes it easier to define a shared vision. Involve your team and co-create your vision and goals with key players. This ensures clarity, alignment, and shared commitment to the strategic vision.

Start by clarifying the vision and goals to ensure everyone understands the company's strategic direction. Next, break down the vision into actionable objectives and prioritise them. Regularly communicate these priorities and their importance to the team. Assign responsibilities by delegating tasks that align with strategic objectives. Monitor progress using KPIs and regular check-ins to ensure alignment and track progress. Be flexible and adjust priorities based on feedback and changing circumstances. Consistent communication and clear prioritisation are essential.

Puxar o time "de volta" para a direção certa (ou seja, sua prioridade estratégica) requer investimento de tempo. Uma estratégia bem sucedida depende de repetição, já que todo mundo é naturalmente drenado para o que está "gritando mais alto" em seu dia. Profissionais de atendimento ao cliente vão supervalorizar os tópicos que geram mais atendimentos e desenvolvedores vão fazer algo correspondente com bugs. Lembre-se disso e aprenda a repetir a mesma mensagem, adaptada de várias maneiras diferentes - além de valorizar cada novo exemplo ou analogia que reforce sua mensagem.