When alignment becomes an empty shell

 It’s one of the biggest illusions in modern organisations: “Everyone’s aligned.”

But when digging a little deeper, the mask quite rapidly slips. Alignment isn’t agreement. It is also not a shared purpose. In most cases, it’s just silence, powered by fear, overcommitment, and a lack of psychological safety.

I often partner with leadership teams who’ve invested heavily in agile structures, new governance models, and transformation frameworks. And yet something feels stuck. The processes are there, but energy is missing. Momentum sometimes feels fake. Engagement is polite, but nothing spectacular has changed. Nothing really moves unless it’s pushed.

So, what’s really going on here?

We frequently discover that while teams are doing agile, they’re not being aligned. At least not in the way that creates movement. Leaders are afraid to challenge their vision. Teams avoid conflict. No one names the elephants in the room. This kind of surface alignment is one of the most dangerous patterns in any change journey.

Why? Because it gives the illusion of progress. Meetings go smoothly. Dashboards look healthy. But underneath, teams are disconnected. From each other, from the shared purpose, and from the real impact of their work.

The cost of surface alignment

When alignment is reduced to agreement, we lose tension. And tension, and I do mean the healthy kind, is a creative force. It’s what sparks new ways of thinking, reveals blind spots, and surfaces the deeper questions that a change needs to succeed.

Without it, we get what we often see: smart people playing it safe. Innovation stalls or even dies. Culture turns into a KPI. And strategy becomes just another document instead of a lived, felt experience.

In one of our change journeys with a large international financial institution, this pattern became unmistakable. On paper, their strategic priorities were clear. They had invested in a new operating model, redesigned their governance structure, and introduced agile delivery teams.

But the human system hadn’t caught up yet. Leaders were tired. Teams were cautious. Conversations stayed shallow. There was no shared emotional connection to the vision. People had no reason to bring more than the bare minimum.

 This wasn’t resistance. It was disconnect.

From framework to feeling

We started by going upstream and focussed on people instead of processes. We invited the leadership team into a guided reflection programme rooted in the 7 Change Principles. This wasn’t about evaluating performance. It was about reconnecting to self.

We asked:

• What do you personally want to contribute to this organisation?
• Where does your personal purpose intersect with our shared mission?
• Where are you performing alignment instead of living it?

The answers weren’t polished. Some were even right out painful. But they were honest. And that honesty became the catalyst for a different kind of conversation. One where people started showing up as humans, not just roles.

Making alignment visible: Obeya as a living dialogue

Once the leadership team reconnected to purpose, we introduced visual governance through Obeya. This wasn’t a room full of charts. For them it became a living system. A space where purpose, strategy, and execution came together. 

With their Obeya, alignment became visible to them. Everyone could see how their work connected to the broader mission. But more importantly, it created a new rhythm of dialogue: not status updates, but sense-making. Not compliance, but commitment.

The board became a space where people didn’t just talk about metrics, they talked about meaning. They asked, “Is this still the right path?” They challenged each other. They adapted. And they did it together.

This is what real alignment looks like

The results? They weren’t measured in a week. But over time, we saw deeper engagement, faster decision-making, and something more intangible: trust. The kind of trust that allows a team to take risks, hold each other accountable, and move with real momentum.

This is the shift we aim for at Twinxter. Not alignment around the loudest voice, or the most urgent deadline. But alignment around a purpose people believe in. A reason to show up, even when it’s hard.

And I’ve seen this again and again:

• In a large international pharmaceutical company reconnecting siloed departments around shared patient outcomes.
• In a global HR team moving from fragmented initiatives to a unified, purpose-driven roadmap.
• In a public sector organisation reimagining leadership accountability from control to trust.

Each journey is different. But they all start with the same question: Are we aligned or just afraid to disagree?

A call to leaders: Be the first to go first

I believe real change starts when people are brave enough to break the pattern. To speak up when silence feels safer. To name the gap between what we say and how we act. 

Leadership isn’t about having the answers. It’s about inviting the questions. And when those questions are rooted in purpose, everything starts to shift.

If you're in a leadership position, take 10 minutes this week to reflect:

• What are we really aligned around right now?
• What conversations are we avoiding?
• Where am I playing it safe?

And most importantly: What kind of organisation do I want to leave behind?

At Twinxter, this is the heartbeat of our work. We help organisations not just to change, but to change with intention, integrity, and humanity.

 Because alignment isn’t a checkbox. It’s a choice. Every day.

 Learn more about our work at www.twinxter.com and www.twinxteracademy.com