The Secret to Organizational Alignment and Momentum
- Jerry Olson
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Author, Jerry Olson, is a Business Advisor with The Resultants.
A lot of leaders (especially founder-types) think that if you just tell people what to do, they’ll do it.
But here’s the truth: people don’t thrive on instructions.
They thrive on purpose.
Now more than ever, people want to know why their work matters.
Why they should care.
Why this company exists.
And if your people don’t know the “why”?
You’ll start seeing the symptoms: disengagement, internal bickering, absenteeism, distractions, poor performance, and a general sense of "meh."
They’ll show up for a paycheck, but they won’t be present.
If you want people aligned and energized, you need to cascade your vision all the way through the organization – from top to bottom.
It’s not easy, but it’s simple.
It comes down to three steps:
Paint the Vision
Align the Work
Track, Adjust, and Celebrate
Let’s look at each.
Step 1: Paint the Vision
Visionary leaders live in the future.
They’re thinking five, ten, thirty years ahead—and that’s good.
But if your team can’t connect that big dream to what they’re doing today, it won’t matter.
Painting the vision isn’t just about crafting a clever mission statement or PowerPoint deck.
It’s about translating the future into something meaningful at every level of the organization.
Your frontline people need to see how putting wingnuts on widgets helps make the world better. Otherwise, why show up?
A clear vision connects everyone to a shared purpose.
It says: here’s where we’re going, here’s the difference we’re making, and here’s your role in that.
And when you do that well?
People start bringing their whole selves to work.
Step 2: Align the Work
Once the vision is clear, the next step is aligning the work.
That means taking the big picture and breaking it down into quarterly plans, weekly targets, and daily tasks.
Every person in the organization should be able to answer these 3 questions:
What’s our plan for this quarter?
What’s my role in that plan?
How do I know I’m doing it well?
That clarity doesn’t happen by accident.
You need systems.
You need to cascade the plan through every level: from leadership to departments to teams to individuals.
And yes. It takes time.
Leaders often push back on this because “we can’t take people out of production.”
But I’ll ask you this: can you afford not to?
If taking a day out of a quarter to plan saves you weeks of misalignment - it’s worth it.
Because when everyone knows what they’re supposed to do—and more importantly, why—the whole system moves faster.
Step 3: Track, Adjust, Celebrate
This is the part most leaders skip.
They assume because the vision was shared once, and the plan was made, it’ll all just happen.
But it won’t. Unless you track progress and make real-time adjustments.
What are the key metrics? Who’s watching them? How do teams know they’re on track?
And here's the kicker—how do you celebrate progress?
Celebrating success builds momentum. It reinforces what’s working. It reminds people, “You matter. Your work matters.”
That can be as simple as a shoutout from leadership or as formal as a structured bonus system.
Just make sure it’s connected to the actual results, not some vague impression of effort.
On the flip side, if something’s not working, fix it fast.
Don’t wait until the quarterly report to realize you’re off track. Build in weekly feedback loops. Address misalignment with curiosity and compassion - not blame.
And yes, sometimes that means helping someone off the bus if they’re not aligned with the vision. The best thing you can do for your star performers is to not tolerate poor performance or bad behavior.
Most companies don’t fail because of bad strategy. They fail because of bad habits.
Leaders don’t take the time to cascade plans. They let frontline supervisors wing it.
They tolerate poor performance because it’s uncomfortable to confront.
They focus on activity instead of impact.
That’s where we come in.
We work with leadership teams to systematize this process: clarify the vision, align the work, and create meaningful feedback systems. We facilitate the hard conversations. We ask the “dumb” questions. And we help leaders at every level build the habits that drive alignment and execution.
When this is done well, it creates organizations where people wake up and want to come to work.
Not because they’re paid to, but because they’re part of something that matters.
If that sounds like the kind of company you want to lead, let’s talk.
