Why a ‘whole system’ approach to alignment?
Traditionally, alignment is defined as the extent to which employee goals match with functional and organizational goals. However, research in the social sciences informs us that misalignment occurs strategically as well as socially.
The causes of social misalignment include misunderstandings, unconscious bias, assumptions, gaps in information, and social and environmental influences – as well as personality and behaviours. It is well-known that the consequences of misalignment are hugely to detrimental to engagement and performance.
What ‘whole systems’ alignment looks like
Mirror Mirror is a process that identifies and addresses alignment gaps and opportunities in teams to improve readiness / effectiveness. It captures how each member of the team, including the leader perceives their whole context at work. It then compares those to spot areas of misalignment.
Using dialogue, the groups is then able to pin-point precisely where to have conversations that will increase their shared currently reality. The Mirror Mirror definition of ‘whole systems’ alignment is the extent to which perceptions in the team overlap.
Mirror Mirror in Practice
The process was recently tested with a team at Samsung, yielding positive results:
- 79% of participants said they feel the team has more, or much more clarity and alignment to go ahead and achieve its objectives than it did before the Mirror Mirror exercise
- 86% of participants said they felt positive or very positive about the team and its outlook going forwards after the Mirror Mirror workshop
- All participants said they feel their team is better prepared to succeed now than it was before the Mirror Mirror exercise.
Contact us to receive a copy of the Samsung / Mirror Mirror case study write up.