Your project team is divided on the ideal digital strategy. How can you align everyone towards a common goal?

Revisiting the company goals can help align the whole organization (that’s what they’re there for), so align your digital strategy to those. Sit down with your marketing team and look at each piece of the strategy. Where does each channel align to the company goal? What has worked well in the past? What has produced less of a result? Take notes. Create a chart as a visual representation of those content pieces and goals, and add it to a location where everyone can see and be reminded.

Clarify the project's overall goals and the specific outcomes you want to achieve with the digital strategy. Start with a workshop or meeting where all team members can contribute to defining the project’s goals. Ensure everyone understands the business objectives, target audience, and key performance indicators (KPIs) that will measure success. In a past project, we began with a brainstorming session where team members shared their visions for success. This helped unify the team by highlighting common goals and addressing any discrepancies early on.

When your project team is divided on the ideal digital strategy, aligning everyone toward a common goal starts with understanding the core objectives. Begin by facilitating a discussion where each team member articulates their vision of success. This process helps surface underlying priorities and concerns. Once the goals are clear, map out how different strategic options align with these objectives. By connecting individual ideas to the bigger picture, you can foster a sense of shared purpose. This alignment process encourages collaboration and ensures that everyone is working toward the same outcome, even if their approaches differ.

Establish a clear vision and define objectives - you can't go anywhere until you do this! Start by clearly articulating the overall vision of the digital strategy and explain how it aligns with the broader goals of the organisation. Next, set specific objectives - break down the vision into specific, measurable objectives. Ensure that these objectives are understood by everyone on the team and demonstrate how they contribute to the overall strategy.

When your project team is divided on the ideal digital strategy, aligning everyone towards a common goal begins with assessing the skills and expertise within the team. Understanding each member's strengths allows you to delegate tasks that best match their capabilities, ensuring that everyone contributes effectively to the strategy. From my experience, facilitating open discussions where team members can share their perspectives also helps bridge gaps. By leveraging the collective skills of the team, you can create a strategy that everyone feels confident in and aligned with, ultimately leading to a more cohesive approach.

Identify the strengths and weaknesses within the team to leverage the right skills for the project. Conduct a skills assessment to understand each team member’s expertise and how it can be applied to the project. This can involve self-assessment surveys or discussions about past experiences and successes. I once worked on a project where we used a skills matrix to map out team capabilities. This allowed us to allocate roles effectively and ensure everyone was working to their strengths, which increased productivity and morale.

Foster open communication to understand different perspectives and ideas. Hold regular meetings and create an environment where team members feel comfortable voicing their opinions. Use tools like collaborative platforms or brainstorming sessions to facilitate discussion. In a project involving diverse stakeholders, we used a shared online workspace where team members could post ideas and feedback asynchronously. This approach encouraged continuous dialogue and helped surface valuable insights that might have been missed in formal meetings.

Communication is key! Facilitate open communication - Create a space for open discussion where team members can voice their opinions and concerns. This helps to surface differing views and enables constructive debate. Listen to feedback - Ensure that all voices are heard, especially those that may be in the minority. Understanding the rationale behind different perspectives can lead to more informed decision-making.

Focus on high-impact activities that align with the project's goals. Develop a priority list of tasks based on their potential impact and feasibility. Use frameworks like the Eisenhower Matrix or MoSCoW method to help prioritize effectively. During a campaign launch, we used a prioritization workshop to identify which digital channels and tactics would have the most significant impact. This approach helped streamline efforts and avoid spreading the team too thin across multiple initiatives.

Adapt the strategy as needed to respond to new information or changes in the market. Implement a flexible planning approach, such as Agile or Lean methodologies, that allows for iterative development and frequent reassessment of the strategy. In a fast-paced digital marketing campaign, we adopted Agile principles, conducting weekly sprints and retrospectives. This flexibility allowed us to quickly adjust tactics based on real-time data and emerging trends.

Continuously evaluate the strategy's effectiveness and make necessary adjustments. Set up regular check-ins to review progress against goals and KPIs. Use analytics tools to gather data and insights, and be prepared to pivot if the strategy isn’t delivering the desired results. In a project aimed at increasing online engagement, we held monthly reflection sessions where we reviewed analytics and feedback. This process helped us identify areas for improvement and ensure the strategy remained aligned with evolving goals.

Emphasise the importance of collaboration and flexibility. Promote collaboration - actively encourage collaboration between different team members and departments. This can lead to more innovative solutions and a sense of shared ownership. Flexibility is key - be open to adjusting the strategy as new information emerges or circumstances change. Flexibility can help maintain alignment over time.