From layoff to alignment: why I hire differently

I walked into a company that looked successful on the surface. Revenue was growing. Teams were expanding. But under the hood? People were exhausted. Not lazy. Not resistant. Just trying to hold it all together with no clear way to connect the dots. One department was behind on scheduling. Another was waiting on payments. Another couldn’t get answers from the field. I sat quietly in a team meeting where updates were shared, but no problems were being solved together. And I realized: The issue wasn’t performance. It was perspective. So we didn’t start with fancy tools. We started with one powerful question: “What does success actually look like — and who needs to be in sync to make that happen?” From that one question, we created clarity. We mapped out responsibilities. We opened up safe space for collaboration. And suddenly: ✔️ Payments moved faster. ✔️ Teams supported each other. ✔️ Friction gave way to flow. That’s what alignment does. It doesn’t demand more from people. It gives people the clarity and confidence to do their best work — together. If your team feels stuck, the answer might not be more pressure. It might be more connection. Ready to explore how alignment could transform your workflow, culture, or client experience?