Alignment Isn't Agreement

Alignment gets mistaken for agreement more often than it should.

Agreement means everyone thinks the same approach is best. Alignment means everyone knows what problem we’re solving and who owns which part of it.

I’ve observed coordination efforts stall not because people disagreed, but because they never tested whether their nodding meant the same thing. Someone says “we’re aligned” and everyone moves forward. Then three weeks later, two agencies are building incompatible solutions because “aligned” meant something different to each of them.

Real alignment doesn’t feel comfortable. Someone challenges your approach and it doesn’t feel like betrayal. You both know you’re working toward the same outcome, even when you’d solve it differently.

The test isn’t whether people agree with your method. It’s whether they understand what you’re solving for.

Most coordination theater happens because leaders confuse politeness with alignment. Everyone nods. No one wants to be the person who surfaces the conflict. Then people leave the meeting and do what they were planning anyway.

Coordination doesn’t require consensus. It requires clarity about what we’re actually doing and why.