How to recognize misalignement in your project

Many of us start the project expecting that the case for change is clear and that the main obstacles to the project will come from the work itself.

One silent factor that can significantly impact your project is stakeholder misalignment.

How do we recognize it?

Here are a few things to watch for:

• You are surprised by your stakeholders’ actions as they contradict what has been agreed on.
• The progress has been slow without an obvious reason
• In discussions, your stakeholders keep bringing up issues that you thought were resolved
• There is no enthusiasm or ownership for implementing an established course of action.
• Your stakeholders keep bringing up the decision to move forward

In many cases, the misalignment starts at the top but these signs can happen at any level of an organization.

So, how can you overcome this state of misalignment? Ignoring it and trying to move forward will not make it disappear; you should address it appropriately.

Create an alliance

Do you have enough allies to move the project forward safely? In other words, do you have a critical mass behind the change, those who believe the project is worth moving forward? To achieve that critical mass, you must get the key influential people in the organization on board. They should be seen and heard talking about your initiative in a way that they do not leave any doubt that they believe in your project.

You can help create those experiences by organizing open houses, kick-off meetings, presentations at town halls, Q&A sessions, demo events, etc.

Ensure that your change story is solid

A change story is your project’s backstory. It explains the “why” behind the project, but sometimes, the most important part is omitted from that story.

What is the most important part?

Be explicit about why your stakeholders should care.

Have you explained how the project will improve their lives? Have you reminded them how this project will increase their status? Have you made them aware of how their current pain will go away?

Do not make them assume those things—you have to make them obvious and repeat those statements frequently in more than one setting. Repetition sustains momentum.

Provide experiences that inspire the right behaviours

One proven approach that brings people on board is intentionally creating the right experiences to create a desired belief in a project. You need to create experiences that can be interpreted in the desired way without an explanation.

When it comes to experiences, you cannot underestimate the power of unconscious interpretation based on someone’s previous experience with a similar change.

One of the most effective ways to replace someone’s belief and internal stories they tell themselves is by telling better, more impactful stories by someone they trust. Social proof is effective as it offers a different point of view by someone you know and respect.

You can create discussion forums where selected people tell their stories—how they believe in the project as they experienced some of the benefits in a similar setting. You can organize so-called “fireside chats” that offer opportunities for dialogue and address people’s beliefs that keep them on the sidelines. Or you can organize lunch and learn sessions that are even less formal and plan plenty of time for a conversation about the hot topics that nobody wants to be the first to mention (but you know they are on your stakeholder’s mind!).

The experiences that may work but are less effective are posting desired messages on the placemats, writing articles in the newsletters or sending mass emails. While they work to get a message around, they are ineffective in changing the culture as they rarely engage people emotionally, which is important for influencing behavior.

What are your experiences in dealing with a misalignment? What have you tried that worked?

I was inspired to write about this topic after reading Change the Culture, Change the Game and adding some tips from my experience. I highly recommend this book to those who want to learn more about this topic!

I would love to hear from you, so leave a comment below!