Misalignment. It’s one of Corporate America’s favorite words. It is also one of the biggest drivers of workplace frustration. If this is true, and we agree having frustrated employees is a bad thing, then getting to the root of misalignment seems to be a worthwhile endeavor.
First, alignment is an ideal, not an absolute. Alignment does not exist as an on-off switch. It is not an either-or. Alignment exists along a continuum, from total misalignment on one side and total alignment on the other.
Misalignment is evident when the friction caused by people working across purposes becomes great enough that it hinders the organization from achieving its objective.
But here’s the thing:
Misalignment is rarely about content. It is almost always about process.
Let me explain. First, what do we mean when we talk about content and process? Content is the actual details and decisions facing a group. Process is the way people and groups deal with content challenges. Process is everything else that is going on in the background, that influences how we related to the content. Process deals with the problem(s) behind the problem.
As an example:
A fintech startup is creating a product to make lives better, but it’s two co-founders cannot agree on the priorities of the items the product roadmap, each having a different vision for the product.
The content challenge is the priority of the items on the product roadmap. The process challenge is what to do with two different visions of the product.
Here’s another example:
The Head of Strategy for a tech company is presenting a new strategy that, while different than the current direction, the company’s leaders believe will create the best outcomes.
The content challenge is the new strategy. The process challenge is that employees have to believe in the new strategy and adopt new behaviors as a result.
Creating alignment is about tackling process problems. So why do leaders focus on the content challenges instead?
I like what the writers at Your Leadership Edge have to say about this. When you’re deep involved in the system, process challenges are hard to spot and understand.
- They seem like a sideshow, but they are the main event. It’s more fun to refine a new product (content challenge) than to face problems among the co-founders (process challenge).
- It takes time and discernment to identify the process challenges. Content challenges are usually easier to see. In our quest for a quick fix, we get satisfied by working on the content challenges.
- Consciously or unconsciously, we don’t want to uncover the real problem. It just might be too messy.
And they offer some great advice about what to do in order to understand and deal with process challenges.
- Build relationships with others. This is essential. The more you care about others, the more you share their perspectives.
- For a specific issue or project, ask this question: “As we are working on _____ (insert name of project), what could really derail us?” The answers will usually be process challenges.
- For broader process challenges affecting a community or organization, ask this question: “When we think about the future of ______ (insert name of community/company/etc.), what concerns you the most?” Then ask, “What makes progressso difficult on that concern?” The answers to this second question should start to elevate the process challenges.
- Ask yourself whether the same challenge is affecting two totally different situations. If the answer is yes, you have most likely identified a process challenge.
Remember, the presenting problem (content) many times has a deeper issue (process) that must be dealt with. Otherwise, the same problem types will show up again and again, working against alignment, while frustrating you and your team.
