Alex Osmichenko, CEO at IT Monks.
Technology is not usually the main cause of delays in enterprise results. Large-scale businesses are commonly comprised of the top-level professionals, each being an expert in their field. Yet, when their strategies are viewed through departmental lenses, teams often interpret the goals differently.
The Pulse of the Profession report highlights the importance of effective communication for achieving desired project outcomes, noting that 1 in 5 projects fail as a result of communication issues. In companies where multiple departments participate in project planning, development and implementation, it is common for different teams to interpret the same information through their unique experiences.
At IT Monks, we work with midsize, enterprise-level projects. We’ve witnessed how enterprise website development, platform migrations, integrations and other complex initiatives were postponed or required additional work due to the misinterpretation of strategies and goals. A well-established “translation” can prevent this from happening.
In cross-team communication, creating a translation means more than finding equivalents of English words in another language. It means creating a common framework (or vocabulary) that each team is connected to. This enables multiple perspectives to coexist.
Here are some common reasons for cross-team misalignment, and practical steps to help organizations build a shared understanding.
Strategic Goals Gain Shape Through Team Interpretation
Teams aren’t always disagreeing about the strategy itself. Instead, they’re often interpreting it in ways that fit their expertise.
When leadership (C-level executives, department heads and strategy officers) presents a new approach, many employees naturally apply it to their area of expertise and responsibility. As the message moves across departments and managers, it gradually transforms into specific tasks that may not always connect with one another.
It’s an effort to deliver results through the knowledge and tools each team has at hand. When strategy leaves space for interpretation, teams use it to move forward with what they know best.
Vision Gets Reduced To Tasks
Take, for example, leadership setting the goal of “driving operational efficiency.” Different departments then shape this goal into concrete actions:
• IT automates internal processes.
• Finance reviews vendor contracts.
• Operations optimizes team structure.
Each initiative is valid on its own, but unless there is active coordination, the overall impact may become fragmented. The key to creating a common companywide translation is ensuring the efforts in achieving enterprise goals move in sync, not parallel to each other.
No One Stops To Clarify
How often did you witness teams asking questions during companywide gatherings or strategy presentations?
In large meetings, teams may hesitate to ask for clarification, assuming others understood the message the same way. Terms like “visibility” can have different meanings for marketing, communications and IT departments.
Teams often use a shared vocabulary, but not a shared meaning. Taking a moment to clarify early ensures that shared terms translate into a shared understanding, which sets the stage for faster and more effective execution.
Align Execution Across Functions Early
Alignment lies at the heart of a successful project. No matter how global the strategy is, the best outcomes are achieved when everyone is on the same page, with the translation specified well in advance of the first task being created.
Execution alignment refers to building a foundation of shared understanding. Having someone in charge of alignment sessions ensures that teams move forward with clarity and confidence.
Define Success Per Role
In enterprises comprising dozens of departments, every team has a different definition of “done.” To ensure consistency, it helps to document a cross-functional “Definition of Done” before the project begins.
To create such a document, ask each department to answer:
• What does success look like in your area?
• How will you know you’ve achieved it?
Comparing and aligning these answers in a shared document creates a common baseline, allowing every team to measure progress in harmony.
Assign A Context Owner
We recommend that every project has a context owner, a role dedicated to keeping strategy and execution connected.
Unlike a project manager who tracks deadlines, a context owner ensures that tasks align with the original intent, providing guidance when interpretations diverge from it. Their role is to preserve strategic coherence from start to finish.
This person is responsible for conducting clarity reviews and aligning translation files across all departments.
Run Clarity Reviews, Not Just Status Meetings
Projects should go beyond conducting status update meetings. Though these are an inevitable part of task progress tracking, they don’t always confirm the alignment. However, this is not the case with clarity reviews, which takes things further by asking teams:
• What are we building?
• Why are we building it?
• How does it support the strategic goal?
The project is on track if the answers provided by different teams are clear and consistent. Otherwise, a context owner should conduct a quick realignment to ensure that effort is directed toward the same destination.
Final Takeaway
Aligned efforts equal a successful digital transformation. Large-scale organizations can establish conditions for smooth strategy execution by clearly defining terms, aligning expectations early and introducing dedicated roles and sessions for translation and implementation.
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