PILLAR · ALIGNMENT

Alignment: how to get the team rowing in the same direction

Alignment is shared agreement on what needs to be done, why, and who does it. Here’s what it is, and how to build it.

BY EVAN HICKOK·FEBRUARY 7, 2025·11 MIN READ·FILED IN ALIGNMENT

Three stonecutters were asked what they were doing.
The first replied, “I am making a living.”
The second kept on hammering while he said, “I am doing the best job of stonecutting in the entire country.”
The third one looked up with a visionary gleam in his eyes and said, “I am building a cathedral.”

This story illustrates the essence of alignment.

Only the 3rd stonecutter feels connection to the larger goal. Drucker ends this story with “the third is the true manager” — but for me, the third works for the great manager. The manager has tied the stonecutting task to the larger thing — the cathedral.

This is the essence of alignment.

This took me a long time to understand, so I’ll spend a bit of time explaining it. And I’ll start with a definition.

What is alignment?

We need to gain alignment in three major dimensions:

1. What needs to be done. (cut the stone like this)
2. Why this needs to be done. (we are building a cathedral)
3. Who needs to do it.

And the return on this investment is shared purpose.

Leadership’s role in creating alignment

“Leaders create things that didn’t exist before. They do this by giving the tribe a vision of something that could happen, but hasn’t (yet).”

Leadership is about more than just managing people — it’s about setting a vision of the future and connecting each task to that ultimate goal.

Think about an engineering team developing a new product. If the only guidance they receive is, “Build this feature,” without context, they may optimize for speed, cost, or aesthetics — without knowing which is most important. A leader provides the missing piece: Why does this matter? Who will use it? What outcome are we striving for? Without that clarity, the team is guessing instead of executing with precision.

JFK’s moonshot: a case study in alignment

One of the most powerful examples of alignment in history comes from President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 address to Congress. He set a bold, clear, and consequential goal:

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”

As Astronaut Mike Baker told me when I met him in October 2024, “it took 400,000 people to design and build the Saturn V, which is as tall as a 33-story building, carries fuel with the explosive power of a nuclear bomb, built to the precision of a microscope, and accelerates at the speed of a bullet to go to an object 250,000 miles away.”

This statement united tens of thousands of people across NASA, industry partners, and government agencies on a shared vision of the future. One where a human goes to the moon and returns to Earth safely. Clear. Consequential. Challenging.

And, according to one account, a custodian at NASA said: “I’m not mopping floors, I’m putting a man on the moon.”

I am building a cathedral.

Designing space suits, recruiting and training astronauts, and mopping floors — 400,000 people all directly tied to the singular vision of the future.

The what, why, and who of alignment

Teams achieve alignment by clarifying three critical questions:

1. What needs to happen?
2. Why does it need to happen?
3. Who is responsible?

Clear, challenging, and consequential goals inspire action, guide decisions, and motivate learning. When every action is connected to a greater purpose, even small tasks take on greater meaning.

When people feel they can pursue their personal interests in pursuit of the team’s ultimate mission, they bring their full selves to the table.

An everyday example: grocery shopping with purpose

Alignment isn’t just for space programs — it applies to our daily lives, too.

Imagine you go to the grocery store to pick up garlic.

• Why? To make lasagna.
• Why? You’re celebrating family.
• Why? It’s your spouse’s milestone birthday.

The simple act of buying garlic suddenly becomes part of something meaningful: celebrating family and honoring a special occasion. But without this understanding, the task feels like an isolated chore rather than a step toward a larger purpose.

At work, the same principle applies. When employees understand how their contributions connect to the company’s mission, they make better decisions and work with more motivation.

How to build alignment in your team

1. Clarify the “What, Why, and Who” in every delegation.
   • Example: Instead of saying, “Write the report,” say, “Write the report so that leadership can make an informed decision on next quarter’s hiring plan.”
2. Document Alignment in a Charter.
   • When forming a new team or defining an objective, write a simple one-page document outlining the goal, its importance, and key responsibilities.
3. Reinforce Alignment in Every Meeting.
   • Start meetings by reminding the team of the ultimate goal and checking whether decisions align with it.
4. Encourage Pushback When Alignment is Unclear.
   • Teams should feel empowered to ask, “How does this contribute to our larger goal?” If the connection isn’t obvious, alignment is missing.

The cost of misalignment

When teams aren’t aligned, members pull in opposing directions, creating unproductive friction, unresolvable conflict, confusion, and wasted effort. At best, this leads to inefficiency. At worst, it leads to catastrophe.

Just imagine two people moving a table. If they don’t determine which direction they are going, they’ll push and pull in different directions — fighting each other while the table does not move far. This is your project without alignment.

But when alignment is strong, every decision, action, and even disagreement moves the team toward its shared goal. Aligned teams don’t just work together — they win together.

A case study in “why”: how Pixar transformed Disney Animation

From 1995 to 2005, Disney Animation lost nearly $400 million on movies like Home on the Range and Treasure Planet. Meanwhile, Pixar’s first six films profited over $1 billion — and captured hearts globally (Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, etc.).

At the opening parade of Hong Kong Disneyland, then-COO (soon-to-be CEO) Bob Iger noticed there were barely any new Disney characters from the last decade. Disney’s brand had stalled, losing its creative spark. He believed this was the issue — Disney needs great characters, it’s why people see their films, visit their parks, and buy their merch. Where Disney Animation goes, so goes the company. This had to get fixed.

Iger saw three options:

1. Stick with current leadership and hope they figure it out,
2. Hire a new team and hope they figure it out,
3. Buy Pixar.

By 2006, Disney bought Pixar from Steve Jobs for $7.4B. Pixar’s leadership — Ed Catmull and John Lasseter — brought their vision-driven culture with them, infusing Disney Animation with renewed creativity.

Question
What exactly enabled Pixar to flourish — and how did that transform Disney Animation?

Answer: Pixar Treated Vision as an Infinite Game
Inspired by philosopher James P. Carse’s “finite” vs. “infinite” games, Pixar recognized that a finite goal (like “make the first computer-animated feature”) had an endpoint. Once achieved, you risk losing your sense of purpose. So they shifted to an infinite vision:

• Pixar’s Vision: “At Pixar, our goal is to make great films with great people.”
• Pixar’s Mission: “Combine proprietary technology and world-class creative talent to develop computer-animated features that appeal to audiences of all ages.”
• Pixar’s Guiding Principles: “Story is King; Trust the Process.”

This infinite vision is never truly “done.” Pixar can always make another film, improve their process, and cultivate better storytelling.

You don’t get results by writing down a vision statement. You get results by aligning the entire organization on that vision statement, concentrating all of the collective efforts on that single goal. I cover that in more depth here.

Other real-world examples

1. LinkedIn
   • Vision: “Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.”
   • Jeff Weiner codified a broad, infinite game that guided each acquisition, new office, and product feature while scaling LinkedIn from 360 employees to 16,000+.
2. Jiminy Peak
   • Vision: “Preserving the earth for future generations.”
   • Installing a 386-foot wind turbine in 2007 represented 20% of annual revenue — but aligned perfectly with the resort’s infinite goal of sustainability. It paid for itself within a few years and cut 7.1 million pounds of CO2. This vision simultaneously supports the environment and drives business results. This is covered in more depth here.
3. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
   • Vision: “Create a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life.”
   • Guides multi-billion dollar grants toward equity-focused solutions, ensuring every project aligns to this infinite mission. When two project managers are competing for the same funds, they are both aligned on increasing equity. They are aligned, they just have different ideas in achieving it. When one project manager wins the funding, the other falls in and supports.

How AI can help you craft (and validate) vision

1. Brainstorming & Summarization
   • Use Case: You hold a messy, freewheeling offsite about your company’s purpose.
   • AI Action: Record it with Otter.AI, then feed the transcript to ChatGPT: “Summarize our discussion into a clear mission/vision statement. Highlight the top 3 themes.”
   • Outcome: A first-draft statement that captures the essence of your infinite game.
2. Vision Sentiment Checks
   • Use Case: You want to see if your team truly buys into the new vision.
   • AI Action: Distribute an anonymous Slack poll or ask employees for feedback in a text format. Use ChatGPT or a sentiment analysis tool to gauge overall positivity or concerns.
   • Outcome: You learn if the vision resonates or needs refinement.

Conclusion
Defining a clear, infinite vision is more than a marketing exercise. It aligns day-to-day work with a deeper, unending purpose — just like Pixar did for Disney. With AI’s help, you can accelerate the process of crafting and validating that vision, ensuring everyone from the newest hire to your senior leaders pulls in the same direction.

(Next: How to structure the finite game — your immediate projects — through effective project charters.)

A case study in “what”: kick-off aligned with a project charter

Ever see a “transformational team” form with great fanfare but no structure — only to dissolve into chaos? Stakeholders get invited to a single meeting, walk away unsure of their roles, and never reconvene. The result: disjointed tasks, cost overruns, and two-year delays. I lived this dysfunction, and (barely) survived to tell the story here.

When teams don’t define what they’re trying to accomplish, confusion reigns. People stay busy, but the final product is often late or off-track. A simple fix? The Project Charter.

Question
How do you ensure clarity on goals, resources, timelines, and roles — so you can focus on doing rather than flailing?

Answer: A One-Page Project Charter
A project charter is a mini-contract between sponsor (the delegator) and project manager (the delegatee). It outlines:

1. Project Name — Clear and descriptive.
2. Sponsor & Project Manager — Who’s funding vs. who’s executing.
3. Objectives & Benefits — Measurable goals, plus why they matter.
4. Time Frame — Start/end dates or key milestones.
5. Resources — Both people and non-human assets.
6. Project Manager’s Authority — Decision-making limits.
7. Signatures — Formal agreement that locks in accountability.

Success story

A leader (let’s call him me) needed to redesign a 1,600-employee facility’s post-COVID campus. The sponsor wrote a four-page Word doc in about two hours, detailing scope, deadlines, and resources. That clarity enabled a smooth six-month project that executives quickly approved.

Failure story

A leader tried to “transform” a business unit without a charter, causing staff to run in circles. They added 12 new hires, inflated the budget, and still delivered two years late. They were supposed to improve delivery, but they never wrote that goal down. They made a lot of noise, but failed to deliver the result. A simple charter defining the intended result would have gotten everybody’s efforts focused on that.

How AI can help you write a charter

This is a summary of an article (with video) posted here. With AI there is no excuse to not write a charter. I give you a prompt making this so easy.

1. Stream-of-Consciousness to Charter
   • Use Case: You have the knowledge, but you’re overwhelmed at the thought of organizing it.
   • AI Action: Record an unstructured rant in Otter.AI. Feed the transcript to ChatGPT with instructions: “Organize this messy note into a project charter covering these 9 sections…”
   • Outcome: You get an 80% draft in seconds — just refine and finalize.
2. Risk & Resource Suggestions
   • Use Case: You know the project but aren’t sure about typical pitfalls or resource needs.
   • AI Action: Prompt ChatGPT: “Given a project to rebrand a mid-sized business, identify the top 5 risks, required roles, and average budgets.”
   • Outcome: A quick blueprint that you can adapt to your context.

Conclusion
When you unify your infinite “why” with a well-scoped “what,” you give teams clarity to execute. A project charter is a deceptively simple solution that keeps everyone on the same page — from day one through final delivery. Add AI for speed and structure, and you’ll spend less time herding cats and more time achieving real results.

(Next: Delegation — ensuring the who and how are in place so you aren’t doing everything yourself.)

A case study in “who”: differentiate yourself by delegating (and use AI to help)

60% of managers fail within 24 months — often because they burn out doing everything themselves. When your team lacks autonomy, you carry the entire load. But if you never delegate, you never build bench strength — and your own growth stalls.

Leaders often resist delegation with lines like:

• “Only I know how to do this right.”
• “Training someone else takes too long.”
• “I’ll lose control of the outcome.”

Question
How do you delegate in a way that protects quality but frees you up for higher-level leadership?

Answer: The 5 Steps of Delegation

1. Describe the Task (With a Verb)
   • e.g., “Submit the quarterly financial report by July 15.”
2. Give Context (Why It Matters)
   • e.g., “This report informs next quarter’s budget, so accuracy is crucial.”
3. Define Parameters (Boundaries & Resources)
   • e.g., Budget, timeline, relevant data sets, any “do not cross” lines.
4. Paint the Vision of Success
   • e.g., “The CFO should be able to greenlight our next initiative upon reading this, with no follow-up questions.”
5. Specify Authority Level
   • Michael Hyatt’s Levels 1–5: from “Do exactly as I say” to “Make the decision and only update me if there’s an issue.”

Where AI fits into delegation

1. Identifying Delegable Tasks
   • Use Case: Unsure which tasks you must do vs. which you can hand off.
   • AI Action: List your weekly tasks, then ask ChatGPT: “Suggest which tasks I could delegate, given a small team with X skillsets.”
   • Outcome: A quick sorting method that helps you prioritize high-level work.
2. Creating “How-To” Manuals
   • Use Case: You have specialized processes in your head.
   • AI Action: Dictate or type an informal explanation into ChatGPT. Then ask it to produce a step-by-step training guide.
   • Outcome: A shareable doc or PDF so the delegate can follow your method, freeing you from hand-holding.
3. Role-Playing Tough Conversations
   • Use Case: You need to clarify someone’s new delegated responsibilities without offending them.
   • AI Action: Prompt ChatGPT: “Act as a talented but sensitive team member. I’ll explain that I’m delegating a high-stakes project to them. Provide questions or concerns you might have, so I can practice responding.”
   • Outcome: A safe sandbox to refine your messaging before going live with the real conversation.

Final thoughts: make alignment a priority

Alignment isn’t something you check off once — it’s a continuous practice. Leaders must constantly reinforce the What, Why, and Who to keep their teams moving in the right direction.

Kickoff is one of the most important parts of a team. Alignment is a predecessor to empowering these resources. START with alignment.

Here are all the articles I’ve written on Alignment.