No Amount of Efficiency Saves a Misaligned Team

I’ve worked with companies that swear their biggest problem is inefficiency.

They start rearranging the org chart, investing in new systems, documenting everything to death, and instituting or enforcing stricter processes.

But the hard truth is that nine times out of ten, they’re wrong, and they’re not going to get to where they want to go because they’re trying to solve the wrong problem.

It’s not an efficiency issue—it’s a human issue.

What they’re really facing is misalignment:

• Misalignment between values and behaviors

• Misalignment between leadership styles and employee needs

• Misalignment between what’s said and what’s experienced

When people aren’t aligned—when there’s distrust, disconnection, unclear expectations, or unspoken resentment—no system or process will fix that.

Culture isn’t fluff.

If you’re trying to solve emotional and relational dysfunction with operational tools, you’re not optimizing—you’re rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

So before you rewrite your SOPs, ask yourself: Are we even rowing in the same direction?