Address the human obstacles
Executive alignment can suffer from ambition, hidden agendas, reluctance to disagree, and fear of losing functional control. PMO Partners’ research found that only 14% of surveyed executives said teammates were comfortable disagreeing with one another.
Create explicit permission for constructive challenge. Relationship building, coaching, and structured conversations can make disagreement safer and expose assumptions before they damage execution.
Make alignment part of performance
Time spent aligning is an investment in delivery. In the cited survey, 76% of fully aligned teams reported increased revenue, compared with 42% of teams not fully aligned. These findings describe association, not causation.
Short-term pressures can tempt leaders to trade cohesion for immediate activity. Sustained value requires the discipline to revisit priorities, maintain trust, and manage shared commitments even when urgency is high.