As a business leader working with technical teams, you may have experienced moments of friction or misalignment—where the business goals and technical efforts feel like they're pulling in opposite directions. This tug-of-war can be frustrating, but it’s also an opportunity to create stronger alignment between your vision and the work being done. Here’s an approach to help you bridge the gap and foster a more productive partnership with your technical leaders.
Start with the Business Vision
To align with your technical team, begin by clarifying the business vision. Make a list of key questions that define this vision, such as:
Who is our ideal customer?
Why would someone choose our product over the competition?
What feeling or impact is our product intended to create?
Where do we see ourselves in three, five, or even ten years?
These questions are the foundation of your vision and provide a roadmap for meaningful discussions with your technical lead.
Listen, Don’t Defend
Schedule a one-on-one conversation with your technical lead—whether they’re a CTO, founding engineer, contractor, or part of an outsourcing company. The goal of this meeting is to listen. Share your questions, take good notes, and identify any areas of misalignment without getting defensive or correcting answers. The aim is to understand where you and your technical lead are—or aren’t—on the same page.
Find and Close the Gaps
After these conversations, patterns of misalignment should become clear. These gaps might require more than just discussions; they may necessitate changes in priorities, team structures, or processes. Remember, your technical lead acts as a translator, converting your business vision into actionable strategies for their team. If their understanding of the vision is off, it can lead to miscommunication and inefficiency in execution.
Your role is to ensure they receive the vision clearly and consistently. Let them do their job of translating it into a technical strategy that supports your goals.
Make Alignment a Habit
Maintaining alignment isn’t a one-time effort. Schedule regular check-ins—quarterly, biannually, or as often as needed—to revisit the vision and ensure it still aligns with the evolving needs and goals of your company. This deliberate cadence helps prevent drift in values and objectives.
Need a Fresh Perspective?
If you need an unbiased, external perspective on challenges you’re facing—whether it’s with internal product development, outsourcing, or a third-party partnership. If you think this would be valuable, feel free to contact us for a discovery session.