The UNITE Team Alignment model visually demonstrates different ways of creating alignment in a team and their implications.
The package
The case
In an innovation team, we want everyone to be moving the project forward. Still, at the same time, the freedom and autonomy necessary for innovation require that individuals are not micromanaged (!) . So how can we balance these two principles? This model shows us how.
The mechanics
When we think about how to make progress towards a goal, there are two factors to consider, alignment and autonomy. When we have low autonomy and low alignment, it results in micromanaging. Individuals neither have the freedom to work independently nor do they understand the purpose behind the work they do. Obviously, this is not going to work to produce true innovation.However, you can’t just boost one of the two factors. Autonomy without alignment leads to chaos. Everyone is doing their own thing, and some of those things may be productive, but they do not lead to a collective move forward. Similarly, if we increase alignment but not autonomy, we end up with a hierarchical command structure. Everyone understands what is being done and why, but there is not enough individual autonomy to think of new and different ways of achieving the same goal. When you increase autonomy and alignment, however, a self-organizing group forms that understands the overall goal and is enabled to work independently and creatively to achieve that very goal.
The purpose
What is the goal of the model?
Balancing freedom and progress. When we structure a team around a clear purpose and values, we can ensure that everyone is pulling in the same direction without yoking them to a hierarchical model that stifles their creativity.
What people say
Richard Cobie, CEOReviewed on 15 July 2022
★★★★★Recommended as a purchase, worth the investment!
I completely re-evaluated the role of innovation in business growth: before reading this book I have to admit I thought it only entailed product new features and technologies enhancements, while now I see it has everything to do with meeting customer needs and uncovering a business USP, which automatically translates in sales! Could not recommend it more!
Janette Lavalier, Innovation Professor and ConsultantReviewed on 15 July 2022
★★★★★Recommended as a purchase, worth the investment!
Unlike most business innovation books I read over the last years (and even decades) when reading How to create innovation you immediately understand the authors have been there, innovating and transforming some of the world’s most amazing brands. Great work!
Karl Meckel, Change Development ManagerReviewed on 18 July 2022
★★★★★Recommended as a purchase, worth the investment!
Not only this book offers the most comprehensive innovation and business change overview but it really helps you take the next step, driving you step by step from theory to practice (also with super useful background notes and driving questions)
Franz Hellstrom, Head of CultureReviewed on 2 Aug 2022
★★★★★Recommended as a purchase, worth the investment!
I really enjoyed the whole book, but mostly the culture chapter, mainly because I always failed to acknowledge its major role in favouring or inhibiting business growth. Loved the graphics that helped connect all the dots in a visually appealing (and way easier) way.
Satoru Fukuda, Chief Strategy OfficerReviewed on 13 Aug 2022
★★★★★Recommended as a purchase, worth the investment!
We’been willing to innovate our business for some years now, but then we always got stuck before we even started, because basically we had no idea where to start…This book helped us do just that: find the right starting point with guiding questions and an incredibly comprehensive innovation overview.
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In practice
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