Success for Who?

The best coordination meetings start with one question: “What does success look like for you?”

Not for the project. For you. For your team. For your agency.

Because if your definition of success creates their definition of failure, you don’t have alignment. You have a timer counting down.

Stakeholder alignment isn’t about getting everyone to want the same thing. That’s not realistic. Different agencies have different priorities. It’s about surfacing where those priorities diverge so you can address the incompatibility before it becomes a crisis.

Most leaders avoid this conversation. They think if they don’t acknowledge the conflict, it won’t exist. The conflict exists anyway. It just waits until you’re too committed to change course.

Surface the tension early. Name what’s incompatible. Find out where someone has to lose before you’ve promised everyone they’ll win.

Coordination built on unspoken conflict isn’t coordination. It’s postponed failure with a meeting schedule.