Diary of a Leader: How to Drive Team Alignment to Process
- Lindsay Sheldrake
- Apr 7
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 20
Welcome to "Diary of a Leader" - Real Stories, Leadership Lessons, and Personal Growth
Ah, leadership. It’s unpredictable, rewarding, and full of lessons you only learn by doing.
Welcome to Diary of a Leader—a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to lead high-performing teams and deliver results in project-based businesses.
Whether you’re scaling operations or managing the creative chaos, this space is for leaders who want to grow with clarity, confidence, and impact.
If you lead a design firm, agency, or service-based team, you’ve probably asked yourself:
Why does my team struggle to follow process—especially when it’s clearly defined?
As a Fractional COO and operations partner, I’ve seen this play out across creative teams of all shapes and sizes.
And today, I’m serving up a leadership lesson on how to drive team alignment to process—without micromanaging.
Why Team Alignment to Process Breaks Down
Let’s start with this: consistent process isn’t about control.
It’s about clarity.
When your team is aligned to how work gets done, everything flows more smoothly. Handoffs are cleaner. Expectations are clearer. Clients are happier.
But when process is skipped, loosely followed, or resisted altogether, you’ll start to feel the ripple effects:
Delayed timelines
Miscommunication
Friction between team members
Work slipping through the cracks
Sound familiar?
I’ve had leaders ask me, “We’ve trained the team. We’ve documented the steps. Why are only some people following it?”
The truth? It’s almost never just a process problem.
It’s an alignment problem.
The Real Conversation That Sparked This Post
A client recently shared this:
“We’re seeing files shared in Slack instead of ClickUp, naming conventions aren’t followed, and documents are landing in the wrong Dropbox folders. It’s mainly two people, but it’s creating friction for the whole team. I don’t want to police everyone. What else can I do?”
It’s a question I hear all the time. And here’s where I start:
How to Drive Team Alignment to Process
This comes down to more than training—it’s about trust, clarity, and accountability. Whether you’re implementing new systems or reinforcing old ones, understanding how to drive team alignment to process is key. These are the four alignment issues I see most often:
1. Is the process clear and accessible?
Before assuming resistance, ask:
Has it been clearly documented?
Is it easy to access and follow?
Was everyone trained—or just told?
If people can’t find the steps or forgot what they were, it’s not misalignment—it’s confusion.
2. The “Why” Wasn’t Communicated
People follow process when they believe in it.
If your team doesn’t understand how it connects to their day-to-day success, it won’t stick.
Example:
“When we follow this system, we can delegate faster, onboard easier, and deliver a consistent client experience.”
“When we don’t, we waste time, miss deadlines, and frustrate the people around us.”
Tie process to purpose—and let people see the impact.
3. It’s a Signal of Overload, Not Defiance
When process starts slipping, look upstream:
Is someone overloaded?
Did their role change?
Are they bouncing between too many priorities?
People don’t always opt out of process because they disagree.
Sometimes, they’re just trying to stay afloat.
And when that happens across multiple projects, the cracks start to show. Here’s what it looks like when project delivery begins to break down.
4. It’s a Values Misalignment
If someone consistently chooses their own path—even after support and context—it might not be a performance issue.
It could be a fit issue.
Are they aligned with your company values?
Do they respect shared standards?
When values misalign, trust and consistency break down too.
What True Team Alignment Looks Like
When your team is aligned to process, it’s not about perfection.
It’s about rhythm and trust.
Here’s what that looks like:
✔ Tools and systems are used consistently
✔ You spend less time correcting or reminding
✔ New hires ramp up faster
✔ Clients experience less variation and fewer surprises
The real benefit?
Your team spends more time creating value—and less time fixing preventable issues.
How to Realign Without Policing
If your team is slipping, don’t default to reminders. Instead:
Re-communicate the process—and the reason behind it
Anchor it in what matters to them and the team.
Create visibility into the ripple effects
Show what breaks down when the system isn’t followed.
Ask for feedback
“What’s making this hard to follow?” You may uncover something you can improve.
Tie it to performance
If someone consistently opts out, it’s not just a process issue—it’s a leadership moment. If you need to revisit how structure supports your workflow, this post offers a helpful starting point.
The Leadership Lesson
When your team doesn’t follow process, it’s not a failure.
It’s a signal.
Team alignment to process is about more than steps on a page.
It’s about building clarity, trust, and a shared commitment to doing things well.
And as a leader, your role is to:
Build systems that support your team
Connect them to real outcomes
Coach your team through resistance
And lead intentionally when alignment breaks
Because when everyone rows in the same direction—momentum builds fast.
Wrapping Up (Because Time is Precious)
Here’s the takeaway: process isn’t a tool for control.
It’s a tool for consistency, clarity, and collaboration.
And when your team believes in the systems you’ve built?
That’s when you stop managing chaos—and start scaling with confidence.
Catch you next time, fellow leaders-in-training.
And remember: leadership isn’t about enforcing rules.
It’s about empowering better work—together.
Want support creating systems your team actually follows?
Stay tuned for more real-world lessons on leadership, operational clarity, and successful project delivery in the next installment of Diary of a Leader—because leading teams and managing projects isn’t about doing it all; it’s about doing what matters, exceptionally well.
Commentaires