The Leadership Alignment Model

The Leadership Alignment Model

Nothing is ever constant, except change.

Over the years we have observed various companies at differing stages of health as they strive to deal with problems presented when moving from easy times to hard times. What we have noticed is how the attitudes of the top executive team determine whether their company will be able to ride out a storm and emerge a strong contender.

During the growth in the IT market it was relatively easy to grow a healthy business, and in some parts of the retail sector growth has been as easy as deciding where to open the next store, or how to develop wider brand awareness. The finance industry has also had its easy years as people seek increasing security and extra cash to fund a better lifestyle. But times change and companies must learn to adapt to change.

When you observe companies making a journey through tough times, it is clear that the common ingredient that all the winners have is great leadership.


Some time ago we had the privilege of working with a major UK government department to help them redefine leadership and to reappraise how they develop and encourage leaders. Faced with considerable challenges by the environment in which they operate and by their political masters, this department has decided that leadership is one of the keys to the achievement of the vision laid down by its chief.

We consulted widely with senior managers, and we shared the output of extensive enquiry amongst the bulk of the population of over 20,000 people. We exposed the senior managers to different models of leadership; we helped them to envisage the type of leadership required in their particular context, and we provoked them to identify the strengths and shortfalls of their current leadership style. In a lengthy series of drafts and re-drafts we worded as precise a description of leadership as we could whilst trying to meet the needs of all interested parties. For all the effort that went into this description it is glaringly obvious that the value of the exercise six months, one year or two years further on has little to do with words.
Exercise