Why ‘We’re Aligned’ Is a Risky Assumption

Most leadership teams believe they are aligned because they are not openly fighting. That is a low bar.

Real alignment shows up as speed. Fewer meetings. Cleaner execution. Less rework. More trust under pressure.

Here are six questions high-performing teams revisit quarterly. Not because they are insecure. Because alignment decays. It always does.

1) What Are We Trying to Make True This Quarter?

Not tasks. Outcomes. If you cannot say the outcome in one sentence, you will get competing interpretations.

2) What Are We Not Doing, On Purpose?

Tradeoffs create focus. Without tradeoffs, you do not have priorities. You have wishes.

3) Who Owns Each Outcome, and What Does “Done” Mean?

If ownership is shared, execution is diluted. If “done” is vague, you will debate forever.

4) What Decisions Are Already Made, and Which Are Still Open?

Teams waste time when decisions feel reversible. Capture what is decided and why.

5) What Does Our Meeting Cadence Need to Produce?

Meetings should be an instrument. If a meeting does not produce decisions, clarity, or coordination, it is overhead.

6) What Is the One Friction We Will Not Tolerate This Quarter?

This is the leadership standard that protects everything else. It might be reopen behavior. It might be missed handoffs. It might be scope creep.

The Coaching Move

If you want alignment without relying on personality or optimism, you need a shared measurement. A recurring assessment that creates the same conversation every quarter, even when things are busy.

Alignment Baseline (6-Question Self-Score)

Score each item 0, 1, or 2.
0 = unclear. 1 = somewhat clear. 2 = crystal clear.

1. Our quarterly outcomes are unambiguous.
2. Our tradeoffs are explicit.
3. Ownership and “done” definitions are documented.
4. Decision rationale is captured and easy to find.
5. Our meeting cadence produces outcomes, not noise.
6. We have one visible friction standard for the quarter.