Create Strategic Alignment: 4 Research-Backed Steps

What Is Strategic Alignment?
Strategic alignment happens when your business strategy is not only clearly defined but also deeply understood and consistently applied throughout your organization. Think of the ability to create strategic alignment like a finely tuned race car — just as a fully aligned vehicle can deliver a 10% performance boost on the track, an organization aligned around its strategy can operate with remarkable speed, precision, and efficiency.

Achieving strategic alignment ensures that every team, every leader, and every employee is moving in the same direction, making collective execution far more effective. Beyond immediate operational benefits, strategic alignment lays the foundation for an aligned organizational culture and a high-performing workforce, enabling sustainable success over the long term.

Strategic Alignment Accounts for 31% of the Difference
Our organizational alignment research found that the ability to create strategic alignment accounts for 31% of the difference between high and low performing companies and teams.  Highly aligned companies grow revenue 58% faster and are 72% more profitable while outperforming unaligned companies at these rates:

• Customer Retention 2.23-to-1
• Customer Satisfaction 3.2-to-1
• Leadership Effectiveness 8.71-to-1
• Employee Engagement 16.8-to-1

4 Research-Backed Steps to Achieve Strategy Execution and Create Strategic Alignment

Achieving strategic alignment is needed. Research from IBM shows that fewer than 10% of well-formulated strategies are successfully executed, and our own studies reveal that employees perceive corporate strategies as only half as clear as their leaders do. To bridge this gap and improve organizational performance, focus on these four essential steps to create strategic alignment:

1. Get Leaders on the Same Page
   The executive team — often convening through a thoughtfully designed strategy retreat — is ultimately responsible for making clear, compelling decisions about where to compete and which actions to take. When executed effectively, a strategic plan positions the company to achieve results that exceed the sum of its individual parts.

   Before expecting consistent execution across the organization, leaders must first reach a shared understanding that the strategy is clear, credible, and actionable.

   Dedicate the time and energy necessary to align your leadership team around your vision, mission, values, target market, unique value proposition, success metrics, and strategic big bets. This alignment lays the foundation for a strategy that can be confidently executed and consistently delivered throughout the company.

2. Actively Involve Next-Level Leadership
   True strategic alignment requires the buy-in and commitment of next-level leaders just below the executive team. The key to securing this is involving them directly in the strategy design process.

   Once the executive team is aligned, seek candid feedback from next-level leaders. Ask what needs clarification, addition, modification, or removal to make the strategy clear, credible, and actionable. This step ensures the plan is practical and resonates with those who will drive execution.

   Next, hold an open discussion about the feedback you incorporated — and the feedback you didn’t — explaining the rationale behind your decisions. Repeat this dialogue as needed until all next-level leaders are fully committed to the same strategic game plan, creating a foundation for unified execution across the organization.

3. Show Line Managers and Individual Contributors How They Drive Success
   Line managers and employees become far more engaged when they clearly see how their work connects to the organization’s strategic goals. From the cafeteria staff who ensure employees are well-nourished and energized, to the accountant whose accurate, timely reporting enables faster decision-making, every role contributes to overall success.

   Start by ensuring everyone understands the overarching strategy. Then help them translate it into their own goals and accountabilities, roles and responsibilities, performance metrics, and unique contributions.

   Ask critical questions: What does each team need to achieve its objectives? What creates meaning and pride in doing their work exceptionally well? How should extraordinary contributions be recognized and rewarded to motivate others to perform at their best? Aligning individuals with the strategy in this way transforms understanding into action and commitment.

4. Keep the Plan Front and Center
   Communication around your strategy must be clear, consistent, and continuous. Every meeting — whether team huddles or leadership check-ins — should connect discussions to strategic priorities, celebrate progress, identify challenges, and address emerging issues before they escalate.

   Make the plan and its progress visible to all employees through multiple channels: emails, one-on-ones, newsletters, internal social platforms — whatever tools are available. Be creative, be transparent, and ensure everyone can see how the strategy is unfolding and where they fit in. Keeping the strategy front and center turns awareness into engagement and action.

The Bottom Line
If you don’t actively create strategic alignment, your organization risks joining the 9 out of 10 that fail to execute their strategies effectively. Involve employees from the outset, engage them at every step, and make it clear how their contributions drive success. Alignment at every level transforms a strategy from words on a page into measurable, organization-wide results.

To learn more about how to create strategic alignment, download Three Big Mistakes to Avoid When Cascading Your Corporate Strategy

by Tristam Brown: CEO

Tristam Brown is an executive business consultant and organizational development expert with more than three decades of experience helping organizations accelerate performance, build high-impact teams, and turn strategy into execution. As CEO of LSA Global, he works with leaders to get and stay aligned™ through research-backed strategy, culture, and talent solutions that produce measurable, business-critical results. See full bio.