Providing a clear Line of Sight - a key job of leadership

A “line of sight” means that everyone is able to describe how their current work is part of the larger vision and the organization's core strategies.

Many organizations have an annual process to create goal alignment that cascades down the organization. Such a top-down approach is helpful but incomplete as it typically improves clarity–but shortchanges adaptability.

In a dynamic environment, direction that is too rigid constrains innovation and experimentation. Yet innovation and experimentation tends to wander off course without a clear structure to test against. Both lead to rationalizing failures as due to unforseen circumstances.

So how do you accommodate the need for top-down clarity
and bottom-up innovation?

Signet shows leaders how to build alignment throughout cascading priorities, and find the balance between rigid alignment and situational reactivity—by building the habit of separating the what from the how. This allows an emphasis on intended results and measures on one hand, and on the other, deliberately innovating against the leader’s intent (using Emergent Learning practices built into the execution).

For a more in-depth look at how your organization's structures and norms shape its level of agility, take a look at our self-scoring FREE Organizational Agility Assessment.

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