How to Make the Most of Your Resources: Mastering the Alignment Balance for Teams
Finding Balance IS LIKE GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS
Leaders are learners. And one place to learn from — of all places — is fairy tales!
Goldilocks of the Three Bears fame was an optimizer. Too big, too small — she didn't rest (literally) until she found the space that was "just right!"
Like Goldilocks, every leader is on the hunt for finding what is "just right." How do you maximize your organization, department, or team? (I’ll use “organization” to keep things simple, but if you’re a department or team leader, just translate accordingly.)
In other words, how do you make the best use of the available resources to achieve meaningful goals?
There's no perfect answer, and controlling all elements is impossible. Still, leaders must make wise choices on focus and resource decisions, as inputs influence the resulting output.
We've all heard "Garbage In, Garbage Out.” Skimp on the front end, and your result is suboptimal. But flip it the other way, and if you put in quality work on the front end, you’re more likely to get quality results on the back end.
So, leaders need to think clearly upfront for better results downstream. And that includes figuring out how to make the most of your available resources. How you allocate your resources on the front end highly impacts results.
To maximize your resources, consider the concept of alignment. Let’s illustrate it by looking at the simple mechanism of balance scales.
The Alignment Balance
Alignment is about ensuring that every aspect of the organization is pointed in the same direction and coordinating effectively.
Balance scales tip and move because the two sides relate to one another. On one side of the balance, there are resources, and on the other, there is alignment — how deeply is the work synchronized?
Smaller Organizations
Here's where the balance becomes crucial. Smaller organizations with fewer resources need deeper alignment to thrive.
Smaller organizations with fewer resources need deeper alignment to thrive.
That is, every level of your organization focuses on the same priority so you don’t spread yourself too thin.
All hands are on deck to make things happen. It’s a mighty team, but it should not do too much.
This dynamic is evident in startups. Limited budget, a handful of multitasking individuals – everyone is focused on getting that one thing launched. They aren't juggling fifty projects simultaneously — that would be overwhelming.
They leverage their limited resources, consider tradeoffs, and make choices to achieve strategic objectives. If the team doesn’t focus, it won’t survive. It will run out of resources really quickly, whether it’s cash or burning out their people—or both!
So, keeping the team focused on the essential goal limits distractions and increases the chance of success.
Keeping the team focused on the essential goal limits distractions and increases the chance of success.
Larger Organizations
On the flip side, with more resources, alignment of resource allocation becomes less critical for survival. You have more to draw from, reducing the urgency for great coordination.
The advantage of having more resources is that you still need to align, but there is more bandwidth to increase scope to explore other ways to achieve goals. If you’re a nonprofit, you might offer more programs. If you’re a business, you might consider other revenue streams.
Alignment is broad because everyone aligns with overall goals, but teams and individuals have more latitude to specialize. There’s a lot of activity going on, some of it centralized and some decentralized.
The downside is that without intentional and regular coordination efforts, the organization might become unwieldy, bloated, and inefficient.
With so many people doing so many things, large organizations can become complex. It is also more difficult to align efforts. There are too many projects and initiatives going on, too many people are involved, and they move much slower or with more confusion.
So the important point to remember is that effective large organizations ensure all activities align with the broader objectives.
Effective large organizations ensure all activities align with the broader objectives.
Maximizing Your Organization, Department, or Team
Whether your organization is large or small, prioritizing alignment is key. Alignment enhances resource efficiency and reduces the workload.
If your organization is small or resources are limited, it can be easy to focus on the scarcity of resources. But remember, scarcity seldom stunts ability. Instead, scarce resources strengthen focus!
Scarce resources strengthen focus.
If you don’t have much, your team is forced to focus; deep alignment is needed. Every level and individual sees a direct connection between what they do and the singular goal that everyone is trying to achieve. Limited resources can lead to greater impact by fostering focused collaboration.
Limited resources can lead to greater impact by fostering focused collaboration.
For large and complex organizations, leadership clarity on alignment is also critical. Alignment is set in the upper levels of the organization and is defined broadly. Sub-units align with the overall goals and also specialize in their own areas.
No matter your size, it's important to know how deep and wide your alignment strategy goes. It will provide clarity for everyone.
And, like Goldilocks, it will take experimentation to get things closer to “just right!”
LOOKING FOR CLARITY IN STRATEGY AND ALIGNMENT?
We’d love to talk to you!
Book a no-obligation, free consulting call!
Tips for Alignment
A maximized organization aligns resource allocation with strategic objectives. Regardless of your position, look for ways to enhance clarity in coordination and communication.
A maximized organization aligns resource allocation with strategic objectives.
Below are practical tips about alignment practices. If you're not in senior leadership, replace "organization" with "department" or "team," whichever scope you are in charge of.
Strategic planning and alignment:
🗺️ Involve key stakeholders in strategic planning to create a clear roadmap.
🏆 Develop your plan to align with overall organizational objectives.
📆 Regularly engage in planning processes to adapt to unexpected developments. Being adaptable is the name of the game!
Team alignment and accountability:
↕️ Assess how your team’s functions and activities align with the overall goals to see if any of the work is off target.
🍾 Move resources to address bottlenecks and overworked individuals.
⚙️ Develop a system to ensure metrics are matching what is to be achieved. Monitor and adjust based on feedback.
Employee engagement and involvement:
✋ Assess personal ownership – are you committed to ensuring these goals are achieved?
💕 Help every team member feel valued and connected to the organization's mission.
💬 Encourage open communication and involve employees in decision-making where appropriate.
