Problem

Departments pursue objectives that conflict with or do not align with overall organisational priorities, causing friction and inefficiency.

Workshop Title

"Aligning Goals: Moving Forward Together"

Objectives

• Identify misalignments in team and organisational goals.
• Foster a shared understanding of priorities.
• Develop strategies to align goals and improve collaboration.

Materials Needed

• Flipchart or whiteboard.
• Sticky notes and markers.
• Goal Alignment Map templates (printed or on large paper).

Process

1. Welcome and Icebreaker (10 minutes)

Activity: Team Goals in One Sentence
↳ Ask each team to summarise their primary goal in one sentence and share it with the group.

2. Identifying Misaligned Goals (15 minutes)

Activity: Where Are the Gaps?
↳ Provide sticky notes and ask participants to write down examples of where team goals might conflict or misalign with others (e.g., conflicting deadlines, differing priorities).
↳ Group the sticky notes by theme on a flipchart or whiteboard.

3. Understanding Organisational Goals (20 minutes)

Activity: The Big Picture
↳ Share the organisation’s mission, vision, and strategic goals (if not already clear).
↳ Facilitate a discussion:

• How does each team contribute to these goals?
• Where might priorities need to shift to support organisational success?

4. Aligning Team Goals (25 minutes)

Activity: Goal Alignment Map
↳ Divide participants into mixed-team groups.
↳ Provide each group with a template to map:

• Team Goals: Each team’s current priorities.
• Overlaps: Where goals align and teams can collaborate.
• Gaps: Where goals conflict or need adjustment.
  ↳ Groups present their findings and discuss ways to resolve gaps.

5. Developing a Shared Action Plan (15 minutes)

Activity: Align and Act
↳ As a whole group, develop 3-5 actionable steps to improve goal alignment (e.g., regular goal-setting meetings, shared performance metrics).
↳ Document the actions and assign owners to ensure follow-through.

6. Closing and Reflection (5 minutes)

Activity: Alignment Commitments
↳ Each participant shares one thing they’ll do to better align their work with organisational and cross-team goals (e.g., “I’ll schedule monthly updates with X team to ensure alignment”).

Facilitator Notes

• Welcome and Icebreaker (10 minutes): Purpose is to highlight the diversity of goals and set the stage for alignment.
• Identifying Misaligned Goals (15 minutes): In the debrief discuss how these misalignments affect collaboration and organisational outcomes.
• Understanding Organisational Goals (20 minutes): In the debrief reinforce the importance of aligning team efforts with overarching objectives.
• Aligning Team Goals (25 minutes): Output is a draft "Goal Alignment Map" showing how teams can work together more effectively.
• Developing a Shared Action Plan (15 minutes): Push to make the steps they agree on specific and actionable.
• Closing and Reflection (5 minutes): Reinforce the idea of shared responsibility for alignment.

Follow-up

Schedule a check-in after one month to review progress on the shared action plan and address any remaining misalignments.