Editorial
Welcome to Courage Coach, where expert columnist Karin Hurt answers readers' tough leadership challenges with practical tools and techniques you can use right away. Have a question for her? Drop her a line!
Dear Courage Coach,
I’m a manager of managers and my team is great. We all get along, we have a solid track record of results and everyone's heart is in the right place. We need to nail a few vital strategic initiatives in the new year that will require more coordination across roles and functions than we ever have before. What practical steps can I can take to align my team for stronger execution in the new year?
— Looking for Alignment
Dear Looking for Alignment,
First, great work. It sounds like your team has a strong foundation to build on. That connection will make it easier to align everyone around those key priorities. The key is to translate those initiatives into specific habits and commitments. One of my favorite ways to do this is through a team alignment meeting — which is a great way to kick off the new year.
Let me give you a step-by-step process you can use in a team alignment meeting to help your team stay organized and deliver on your Most Important Things (MITs).
Step 1: Get Clear on the Most Important Things (MITs)
Identify one or two MITs that are critical to accomplishing your strategic priorities. These should be:
- Central to your department’s success.
- Big enough that they require teamwork.
- Clear enough that everyone has a role to play.
Share these MITs with your team before you meet. Explain why they matter and how they tie into your organization’s bigger picture to set the stage for meaningful collaboration.
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Step 2: Turn Goals Into Habits
Success happens when actions align with goals. During your next team meeting, ask everyone to suggest one specific habit they think would make the biggest difference in achieving your MITs. Habits should be simple, actionable and measurable.
Here are some examples of clarity habits that get everyone on the same page.
As team members share ideas, patterns will emerge. These conversations often reveal the biggest opportunities for improvement, like better communication or more accountability.
Step 3: Choose Two Team Habits
As a team, agree on two habits that will have the most impact. This is where you create focus — too many new habits at once can be overwhelming. These habits should:
- Be practical and doable for everyone.
- Clearly connect to your MITs.
- Be easy to observe and reinforce.
The goal is to build momentum with habits that feel achievable and make a noticeable difference.
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Step 4: Help Your Leaders Lead the Way
Your team looks to you and your direct report team for guidance. To make these habits stick, you need to:
Model
Start with yourself. Discuss specific, observable ways you can demonstrate these habits in your daily work. This isn’t just about big speeches or grand gestures. What small, daily actions will show your team, “this is what good looks like”? Align on at least one or two consistent habits everyone will commit to practicing.
Communicate
Next, think about how you’ll communicate these habits throughout your department. It’s not just about emails or meetings. Think 5×5 communication (communicate messages five times, five different ways), and include a check for understanding to ensure the message sent is the message received.
Consider: How will you connect what you’re asking people to do with why it matters? How will you make these habits come to life with stories or examples? Agree on how you’ll cascade communication down and across your teams.
Reinforce
Finally, look for opportunities to reinforce these habits over the next 30 days. How will you recognize and celebrate when you see people demonstrating them? How will you hold people accountable when the habits are ignored?
If you want these habits to become the norm, they need to be consistently celebrated and reinforced.
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Step 5: Build Accountability
At the end of each week or in team meetings, ask:
- What’s working well with our habits?
- Where are we getting stuck?
- What adjustments do we need to make?
This keeps the habits alive and helps you fine-tune them as you go.
Final Thought: The magic of great execution lies in small, consistent actions. By aligning your team around your MITs and focusing on habits that drive success, you’ll create a stronger, more focused culture. Keep it simple, stay consistent and watch your team soar in 2025.
You’ve got this!
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