Guided by True North: The Role of Team Collaboration in Company Vision
“No organization…can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned,” explained NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde during a recent network course correction. A top-tier staffing decision—wildly unpopular with many in the organization—was quickly reversed. Whatever the reasons for the debacle—some posited a leadership vacuum, others blamed political divergences, still more stated credibility issues or salary concerns—it’s obvious there is a wide divide within NBC News. What caused the fragmentation? How does the organization resynchronize its staff and operations? Can future misdirection be avoided? Sound and varied answers abound. One explanation is this: the network lost sight of its “true north.”
According to Lean Enterprise Institute, “true north” is an organization’s strategic and philosophical vision or purpose. A metaphorical expression, it points to the fundamental principles that guide a company’s decisions and actions. Some of those principles include identity, mission, vision, ethics, adaptability, values, employee engagement, customer focus, sustainability, innovation, and long-term goals. Just like the unwavering orientation of true north in navigation, true north in a company serves as a consistent reference point for guiding choices and behavior.
Just like a road trip goes bad without a map, an organization without steadfast direction invites failure. It may struggle to prioritize goals and allocate resources effectively. Client needs aren’t met. Strategies become disjointed. Employees disengage or leave altogether.
Challenges become more difficult to adapt to and navigate properly. Opportunities are overlooked. Growth is sluggish. Unable to chart its proper course, a company risks hits to its performance, culture, and long-term viability.
A lot has been written about true north. Further below in this post, we provide a number of links to informative articles, such as 6 Steps to Define Your “True North.” For today’s blog post, however, we just want to zoom in on one of the important elements: the team.
Aligning all employees with a company’s true north is important for several reasons:
1. A shared vision creates a sense of purpose and meaning in their work. With company-wide commitment and dedication, common objectives can be met.
2. In understanding the importance of meeting client needs and upholding the organization’s reputation, employees are better equipped to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
3. With clarity on expectations, goals, and priorities, employee motivation and engagement are enhanced, as is the ability to attract new talent.
4. They’ll conduct themselves in ways consistent with the organization’s values and objectives. This consistency strengthens alignment and cohesion throughout the company, minimizes conflicts, and promotes unity in pursuing shared goals.
5. Innovation and adaptability—key factors in staying competitive—are enhanced. Employees feel empowered to be creative and contribute ideas and solutions.
6. Team members committed to the company’s mission and values can better navigate uncertainties and obstacles, all of which has a stabilizing effect on daily and long-term operations.
The crown jewel of a company can be the high-performing team it develops by following its true north. So how to mold and nurture a group that consistently delivers exceptional results, collaborates effectively, and demonstrates a strong work ethic?
Here’s a path one can follow: Lead by example. If a company values authenticity, integrity, empathy, and accountability, then modeling that behavior is essential. The key to this step, as it is with all the others, is consistency. With the staffing decision at NBC, it was clear that some in management were at polar opposites with others on the team. If the network had been following its true north, such a schism wouldn’t have occurred. When goals are clearly communicated, when internal processes are aligned with company values, when an inclusive culture exists, when employees are empowered, and when barriers are addressed, what results is a unified group comfortable with and clear about their course of action. Whether it’s helping employees to understand their individual contributions, developing policies, expecting best practices, growing a team, acknowledging a challenge, establishing or refining a company mission statement, etc., it’s important to provide context and meaning. Without knowing the whys and wherefores, it’s easy for people to speculate and make misassumptions. Equipped with enough information that isn’t skewed one way or another, employees who are in tune with an organization’s true north will most likely do the right thing.
In starting to wrap up this post, we want to quickly add that setting well-defined goals and expectations, providing ongoing training and development, and recognizing and rewarding team members whenever possible are part of the journey.
Here at Compass Properties, founders John and Patty Noel subscribe to a value-based business approach that is best summarized by their motto: “Our direction is led by our values.” Internally, the culture is based on integrity, respect for all individuals, creative cooperation, and the constant quest for unparalleled excellence. Charting a successful course involves many elements: customer focus, strong culture, continuous improvement, effective leadership, and stakeholder engagement, to name a few. As we’ve shown, it also requires an “all hands on deck” mindset. It conveys a sense of urgency and unity that compels everyone to contribute their best efforts and resources towards a common goal—a consistent true north bearing. It is one of the best ways to help assure the achievement of a shared vision.