Question 3 from the 5 Questions Every Firm Leader Should Be Asking This Spring
Most firms have a vision.
A growth goal.
A strategy on paper.
But that doesn't mean everyone is aligned, and when they're not, even the best ideas struggle to get off the ground.
Are we aligned internally on where we're going, and how we'll get there?
It's a question that sounds simple. But inside many firms, the answer is often less clear than anyone realizes.
What Misalignment Looks Like
Inside accounting firms, misalignment doesn’t always look like disagreement. More often, it shows up as silence, assumptions, or siloed ownership.
Here’s what it typically looks like:
Partners agree on the destination… but not on the path or priorities
A new service gets assigned to someone already leading a full book of business
Marketing is expected to promote something they don’t have the knowledge or systems to support
Operations is asked to enable growth, but their current structure wasn't designed for it
Initiatives get traction in pockets , but never get true firm-wide lift
The firm knows where it wants to go, but the how is fuzzy.
Roles are unclear. Priorities are assumed. And no one's quite sure what needs to happen first.
It's not dysfunction - it's drift.
The kind that happens when there's no clear structure for collaboration, shared accountability, or cross-functional execution.
What Alignment Really Means
Alignment isn’t just agreement.
It’s shared clarity, ownership, and follow-through across the firm.
It's not just about agreeing on goals, it's about creating a realistic path to get there, with the right people, timing, and tools to make execution possible.
Ask yourself:
Do we agree on the direction and what matters most right now?
Are the people responsible for execution involved early enough to shape the plan?
Are departments like Marketing and Ops structured to support the firm's goals?
Is there a rollout plan in place or is everything layered on top of what already exists?
Alignment also includes mindset.
If some leaders are in “growth mode” and others are focused on maintaining what’s working today, you’ll feel it, and so will your team.
Firms that get this right don’t just move faster, they build momentum that sticks.
Final Thought.....
When everyone knows where the firm is going and how their work connects to getting there, things get a lot clearer (and a lot less frustrating).
If your firm has the vision, but the "how" keeps getting lost in the day-to-day, this is the question to start asking.