Going Beyond Surveys to Connect with Teams
Strategic alignment is essential for organizations to achieve shared goals efficiently and cohesively. However, before leaders can improve alignment, they must understand where gaps exist. Traditional methods, such as surveys and feedback sessions, are helpful tools but only provide part of the picture. A more comprehensive approach includes the “Go and See” principle—where leaders actively engage with teams to observe their day-to-day work, challenges, and interactions firsthand.
Establishing a Baseline
Surveys and structured feedback sessions are valuable for establishing a baseline understanding of alignment within an organization. Well-designed surveys can uncover trends, highlight areas of misalignment, and provide quantifiable data to track improvements over time. Surveys also allow teams to voice concerns, share insights, and communicate needs without immediate pressure.
However, surveys alone can miss crucial details about how teams are applying strategic principles in real-time. Feedback sessions, such as focus groups or team discussions, are often needed to clarify survey results and dive deeper into specific issues. Here, leaders can gain insights into perceived alignment gaps and gauge team engagement levels. Yet, surveys and feedback are ultimately limited by what people choose to share or may consciously know. This is where the “Go and See” principle complements structured feedback methods.
Observing Alignment in Action
Originating in Lean management, the “Go and See” principle encourages leaders to directly observe team activities, interactions, and work environments. By stepping out of their offices and into the spaces where teams operate, leaders gain a fuller, more accurate understanding of how well strategic goals translate into daily actions and behaviors.
When leaders take time to observe, they pick up on nuances that surveys cannot capture, such as workflow patterns, inter-team dynamics, and informal communication styles. They may also witness areas of misalignment firsthand—for example, observing that team discussions rarely address strategic objectives or that decision-making processes are inconsistent with organizational values.
Through “Go and See,” leaders also demonstrate a commitment to understanding and supporting their teams. This approach fosters trust and openness, encouraging teams to share concerns they might hesitate to express in formal feedback channels.
A Gemba Walk is a structured “Go and See” practice that allows leaders to engage thoughtfully with teams, observing and discussing their processes without judgment. Rather than micromanaging or critiquing, leaders use Gemba Walks to ask insightful questions, learn about team challenges, and discover how teams interpret and act on strategic goals.
For example, a leader conducting a Gemba Walk might ask, “How does this work align with our strategic objectives?” or “What challenges are you facing that could impact our goals?” Such questions reveal how well teams understand the strategy and where gaps in alignment might exist. Additionally, Gemba Walks allow leaders to observe non-verbal cues and interactions, often revealing alignment issues not visible through surveys.
Integrating Findings
Combining insights from surveys, feedback sessions, and direct observation provides a well-rounded picture of alignment levels. Leaders can triangulate data from each source to identify patterns and validate findings. For example, if a survey indicates confusion about strategic priorities and a Gemba Walk reveals similar issues in team discussions, leaders can address this more confidently, knowing the issue is pervasive and impacts alignment.
Taking Action
Once leaders assess alignment levels, they can take targeted actions to address gaps. This may include revisiting communication strategies, setting up regular check-ins to reinforce alignment, or providing resources to resolve specific challenges observed.