Earlier in my career, I believed a successful team alignment project meant that everyone would immediately embrace and thrive in the “new normal.” And if (or should I say when) they didn’t, I felt a twinge of failure.  

Over time, I've realized my expectations were unrealistic; A process for a group rarely meets the needs of each individual equally well. That’s where targeted individual development steps in.  

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A bit of context...

‍Our team alignment work follows a tried and trusted, iterative process that is customized to each unique client. We begin with creating a baseline:

  • Where do you want to be? This is an outline of the leader's change vision, which gets embellished and gradually adopted by the team.
  • Where are you now against that vision? We use interviews, surveys, and assessments to create a current state description and gap analysis.

Next, we host a series of working sessions, spread 3-4 months apart, to help the team calibrate to this new vision. Each working session is informed by input from confidential 1:1 interviews with each team member to learn what is working well, what needs to be adjusted, what the team needs from its leader(s), and what the team needs to work on as a group. The team then works together to identify and update the systems, rituals, processes, norms, and language to match where they want to go.

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The team alignment process is rigorous and systematic. It should just *work*, right?

Not necessarily. But that doesn’t mean it’s a failure, either.  

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I have learned that individual development is a logical add-on, not an illustration of inadequacy in the team alignment process. Each member of the teams we work with is accomplished and experienced. They have each learned ways of working and leading that have served them very well for years, earning them positive reinforcement and advancement throughout their careers. Each team member has much to unlearn if they are to fit, contribute, and thrive in the new team environment.

For leaders trying to change, Marshall Goldsmith's book title sums it up: What Got You Here Won't Get You There.

We see this in leaders who have been hard drivers in their own areas and are now asked to get even better results by being outstanding team players. We see it in executives who have achieved bottom-line results throughout their career but neglected (or even destroyed) culture along the way and now need to work through and grow others to be successful.

When the team alignment process is supplemented by targeted individual development and coaching the final elements of the process come together much quicker and better than they would otherwise. The jigsaw puzzle pieces fit and become clearer.

The result of the two elements combined: Transformation.

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Transformation, n.

What was in one state, one way of being, is now in another. It cannot easily revert to its former state.

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Have you tried something at work that should have worked, but didn’t? How did you respond? What did you learn from this perceived failure?

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