5 Steps to Vertical Alignment at Work

At work, you deal with so many people from all over the organization chart—up, down, sideways, and diagonal—that in order to keep your priorities straight and set yourself up for success, you must align yourself vertically along the way. You need to know clearly where you have discretion and where you don’t. The only place to get that clarity is from above.

There is often valuable information not being communicated up or down the chain of command.

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When you don’t know an answer, you’d better check with your boss. Over time, you will get the answers to many recurring questions, and you’ll learn more about the organization’s overarching objectives and policies, ground rules, politics, and standing marching orders. The more you check, upfront and in advance, before proceeding, the more situational awareness you’ll gain—and the less likely you’ll be apprehended going in the wrong direction.

The same goes for your direct reports. You must align with them so they understand their marching orders and have the authority to make choices and get their work done.

Vertical alignment is your anchor because:

• If nine times out of 10, you already know exactly what your boss (and your boss’s boss) would say, you have a lot more power to work sideways (and diagonally) to communicate, decide, and take action—with confidence. That power comes from managing up.
• If nine times out of 10, your direct reports already know exactly what you (and your boss) would say, then they have a lot more power, too. That’s the power you give your direct reports by managing down.
• It is also much easier to deal with sideways and diagonal colleagues who ensure their own vertical alignment with their own bosses and direct reports. Otherwise, you may think you are making decisions and taking action with colleagues at your own level, only to find that they were never empowered to do business with you in the first place. While you can’t control that, you can try to check upfront.

You will likely find there is a lot of valuable information not being communicated up or down the chain of command. When you gather and share intel, you are telling your boss that you care about how your job fits into the organization, and you are showing your direct reports that you care about their experience and perspective and value what they are learning.

Five simple steps to achieving vertical alignment

Here are some suggestions to get started.

1. Get regular updates from even higher up in the organization.

Ask your boss for regular updates about key decisions made at a higher level, especially when there are any changes in high-level priorities, personnel, policies, procedures, systems, or resource allocations.

2. Understand what affects you, what to share, and what’s confidential.

Make sure you understand how any changes might affect your planning or that of your direct reports. Clarify what information is meant to be kept confidential, at least for now, and what information and messages should be communicated systematically down the chain of command to your peers and direct reports.

3. Report on important developments for you or your team.

At the same time, keep your boss informed of any important developments or reportable facts you observe at your level or learn from your peers or direct reports. That will help your boss see around the corner any upcoming risks, challenges, needs, or opportunities you perceive on the front lines.

4. Tell your boss about current and anticipated issues.

Keep your boss apprised of what’s going on in your other dialogues with your own subordinates and other colleagues, if you have any. Are you dealing with or anticipating any personnel issues? Performance problems? Conflict on the team? Superstars who may need special rewards? Staffing-level changes? Training needs? Other resource issues?

5. Establish the same communication habits with your colleagues and direct reports.

If you are someone’s boss, make sure you are driving the same kind of intelligence gathering and sharing conversations with your direct reports. Don’t become so insulated in intelligence you cannot control that you leave your team hanging. They are relying on you to provide guidance, direction, and support every step of the way.