Over the years, after working with dozens of clients and hundreds of professionals in product, tech, and design, one thing has become glaringly obvious: there’s a pervasive frustration that comes from a lack of alignment. You think you’re making progress, working on tasks that should move the needle, but then you look around and see others engaged in work that feels completely out of sync. It’s not that people aren’t working hard—far from it. But when intentions and goals aren’t aligned, it leads to chaos and inefficiency. Everyone ends up retreating into their own silos, tackling problems that might be challenging but aren’t necessarily moving the business forward.

Here’s the thing: when people don’t know exactly what they’re supposed to be working toward, they default to protecting their time and sanity. They focus on problems that feel important to them, but these are often more about personal satisfaction than about driving real results. It’s like getting absorbed in a tough Sudoku puzzle—mentally engaging, sure, but not really the kind of work that’s going to push the company ahead.

This misalignment issue gets even more pronounced as companies grow. When you’re small, it’s simple: there’s work to be done, so you do it. But as you scale, something shifts. Suddenly, there’s a gap between the people who request work and the people who do it. The act of requesting work becomes easier, and often more desirable, than the hard work of actually getting it done. And here’s where it gets tricky: in most organizations, the requester holds more power. Everyone starts jockeying to be the one who delegates rather than the one who executes.

This creates a toxic dynamic. People throw out requests without much thought, because they don’t feel responsible for the clarity or feasibility of what they’re asking. They’re not the ones who have to figure out how to get it done, after all. Meanwhile, the people tasked with execution—often the most talented individuals—are left dealing with poorly defined tasks that don’t feel connected to any meaningful goals.

When I talk to organizations wrestling with this, the same desires keep coming up: more ideas, more productivity, more throughput. But the real problem isn’t a lack of tools or creativity. It’s that there’s no clear process for how work is created, assigned, and completed. There’s also a big imbalance in expectations: we demand rigor and precision from those who do the work, but we let the requesters off the hook.

So how do you fix this? First, you’ve got to focus on a small set of key metrics—no more than five. These should be the guideposts for every decision about what work gets done. Have conversations about how activities connect to these metrics, document those conversations, and stay focused on what really matters.

Second, rethink how your teams are structured. Small, autonomous teams are the way to go. Even in a large organization, you can break things down into smaller units that operate independently. This approach cuts down on noise, keeps everyone aligned, and ensures that the work being done is actually moving the company forward.

In the end, it’s all about creating an environment where people are aligned, focused, and working on what truly matters. When you do that, the frustration melts away, and the real progress begins.