strategic alignment is a scam

Strategic alignment is a scam.

Everyone nods. No one moves.

This one’s about the illusion of agreement—and how to spot it, and stop it, before your project dies.

If you know someone whose team is “aligned” and absolutely going nowhere, forward it (gently).

You’ve aligned. Strategically, structurally, maybe even spiritually (no judgement).
There was a plan. A deck. A thumbs-up.
Everyone nodded. Someone probably said, “This feels good.”

And now?
Nothing.

No updates. No momentum. Just a quiet group performance of mutual avoidance.

Technically, you’re aligned.
Emotionally? You’re all standing at the edge of the pool, waiting for someone else to jump.

This is pluralistic ignorance.
Everyone’s thinking the same thing, “Is anyone actually going to do this?” but assumes they’re the only one thinking it.

Add a little risk diffusion, some light social loafing, and you’ve got the perfect conditions for nothing to happen, indefinitely.

Strategic alignment sounds like progress.
But unless someone has something real on the line, it’s just a very well-lit illusion.

Because no one wants to be the first to act.
And absolutely no one wants to be the first to fail.

So next time you hear, “We’re aligned,” try asking this instead:

What are we actually committing to?
Who’s moving first?
And what are we all quietly pretending is decided, that’s very much still on fire?

Until next time,
– Ann-Louise

Optional reading (if you’re still with me):

You’ve probably seen this before, not in theory, but in the wild.
Alignment that looks great on a slide, but dies in the shared doc.

Where this shows up:

• The Notion board everyone agreed on, but no one touches

• The AI-generated meeting summary that commits no one

• The “next steps” list where every item says “circle back”

• The Slack thread with ten emoji reactions and zero decisions

• The “quick sync” scheduled to avoid admitting nothing’s moving

How to break the pattern (ask yourself):

"What’s one thing I’m assuming someone else is doing but haven’t actually confirmed?"

Or, if you're using AI in your workflow, try this prompt:

Prompt: List 3 signs a project looks aligned but isn’t actually moving. Then suggest 3 questions I could ask to create real accountability without blaming anyone.

Small shift. Real friction. Actual movement.

Behaviorally speaking:

This isn’t just inertia. It’s a classic case of pluralistic ignorance, a concept first coined by Floyd Allport and Daniel Katz in 1931. It describes a group dynamic where everyone privately disagrees with the situation but assumes everyone else is on board. So they stay quiet. And nothing changes.

Add in social loafing (the larger the group, the less individual accountability), first studied by Max Ringelmann in the early 1900s, and you’ve got a perfect storm of performative agreement with zero movement.

And finally, diffusion of responsibility, first explored in the 1960s by social psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley, explains why no one jumps first. Everyone assumes someone else will.

Put together, these effects don’t just slow things down, they stall them completely while everyone keeps smiling and nodding.