Team Alignment by Archetype

What is Team Alignment?

Team alignment is easy to aspire to, but often harder to attain. It is achieved when individual team members or cross-functional teams have a clear understanding of both their individual and common goals, work toward the same vision, and believe that their contributions benefit the organization in a bigger way.

Many benefits are associated with team alignment. According to Gallup, organizations benefit from higher employee engagement and retention, increased productivity, improved communication, more efficient decision making, and increased agility to respond to external variables.

While the benefits are evident, seldom do companies truly work in harmony. A study by McKinsey & Co. proved that while 72% of leaders said they involved employees in developing the organization’s purpose, only 56% of frontline employees actually agreed. This discrepancy is a common example of misalignment.

Industry best practices to create alignment include: celebrating each and every win; recognizing an individual’s contributions and how this feeds into the overall strategic goals of the company or department objectives; ensuring clarity and consistency of communication. And perhaps the most fundamental part is knowing WHO the team is and WHAT motivates their behaviors. This is where Archetypes play an important role.

Why are Archetypes Important for Teams?

The major differentiator to creating sustainable alignment is by understanding how teams are predisposed to behaving. Once you have this knowledge, you are able to make purposeful decisions and remain agile to different personalities. Our years of using Brand Brand Archetypes to understand team dynamics have proven that team members tend to mirror and resemble one another - especially if they have been collaborating for an extended period of time.

Imagine the awareness you can have by simply identifying which major Archetypal category your team represents.

Get more understanding on what it means to be within the: 1- Risk & Mastery category, 2- Belongingness & Pleasure category, 3- Control & Stability category, 4- Independence & Accomplishment category. Discover tips that will allow your team to continue exceling in its respective category, and get recommendations on what not to do or say to others who may be in different categories.

Take the Team Alignment by Archetype assessment and see how you can better align with other personalities in your workplace.