I'll just say it: overlooking misalignment is plain ignorant or downright dark
By Lindsay Uittenbogaard, Founder at Mirror Mirror Alignment
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
Think back to a big change program you’ve worked on. or to another busy situation at work in which the organization couldn’t seem to keep up with itself. In that situation, did you hear or see this, in their words or actions?
“Alignment will sort itself out as we go along”
“We don’t have time to work on alignment”
“The problem isn’t alignment – it’s that they don’t understand.”
I can’t help but wonder: What’s going on with the ‘Person X’ who thinks like that?
The title of this article is not an opinion but a fact.
The meaning of ignorant (adjective) is not having enough knowledge, understanding, or information about something.
Because clearly…
Misalignment happens
We know misalignment happens – the question is, to what extent?
Misalignment is when people are not on the same page about what they are trying to achieve and/or how to achieve it. It creeps in to undermine collective efforts in four ways:
Because there’s too much going on: when people are busy, a lot is changing, and there’s not enough time for everyone to process what they need to process and click on the same page together.
Because perceptions are unique: when each individual brings so many unique experiences, perspectives, values, and cognitive biases that shape their thinking, they will come to their own interpretations. Even if they share similar goals, their priorities, risk tolerance, emotional responses, and subconscious influences will differ.
Because language is imperfect: knowingly or unknowingly, misunderstandings happen through things like jargon, ambiguity, digression, or when the same words mean different things to different people.
Because the conditions or the capabilities don’t help: meaning is not shared properly because of low psychological safety, poor dialogue skills, misinformation or missing information.
The negative impacts of misalignment are clear
There’s a ton of wisdom that’s been circulating for decades about the impacts of poorly aligned teams, such as:
$26,041 per employee lost annually – 43% of a knowledge worker’s time is wasted on unproductive communication (Grossman Group) - see footer source 1, 2.
Up to 23% drop in profitability – teams with low clarity and poor collaboration underperform financially (Gallup) - see footer sources 3, 4
3% of strategy execution fails – not due to a bad plan, but because teams aren’t aligned (Harvard Business Review) - see footer sources 3, 4
Misalignment can be addressed
In an organizational setting, when people understand the world differently, their decisions and actions within or between teams/functions/projects will likely conflict. Add these up, and you’ll have major issues. It is that simple.
The essence of alignment is shared meaning. It’s not what one person thinks or another. It’s what they understand between them that counts when they’ve got shared goals.
They don’t have to agree with each other’s perspectives or opinions, but by hearing and understanding them, there is learning. Based on that, what they do need to agree on is their strategic frame and course of action.
So, the only way to fix alignment is through dialogue - and a structured dialogue framework speeds that process up. You need to systematically identify what is misaligned and compare views on key gaps one by one.
The idea is to reach a shared understanding of the shared challenges and agree to (align on) the next steps, accepting there will be areas of disagreement between them.
So what’s going on with Person X?
Indulge me…
Hypothesis A: they genuinely don’t recognize misalignment
Here, Person X is either responsible for making decisions or somehow occupies a position close enough to the information they need for their work. Because of this, they don't experience the same confusion as others further from the decision so likely don’t recognize misalignment as problematic.
If others ask for clarification, they provide their version of the answer. They might do that begrudgingly or condescendingly, or they may feel ‘happy to help’. Or they aren’t asked for clarity because people don’t want to ask.
When misalignment leads to disengagement and poor performance, Person X doesn’t connect the dots to connect the cause and effect. Their version of the problem is probably right in their eyes.
Hypothesis B: they see misalignment but choose not to concern themselves with it
This one is a bit more sinister, but the starting point is the same: Person X doesn’t feel the confusion or frustration of being a part of a misaligned team or wider group themselves (because if they did, they would likely be concerned).
They do see misalignment among others, but they choose not to address it for one or more reasons:
They are under the impression that people should get themselves aligned
They see misalignment as inconsequential: part of the ‘soft and fluffy’ stuff
They think someone else should ‘own’ it
They don’t know how to address it
OR - and here’s the dark side…
They like feeling superior when comparing their comfort with the discomfort of others (they’re in the know and others aren’t)
Their own goals come first: they’re competitive or just don’t care.
Me and Person X? Unless they WANT to know more, unless they are curious and willing to improve the system in which they operate: we are not going to align. In my view, avoiding or overlooking misalignment is not only ignorant, it is irresponsible.
Sources
[1] The Cost of Poor Communication - SHRM https://www.shrm.org/mena/topics-tools/news/organizational-employee-development/cost-poor-communication
[2] Effects of Poor Communication in the Workplace (w/ Solutions) https://www.yourthoughtpartner.com/blog/poor-communication-in-the-workplace
[3] The Execution Trap - Strategy is Everyone's Job Now | In Parallel https://www.in-parallel.com/insight/the-execution-trap
[4] https://hbr.org/2015/03/why-strategy-execution-unravelsand-what
At Mirror Mirror™, we know every team is a complex landscape of unique experiences, viewpoints, and mental models. These differences can lead to misalignment, but when harnessed effectively, they fuel creativity, foster collaboration, and drive growth. That’s why our research-based diagnostic tools reveal where team members are out of sync, and our alignment process guides them to turn these into opportunities.