I was delighted to be joined by a trio of experts who have recently been featured on eMA podcasts: Julie Roehm, Tony Wells, and Gary Survis. Our roundtable discussion addresses the issue of aligning teams and overcoming misalignment in companies.
Tony Wells emphasized the importance of consistent communication, citing his experience at USAA. Gary Survis highlighted the need for clear role definitions and effective communication in smaller organizations. Julie Roehm stressed the significance of corporate culture and purpose, sharing her experience at Party City where “making joy easy” was a unifying goal. I surfaced the challenges of onboarding and retaining talent, noting the impact of culture and purpose. The conversation concluded with the importance of structural barriers, CEO leadership, and maintaining a positive work environment to ensure team alignment and productivity.
Discussion points include:
- The importance of candid, consistent communication.
- The role played by culture in achieving alignment.
- How the use of a common language and values can maintain a healthy culture, even in a decentralized environment.
- The impact of remote work on mentorship and apprenticeship.
- The challenges of onboarding new employees, especially in startups, and the importance of quick alignment.
- The responsibility of managers in getting new hires productive and making timely decisions.
- The importance of authenticity in creating a purpose that genuinely connects to the business.
- How the use of cross-functional pods and a rule of three for goals and KPIs can be used to achieve team alignment.
- The CEO’s role in enforcing good behavior and ensuring alignment throughout the organization.
