Team alignment for a new budget or plan
The new annual budget and updated strategy have been approved and landed on your desk.
It's budget season, and most Councils have adopted their new annual budget – and maybe an updated Council Plan - with new initiatives and priorities for the year. You've read it. You understand it. Now you need your team to understand it too. Not just what's changed, but what it means and how it matters.
We often hear that leaders need to "align the team". The advice is sound, but it rarely explains how.
For many years I led the corporate strategy function in a Victorian Council, responsible for developing and cascading a new plan to the organisation, and with my own team. Sometimes conversations stopped at the new priorities and what got funded.
But a good conversation also helps the team answer: Why does this matter? What does it mean for us? It’s about sharing facts and information. It’s also about exploring purpose and contribution; making sense of what’s committed and where there’s still scope for influence; and creating space for opportunities and concerns.
Alignment isn't about presenting more information. It's about helping people make sense of change. In my experience, one well-designed team discussion can do far more than a dry presentation or email.
Getting aligned - what’s changed, why it matters and what it means. Photo: Diwei Zhu, Unsplash
Three conversations that build alignment
One team meeting or short workshop, and three questions to work through together.
1. What's changed - Starting with the facts before moving to interpretation. What's different from last year, what's stayed the same, and where decisions have already been made - for both the organisation and the team. The goal is to help people understand context before jumping to action.
Some useful questions to explore with the team:
Looking at this year’s budget and plan, what feels most significant?
What’s fixed, and what can we influence?
2. Why it matters - Connect the changes to what the organisation is trying to do. Consider what the new plan or budget is telling us about priorities and the outcomes the organisation and our team want to achieve. This is where strategy becomes meaningful as people move from knowing what changed to understanding the intent behind it.
Some things you could consider with the team:
What challenges or opportunities is council responding to? What priorities are shifting?
What value the organisation is trying to create, and what would success look like to us, the organisation and customers?
3. What it means for us - Connect the change and why it matters to the team. Once people understand the changes and the reasoning behind them, the conversation can shift to action – not immediately updating delivery plans but understanding what this means in reality for the team, their work and services.
Some things to ask:
How could we contribute to organisation goals - and what might this mean for our planning, how we work, and what we're each responsible for?
What do we need to continue, change or stop, or pay closer attention to?
How will we work together, and with others, over this next year?
The role of leaders
Budgets and strategy documents are artefacts. Part of what brings them to life is the conversation - helping teams make sense of what's changed, why it matters, options, and what will do about it. Done well, people feel connected to goals and purpose, with a sense of their own role and contribution. And over time, teams can interpret progress, identify alternatives, reshape responses, and make better decisions together.
When teams understand both the destination and the reason for the journey, they're better equipped for implementation and to make good decisions along the way. It’s not a one-off conversation, but an ongoing one.
Something to consider
What would it take to move your next team conversation or meeting from information-sharing to genuine understanding?