At Aligned Operations, we believe that the path to success for any organization is through an aligned management team. Why is an aligned management team important?

I was recently working with a business owner and the conversation turned toward the amount of stress that she was under. This was real stress, the kind of anxiety that puts people under. As we talked, it became clear, the root cause of this stress was not a lack of time, but rather the need to focus on so many different things. We were in the midst of building their strategic plan, so we had been discussing some very significant decisions about the organization’s next year and beyond. There was no doubt the risk level and complexities of the organization were increasing. The conversation quickly turned to the need to hire a new manager in the next few months-- but what were they going to do about the void that existed now? So, in the matter of 5 minutes her focus was on 1-3 years from now, 3 months from now, tomorrow, and this afternoon.

An aligned management team will be capable of executing the immediate work in the organization as well as planning into the near future up to 1 year. With the immediate needs of the organization addressed through the management team, the business owner can free up her attention to more long-term strategic planning. In the words of Elliot Jacque’s Requisite Organization, this is referred to as "time-span."

The concept of time-span is increasingly important as an organization grows. The work of long-term planning becomes more significant and complex. There are more pieces of the organizational puzzle and the way they fit together is more complicated. More dedicated attention in this capacity is required for the organization to fulfill its destiny.

Too often, the rationale for developing the management team is so the owner can remove herself from the organization and let it become an annuity for her to maintain a lifestyle. This strategy only works if you’re able to replace the role of the visionary that the owner was fulfilling. For most small businesses, the financial calculation of maintaining a lifestyle and paying another visionary doesn’t work.

So, the purpose of an aligned management team is to allow the business owner to focus on being a great visionary and leader. This includes:

• Developing and living the culture
• Becoming an ambassador to the local community
  
• Staying informed in the industry
  
• Providing a clear vision and path for the evolution of the organization
  

This is complex, hard work and is often a low priority for a small business owner. Through the early years, the business owners spend the majority of their time executing production, service delivery, or sales tasks instead of doing the visionary work. The result is organizations that begin to sputter and be filled with drama.

A transition needs to be made to allow the organization to evolve. Step one of that transition is to invest in building an aligned management team.

Our next article will focus on what your aligned management team should look like. 

At Aligned Operations, we believe the path to success for any organization is through an aligned management team. So what does an aligned management team look like? To answer this, we need to talk a little bit about organizational structure.

Whether you realize it or not, all social entities have an organizational structure. The structure is the division of work and the hierarchy for support. When the structure of an organization is intentionally designed for a specific purpose we say that it is a Requisite design. When an organization does not create a requisite design, you get a design by default. The ultimate question is: does the design of your organization serve its purpose? Does it align with your organization's vision?

There are three fundamental layers in any organization. Each layer in this structure includes specific roles to ensure the execution of work aligns with the vision.

Layer 1: The Vision
Vision is drawn from the core beliefs and purpose of the organization’s Visionary (often called the CEO). The purpose is drawn from the gap he feels between his beliefs of what should be and the current reality. The visionary recognizes that he can’t bridge the gap alone and calls to inspire others to join him.

Layer 2: The “How”
Evolving toward the vision requires breaking it down to digestible chunks called goals. Creating goals is the job of the organization’s Integrator (often called a GM or COO). The integrator dissects the vision from the visionary and creates 1 year, 3 year, and 5 year goals. These goals are organized by function. Accountability for the top level functions is assigned to the Director role. I call these top level functions Business Units. They are most common Internal Operations, New Client Development, and Production/Service Delivery. The final break down of the “How” layer are Departments.

Accountability of the departments is assigned to the Manager role. The proper execution of tasks should contribute to a desired Result. Directors and Managers work together to determine the benchmarks for results that will align with the department’s goals. It is up to the manager to determine how tasks need to be execute to create the desired result.

Layer 3: Execution
At the end of the day, actions need to be taken for the vision of an organization to be realized. With the guidance of the manager, the ground floor workforce focuses on the mastery and execution of these tasks.

Success comes when there is alignment from Tasks to Results, to Goals, and ultimately to the Vision. As the visionary is the why, the management team, starting with the integrator, is the how. The integrator aligns the directors, the directors align the managers and managers align the workforce.

When "the how" is aligned, clarity, confidence and trust naturally develop. This internal unity allows the visionary to turn his focus forward. Lack of unity and trust creates confusion, doubt and drama within an organization.

Our next article will show you how to align your organization and move it from confusion, doubt and drama to clarity, confidence and trust.​

Our last two articles focused on why your organization needs an aligned management team and what that team will look like. But how does an organization create an aligned management team? What actions can you as a leader take to align your management teams? The answer lies in three simple steps.

Step 1: Document the Organization

Documentation is something that most leaders would like to see done in their organizations but is rarely completed. Documentation provides team members with clarity. At Aligned Operations, we believe documentation is more than something that “would be nice” --we believe it is critical for organizational success.

Documentation starts with putting to paper the organizational design: An Org Chart. Org Charts provide a clear vision of the high-level functions of the organization and who is accountable for what. Clearly defined tasks organized by Key Result Areas (KRAs) and role descriptions provide the management team with the confidence that all aspects of their duties have been accounted for. Plainly written steps and instructions ensure execution to predetermined standards. Documentation of each department is the responsibility of the department managers.

Step 2: Develop Feedback Systems

Is work being completed to the established standards within the organization’s departments? Should changes to procedure be considered? Is the organization on the path toward its goals and vision? Feedback systems enable an organization's leadership to answer these questions.

The first step in creating feedback systems is to develop benchmarks. These benchmarks clearly identify expectations for task execution. Requisite benchmarks ensure the achievement of long and medium-term goals. Determination of the KRA benchmarks is a responsibility of the business unit director.

Once the director creates benchmarks, data reporting systems can follow. Weekly reporting is completed at the frontline, department level, then monthly and quarterly at the business unit and organizational level. Well-developed feedback systems not only provide feedback of the current status, but will also aid in projecting future performance. At the end of the day, feedback systems benefit decision making and provide a road map on how to move forward.

Step 3: Create a Strategic Plan to Evolve the Organization

Successful organizations are on a defined path; a journey of evolution and expansion. So, “Start where you stand”. Evaluate the information from the feedback systems and determine if your goals are being met. Next, affirm the organizations purpose and vision--this is the job of the Visionary. Finally, create the next plan. The General Manager is responsible for creating annual goals for the organization and its business Units. Directors are assigned the responsibility of evaluating department KRAs to determine where improvements need to be made. Department managers then fine tune tasks to meet the revised expectations. This approach includes all layers in evolving and expanding the organization, it will never be complete.

At Aligned Operations we call deployment of these three steps an Organizational Alignment. Initial completion of the Organizational Alignment represents an investment in time, but the gain is considerable. The short-term benefits are clarity, confidence and trust; the long-term benefits are fulfilled employees and sustained, steady profits. Failure to align your management team will result in ongoing confusion, doubt, and drama.

One of the primary aims of Aligned Operations is to provide clarity to the organizations we work with. Successful organizations will clarify overall vision, how work is executed, and objectively evaluate results. Clarity in how work is executed starts with properly documenting the organization.

Clear documentation provides the following benefits:
Building Effective Teams
Teams trained with well-documented processes will execute workflow with less friction. Team members know how the tasks assigned need to be executed and how their execution impacts the team's overall desired results.

Providing a Basis for Evaluation
When performance benchmarks are not being met, documentation provides a basis to explore the cause and effect. Did the shortfall lie in the execution of a task or was the task itself flawed?

Maintaining Business Continuity
As staffing needs change, well documented organizations can quickly reassign tasks. With requisite execution maintained, customers continue to be satisfied and team members feel more fulfilled by completing new tasks successfully.

Increasing the Organization’s Value
Documenting the organization makes the organization's worth more tangible and by making it more tangible, the value of a company is illustrated and increased. Prospective buyers can clearly understand the organization’s secret sauce.

With the benefits of documentation so clear, why do organizations struggle to include documentation as part of their operations and management requirements? Excuses often include the following:

 - We’re too busy

 - I just like to do the work and not worry about documenting

 - I’m just not good at it.

These barriers can be overcome with accountability, an intuitive methodology, and observable success.
Accountability
The role of the manager needs to include documenting their departments. An audit of the department’s documentation is a critical step for ensuring completion. When managers are too busy, it means they haven’t properly delegated front-line work to open space in their calendar for vital management responsibilities.

Intuitive Methodology
Mental barriers are a result of confusion and doubt. To overcome this an organization must provide the management team with a shared methodology that facilitates the execution of documentation. The primary requirement of the methodology is to create results with minimal overhead.

Observable Success
Organizations that maintain accurate documentation have experienced situations where it has made a significant impact. Clear documentation improves training in the event of unexpected staff changes and allows team members to confidently complete tasks which are executed infrequently. 

So where do you start? At Aligned Operations, we recommend starting with these three aspects of the Organization:
The Managerial Accountability Hierarchy (MAH)
The MAH is represented in an Organizational Chart. Simply put, the Org chart represents the high-level breakdown of the all the work in the organization and who is accountable for it. It represents the primary functions and the manager support hierarchy. Maintaining the MAH is the responsibility of the COO, GM or Integrator

Departmental Task Inventory
The task is the basic unit of work in the organization. It has clear start/completion points and has an assigned benchmark. Tasks represent a collection of steps that, when executed, contribute to a desired result in the department. Maintaining the Task Inventory is the responsibility of each department manager.

Role Descriptions
Successful organizations include team members that understand what they are going to be held accountable for. This starts when they are hired and continues as they progress upward through the organization. The task inventory can be leveraged through team member assignments to create role descriptions.  Maintaining role descriptions is the responsibility of each department manager

Most business owners and leaders that I talk to agree that accurate documentation would benefit their organization, but few organizations progress in this effort. Discipline to documentation becomes part of the organization’s culture as the leaders embody it in their own efforts and by proving standardized solutions that can automate and integrate the documentation processes.

Change is necessary for any organization to succeed. Changes should be planned and geared toward two objectives: evolving the organization and overcoming obstacles.

A clear vision of the future will enable leaders to outline the areas within an organization where change is required for growth. The way to change from the organization’s present situation to its desired future state is to evolve. Elements of an organization that evolve are products or services, processes, technology, human resources, finance, physical location, logistics, and data. Often a change in one of these elements will affect the others.

So how can an organization evolve in a requisite manner? The way an organization evolves toward its vision is called “Strategy” or the “Strategic Plan”.

The first step in strategic planning is to affirm the organization’s beliefs, purpose and vision. The second step is to identify where the organization stands today. The final step is creating the plan based on goals that will lead the organization to its vision. Each of these steps is assigned within the layers of the organization as follows:

• CEO/Visionary: Determine the beliefs, purpose and vision for the entire organization.
• COO/Integrator: Determine the organization’s overall 1, 3, and 5-year goals.
• Directors: Determine the business unit and department’s 1-year goals and approve department level initiatives.
• Managers: Create executable plans to achieve their department’s goals

Well defined goals require the following:

• Clear Purpose: How will the achievement of the goal help to evolve the organization toward its vision?
• Clear Objective: What needs to change or be accomplished and on what timeline?
• Accountability: Who is responsible for achieving the goal?
  

• Clear Purpose: How does the rock contribute to the department’s goals?
• Plan/Solution: What is the best solution from all the viable solutions?
• Priority and Timing: When will it start and what is the target completion date?
• Team: What expertise and personnel resources will be required?​

Rocks are executed based upon their priority within the year’s Strategic Plan. The rule of thumb is to undertake no more than three rocks per department per quarter. As rocks are essentially projects, current project management methodologies and tools should be used to further break down efforts into milestones and action items to be assigned to team members. The weekly status of Rocks should then be presented at each department’s weekly huddle.

Uncertainty will always exist within an organization. Change is necessary to overcome unexpected obstacles, such as fluctuations in the market, new competition, or the availability of resources. Although change to overcome obstacles is not planned in the same manner as evolution toward the vision, a requisite approach should still be applied. The difference is that the purpose is provided in a detailed statement which clearly identifies the obstacle. As with Rocks designed to evolve, they are created by department managers and approved by business unit directors.

Our next article will focus on the final aspect of change in the organization: understanding the impact of change through data analytics.

I recently had a discussion with a business owner about his management team and how that team functioned within the business. In time, the conversation turned to growth, how far the business had come over the years, what had been built and how the business had gotten to where it is today. I asked him, where does the credit belong for its success? He replied with the familiar refrain of small business owners far and wide, “I built this business.”

                My initial thought when I heard this response was that this owner did not fully appreciate those that contributed to his current level of success. Could he have achieved the same level of accomplishment without them? Were his employees disposable, interchangeable sources of labor, or were they integral members of an effective team? It is impossible to build a truly impactful organization alone—those who try will quickly encounter the limits of their own skills and knowledge which will forever mark the boundaries of their possible success. So what impact does this kind of thinking have for the prospects of long-term success?

                The business owner in question had enjoyed five years of consistent growth, but was reaching the storied and infamous “Business Ceiling,” a bubble of $500k to $750k in annual revenue that so many small business find themselves locked into. This “I built it” attitude can doom a company to slowed growth and won’t allow the organization to evolve and grow through that ceiling. Owners with the “I built it mentality” often find themselves locked in a holding pattern—spending more time working in the business than they do working on the business. An unwillingness to delegate, train and elevate employees will stymie innovation and disempower the engines of success. The solution to this problem is to develop and maintain a truly aligned management team.

What does it take for a management team to be properly aligned?

Shared Beliefs—Business owners and managers don’t need to agree on everything, but they must have a consensus on the core beliefs of the organization. A recipe for an ineffective operation is one where the owner’s idea of what is and should be happening within the business is different than what is actually being carried out by front line employees.​

Shared Purpose—Successful organizations start with “Why”. A purpose is created out of the desire for something bigger or better. This vision of “better” is based on the shared beliefs of the team. Organizations that can agree internally on significant shared purposes and relevant impacts will achieve immediate, as well as long-term success. ​

Shared Vision—Where are we going and how will we get there? What does the organization look like when it is fully executing its purpose? Have you ever seen two or more people trying to move a heavy piece of furniture and they end up pulling in different directions? If your management team isn’t moving toward the same goals you are, you won’t be going anywhere.

How do you achieve this alignment of beliefs, purpose and vision? As with so many aspects of society, the key is in clarity, communication and collaboration. With clarity of purpose, your management team should be given the opportunity to participate in the “building” of the organization. Goals and strategic planning should be developed in consultation with the management team. 

 True leaders will encourage and inspire those around them, through positive reinforcement and earnest enactment of the concept that a rising tide lifts all boats. Leaders who wish to move through the small business ceiling will do so by recognizing that “I built this” might get you some short-term wins, but “We built this” can help form strong, vibrant, growing success for the long term.