Every thriving business needs a Unifier.
If you’re wondering, “What is that?” A Unifier brings teams together to elevate execution across all functions – think Chiefs of Staff, VPs of Operation, Chief Marketing Officers, etc. So how can they actually unify their teams when they have so many goals to tackle?
In our previous article, we discussed the goals (and challenges!) Unifiers have for 2024 and beyond. While we explained a few actionable tips, we want to dig deeper into those unification steps you can follow.
That’s why this article will explore the four critical steps needed to pivot your company away from disjointed efforts to become a unified, goal-driven team. We follow these exact steps when we help unify companies with Uniply.
Are you ready to transform the way you think about execution? If so, let’s begin.
The first and most important step is to rally your organization around your most important asset journey, i.e., the one that generates the most revenue.
What is an asset journey? We define it as the various phases your customer or product (AKA asset) goes through from “start to life” with your company.
Unifiers must capitalize on their company’s journey foundation to build the first version of that unified asset journey. Have the leaders in your organization who touch the journey, like product owners, marketing leaders, etc., add input for what needs to happen and when for the journey to be successful.
This gives you a foundation of what every execution step should look like. By capitalizing on your top revenue-generated journey and relevant expertise, you unlock unprecedented levels of performance across all functions.
Once you have laid out your journey, it’s time to get the sales and executive leadership team to add their input. This will get them to back the newly created journey, which is crucial for unifying execution across all levels of your company.
With leadership on board, now it’s time to put your journey through the ringer.
This phase is where the rubber meets the road. Run test drives, or “cohorts,” of your new journey phases. This allows you to scrutinize every part of your execution strategy.
By running cohorts, you're given the opportunity to:
Identify any execution gaps
Assess your metrics (What else can or should you measure for success?)
Ensure resources are allocated in the right places
Confirm the journey’s timelines as accurate
This step is a hands-on approach that brings to light the practicality of your journey. If you make any changes, make sure to run another cohort.
Tip: Incorporating a Unification Score during this step offers a quantifiable measure of how well your teams are aligned in their execution. This score is an invaluable benchmark for continuous improvement.
With your journey tested and finalized, the final step is to include everyone in the process. This way the journey does not solely get input from managers and the executive leadership team.
During this phase, make sure every teammate knows what their role in the journey is. Make sure your product is aligned with the rest of the team as well, not just the journey. Everyone should know what your product does. You might think this is obvious, but in our experience, it’s not always!
Then, the Unifier can answer any and all questions. This stage ends when there are no more questions and everyone is aligned.
Now that all functions have a “North Star” to march together to, it’s time to stop analyzing the journey and start doing it.
By following the outlined steps, Unifiers can pivot from fragmented efforts to a unified, goal-driven team. Keep in mind that mastering execution unification is not just a step-by-step process but a culture shift that requires dedication from every level.
If you are interested in having an execution journey master help you go through each of these steps, check out the Uniply team. There’s a reason why companies all over the world trust Uniply to unify their teams.
Learn more about how Uniply can help your team!