“Having an aligned and high-performing senior team cascades benefits across the organization. These organizations can outperform their competitors.” -Lori Heffelfinger
CFOs and economists describe the current business climate as unpredictable, with geopolitical instability and a looming Supreme Court decision on tariffs. While the stock market is up, persistently high grocery prices and interest rates relative to housing costs, shifting labor dynamics around AI, and the lingering possibility of a recession are adding to ongoing stress and uncertainty.
In times of uncertainty, organizations succeed or fail based on how well their leaders work together and bring clarity to their teams. When senior leaders align around strategy and priorities, they create confidence and momentum throughout the organization. When they do not, employees disengage and execution suffers. Ultimately, strong team alignment at the top is crucial for helping organizations navigate change and move forward with purpose in periods of uncertainty.
That alignment is critical as leaders decide how to invest in AI this year, given the real risk of overlooking the most essential driver of success: an organization’s people. Technology can improve efficiency, but it does not replace judgment or collaboration. Strong alignment can help leadership teams make more intelligent decisions about AI, identifying where it adds value, where human judgment is essential, and how technology can support people rather than replace them.
Four (4) CEO Limiting Beliefs on Team Alignment
In our business, we have come across a series of Limiting Beliefs held by senior leaders and used as an excuse not to take the time to tackle alignment and buy-in amongst their direct reports. Here they are explained:
CEO’s “often put insufficient thought into how they create, structure, and support their top teams, thereby capping the potential of their team’s contributions to the enterprise.” -Senior Leadership Teams, Wagman, Nunes, Burrus, Hackman.
In addition, even experienced CEOs can unknowingly hold limiting assumptions about alignment that quietly undermine results.
1. “The direction is clear/understood.”
Many CEOs assume that once they communicate a strategy, it’s fully understood and consistently interpreted across the organization. Unfortunately, without intentional alignment, what feels “clear” at the top can quickly become fragmented as it moves through layers of leadership.
2. “They’re talented, they’ll figure it out.”
Talent cannot replace intentional team alignment. Even the most capable teams struggle without shared context and agreed-upon goals. Talent can only accelerate progress when aligned with the strategy.
3. “Consensus takes too long.”
Avoiding conversations about alignment to save time often creates delays down the line as teams move in different directions. Investing time upfront to align expectations and commitments reduces friction and increases speed over the long term.
4. “If we can’t measure it, it’s not critical.”
Alignment can feel intangible compared to financial or operational metrics, which leads some CEOs to deprioritize it. Yet misalignment shows up clearly in missed deadlines, conflicting decisions, disengaged leaders, and underperforming results.
In stable times, these limiting beliefs may go unnoticed. In uncertain times, they become costly. Leaders have critical decisions to make this year around labor and technology, and they must align with one another to bring their teams together and drive organizational success.
What Aligned Senior Teams Do Better in Uncertainty
When senior teams are truly aligned, they are better equipped to lead through uncertainty. In uncertain conditions, alignment becomes a competitive advantage. Aligned leadership teams make decisions faster because priorities are clear.
- They communicate more consistently, which builds confidence among employees.
- They spend less time revisiting decisions or resolving internal friction and more time focused on execution.
- They provide stability and direction when the external environment feels unpredictable.
What is Senior Team Alignment?
Effective leadership alignment includes clarity on the following areas:
- Purpose (why we exist)
- Values (our guiding principles)
- Vision (what we aspire to become)
- Goals (our milestones)
- Priorities (what is most important for us to focus on now)
- Roles (who does what to achieve vision and goals)
To reach full organizational potential, team members need to have both clarity in and agreement on each of these areas. Once achieved, the leadership team needs to communicate and reinforce these consistently and through key business processes.
Using the Rule of Seven, individuals need to hear key information seven times—and through various channels—before it truly sinks in and prompts understanding. As uncertainty continues into 2026, the organizations that perform best will be those with leadership teams united around clear priorities that guide decisions and execution.
Increase Your Ability to Manage Complexity Through a Senior Team Alignment Workshop with Heffelfinger Co.
"We were looking for a workshop to provide a shift in culture in our department. Lori and James provided an amazing experience with a Team Alignment Workshop for our team of six. We witnessed our team become more collaborative, more effective in communicating with each other, and more effective as an organizational system." - Former Sr. Director, Alumni and External Relations, Team Alignment Services.
Leadership team coaching is one of our passions because high-performing leadership teams foster higher-performing organizations. In fact, senior team alignment is one of the strongest predictors of sustained organizational performance. When senior teams communicate effectively and operate from shared priorities, they are better equipped to navigate complexity and lead through change.
If you’re ready to set your organization up for success in 2026 and beyond, we invite you to schedule a complimentary 20-minute Team Alignment Work Audit and explore how a focused alignment workshop can unlock stronger collaboration and measurable impact across your leadership team.
Warmly,
Lori & James
Lori Heffelfinger & James Jackman
Sources:
Jennifer Pellet. Economic Outlook 2026: ‘Uncertainty Is The New Certainty’. https://cfoleadership.com/economic-outlook-2026-uncertainty-is-the-new-certainty/ Accessed 1/9/2026.
Wagman, Nunes, Burrus, Hackman. 2008. Senior leadership teams: What it takes to make them great. https://6teamconditions.com/publications/senior-leadership-teams
