Abstract

Alignment of teams with their organization's strategies is a key to effectiveness. Team direction should match corporate: strategies; vision and mission statements; goals and objectives; performance improvement activities; and operating principles. Organizational leaders can improve alignment by communicating the corporate strategy; describing its broad perspective; and using teams to help implement it. Team mission statements should mesh with those of the organization. Key corporate business objectives should drive each team's mission, operating principles, and activities. The business impact grid and team scorecard can monitor such alignment. Agenda and action records can verify that time and level of team activity is spent appropriately. These alignment activities may be nonproductive if teams lack resources or if other organizational systems are out of alignment.