How to Interpret Your Strategic Alignment Score
Why Your Score Matters
Completing the Strategy Simplified assessment is the first step toward creating a stronger, more aligned organization. But the real value comes from understanding your score—and knowing how to act on it.
Your score is designed to do more than label your company; it shows you where to focus for maximum impact.
Breaking Down the Overall Score
Your Overall Strategic Alignment Score reflects how well your organization’s goals, leadership, and operations work together. Here’s what each level means:
- Needs Work (Score Range: Low)Indicates significant misalignment. Departments may be operating in silos, communication is inconsistent, and strategic priorities aren’t fully understood.First step: Focus on your lowest-scoring lever and implement small, high-impact changes.
- Mostly Aligned (Score Range: Mid)Shows that alignment is strong in several areas but inconsistent in others. Your strategy may be clear at the leadership level but not fully cascaded across teams.First step: Strengthen communication channels and reinforce leadership engagement.
- Fully Aligned (Score Range: High)Suggests that your strategy is clear, embraced by leadership, and well integrated into daily operations.First step: Focus on maintaining alignment and scaling systems as you grow.
Understanding Your Lever Scores
The assessment breaks your score into four levers of control:
- Belief Systems: How well your company communicates purpose and values.
- Boundary Systems: Whether employees understand guardrails and decision-making frameworks.
- Diagnostic Controls: How effectively you track and measure progress.
- Interactive Controls: The strength of two-way communication and engagement across teams.
These scores pinpoint which areas need the most attention so you can take targeted action.
What to Do With Your Results
- Prioritize One Lever: Start by improving your weakest lever; alignment improves faster when you tackle one area at a time.
- Engage Your Leaders: Share results at the leadership level and assign ownership for changes.
- Cascade Insights: Break down department-specific scores and work with team leaders to create action plans.
- Reassess Regularly: Repeat the assessment quarterly or biannually to track progress.
Why This Matters
Organizations with high alignment scores consistently outperform competitors. They’re faster to adapt, clearer in their priorities, and better at engaging employees. By learning to interpret your score, you transform your results from a diagnostic snapshot into a strategic action plan.
🔗 Pro Tip: Pair your score with qualitative feedback. Ask employees why they rated certain areas low or high—context is just as important as data.
