Better understand why someone isn't behaving the way we want/expect. Avoid blaming behaviour gaps on the wrong thing (like lack of motivation, disipline, work ethic, sense of responsibility, ambition, intuition, or intelligence).
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People with diverse cultural backgrounds may have different approaches and norms for behavior. For example, a team member from an individualistic culture may prioritize personal achievements over collective goals, leading to misalignment.
Employees may lack belief in the organization's direction or top-level objectives. For instance, an organization's strategy, as mandated by the board, may not align with the beliefs or convictions of a leader, causing her to pull the organization in a different direction.
The employee might not be aligned with the employer in terms of the purpose of their role, the responsibilities it contains, the mandate it envolves and the mastery it requires. This can result in disagreements or bartering around the actual scope or title of the role.
When misaligned behavior is not consistently addressed, accountability gaps arise. For example, if a leader fails to provide constructive feedback or consequences for not meeting expectations, team members may perceive it as tacit acceptance of misalignment.
Leaders may hesitate to set clear expectations due to a fear of conflict, encroaching on autonomy, or for fear of being perceived as unreasonable. This can result in ambiguous or loosely defined expectations that lead to misalignment.
No single source of truth in which behavioural expectations are kept, maintained and aligned with employees.
If there are no positive consequences of adhering to the expectation (or no negative consequences of not adhering to it) we are relying solely on people's intrinsic motivation, self-disipline or sense of duty in order for the expectation to be upheld.
Lack of decision-making in defining mastery, expected behavior, and priorities can contribute to misalignment. For instance, if a team's success criteria are not clearly communicated, team members may have differing interpretations of what constitutes success.
Failure to establish a shared understanding of what is considered reasonable and right within the organization can lead to behavioral misalignment. For example, if the organization's values are not clearly communicated and reinforced, individuals may behave in ways that contradict those values.
Failure to clearly assign expectations to the roles and individiuals expected to tend to them. For example, if the responsibility for learning is not clearly delegated between leaders, employees and faciliators, there might be very little actual learning going on.
Leaders don't know how to approach behaviour problems, and which steps to take in which order.
Leaders are unable to break down what is seen as undesired behaviour into the specific organizational expectactations of mastery, behaviour and priorities which are not being met.
Lack of clarity in relation to where my role and responsibilities ends and the role of others begins can lead to confusion and finger-pointing.
Lack of clarity in relation to what I should prioritize now in terms of execution, self development, team development and organizational development can cause confusion and lack of focus.
Team members may lack sufficient familiarity or comfort with the expectations set for them. For instance, new employees who have not received proper onboarding or training may struggle to align their behavior with organizational expectations.
Leaders may be unaware of how familiar or comfortable their team members are with expectations and where they need support. This can result in a lack of tailored guidance and assistance, impeding alignment efforts.
Leaders may not understand what is keeping certain individuals from reliably practicing a certain behaviour (see reliable practice).
People may not have identified the emotional and cognitive blockers within the individual that prevents them from complying with expectations (see developmental blockers).
Insufficient support provided to individuals in their efforts to improve familiarity and align their behavior can hinder progress. For example, if employees lack access to necessary resources or mentoring, they may struggle to meet expectations.
If employees are not provided with the necessary skills and knowledge through effective training programs, they may face challenges in aligning their behavior with expectations.
Inadequate tools and processes for aligning individuals with new or updated expectations can impede progress. For instance, a lack of communication channels or collaboration platforms may hinder effective alignment efforts.
Lack of capacity as a result of overwork or being spread too thin may cause an inability to complete or prioritize all behaviour expectations. For example if employees have been given too many roles, responsibilities or projects.
Without the proper haibits in place, maintaining behaviour alignment relies increasingly on the memory, energy, motivation and self-disipline of individuals.
Without a system in place to ensure the right things are done in the right way at the right time, misalignment can persist. For example, if there is no standardized process for monitoring and reinforcing behavior, deviations from expectations may go unnoticed.
Without a systematic approach for communicating and aligning people with new or updated expectations, misalignment can arise. For instance, if changes in expectations are communicated inconsistently or not effectively cascaded throughout the organization, individuals may remain unaware of the desired behavior.
Lack of clarity regarding work progress and outcomes can contribute to misalignment. For example, if employees are unclear about the status of their work or the impact of their behavior on overall goals, alignment efforts may be compromised.