DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTIVE ALIGNMENT PROCESS

The Problem. A great number of organizations have difficulty implementing a new strategy, plan, or large scale change. Extensive research as well as our own experience shows conclusively that although every organization faces challenges in execution, great organizations know how to work through them. The key is to set up a process that uncovers the truth, especially the unvarnished truth about the barriers blocking implementation.

Most initiatives fail to uncover the truth, and thus lead to only superficial change. Employee surveys, interviews by external consultants, “town hall” meetings, etc., typically produce mixed results at best. Because they do not convince employees and other key people that leadership wants to know the truth, these methods all too often lead to cynicism, which of course is the enemy of change.

The Solution. Extensive research and our own experienceshow that organization-wide conversations are essential to effective implementation. The Collective Alignment process is the result of 10 years of design and refinement. It significantly enhances senior leaders’ ability to implement strategy and other changes, and it does this through a specific employee feedback process.

The Benefits. The Collective Alignment Process enables the two critical elements for effective implementation:

  • Truth based, well informed decisions about the new direction and about employee issues relative to the new direction, are made at the senior level.
  • Employees support the new direction as a result of being involved and having the experience of being heard by the senior team.

Thus, the Collective Alignment Process enhances senior leaders’ capacity to implement change quickly and effectively. The process is based on the truth about what’s going on and thereby prevents being blind-sidedby concerns that come up later. This process also provides collective commitment (alignment) which drives rapid change and results in breakthrough performance. Across the board, organizations that have used this process experience a dramatic improvement in performance.

Key Lessons. After 10 years of implementing this process, we have identified several over-riding lessons. The conversation needs to:

  • Move back and forth between “advocacy” (senior leadership’s point of view) and “inquiry” (employee’s response).
  • Be about the important issues, especially those related to the organization’s strengths and the obstacles to performance.
  • Be collective (multiple levels of people) and public (senior leadership keeps all informed of what’s been learned and changes planned).
  • Be honest without anyone risking their career or job.

The Process. The Collective Alignment Process is characterized by a task force of highly regarded people, who are appointed by the leadership team to interview people in all parts of the organization. The task force, not the leadership team, decides who will be interviewed, within the guideline that the interviewees are a representative sample.

The process steps:

  1. Leadership team articulates the strategy or new direction
  2. Leadership team selects a task force of up to ten of their highly regarded people (1 hour)
  3. Leadership team has a launch meeting with task force; the task force is trained in interviewing ; task force identifies up to 50 interviewees (2 hours)
  4. Task force interviews up to 50 people throughout the organization (7-10 hours for each task force member over 2-3 weeks)
  5. Task force meets and identifies major themes (2 hours)
  6. Task force presents feedback to the leadership team (2 hours)
  7. Leadership teamanalyzes/develops plan to address feedback (3 hours)
  8. Leadership team meets with task force to present plan and receive feedback (2 hours)
  9. Leadership team, through task force, announces plan to the interviewees, the larger organization, and implements changes (2 hours)

Some important elements of the process:

  • The nine step process will encompass approximately four to six weeks.
  • The interview questions focus on the most important issues facing the organization—the organization’s strengths and the obstacles to performance. Do we have a distinctive direction that people believe in? Do we have the capabilities to execute that new direction?
  • All people involved are protected through the following: strict adherence to interview confidentiality, the task force reporting major themes only, and the task force presenting feedback to the leadership team using a “fishbowl” discussion technique (the task force simply discusses the common themes it identified--it doesn’t recommend solutions, and it doesn’t deliver a written report).
  • The appointment of the task force sends a clear message that the leadership is serious about the truth and making appropriate changes.

The Bottom Line. Implementing this process builds the collective alignment that drives rapid change, breakthrough performance, and true vitality in the organization.

Prepared by: Al Ritter, Ritter Consulting Group, April 23,2008, 630-673-4254