Organisational Alignment System
Stop firefighting and start leading with clarity.
The Team Alignment Canvas is a one-page tool to help you cut through the chaos and get your team working to a clear, shared plan.
The Team Alignment Canvas is used around the world.
The Team Alignment Canvas is a free one-page tool that creates clarity, connection and alignment across any team. Used by leaders around the world – from global organisations to small businesses and not-for-profits – it helps teams unify around purpose, values, goals and roles to build momentum and deliver results.
The Team Alignment Canvas makes it possible to:
The Organisational Alignment System
One system. Three levels. Every role connected.
A simple set of six questions get asked at every level of an organisation. The Team Alignment Canvas answers them for the organisation as a whole, and then again for each of the groups and teams within it. The Personal Alignment Canvas answers them for each individual role.
Which means nobody starts from a blank page. Every box on a person’s canvas has a parent somewhere on your team’s canvas, so their answers are anchored to yours before they start. You give them the starting points and they take it from there.
This is what creates connection and alignment across an entire organisation: it aligns and engages. Which gets everbody pushing harder, in the same direction.
Level 1
The organisation.
The organisation answers the six questions for itself – its purpose, its values, how it will succeed, what it does, who does what and where it’s going over the next 5 to 10 years.
Team Alignment Canvas • Strategic Planning Toolkit • One Day Planning Workshop
Level 2
Groups and teams.
Each group and team then answers the same six questions for itself, working from the level above. Its ‘Who does what?’ box names every role in the team and each of those entries becomes the starting point for the level below.
Team Alignment Canvas • Team Planning Toolkit • One Day Planning Workshop
Level 3
Every person.
Everyone who doesn’t lead a team of their own answers the six questions for their role. Their purpose starts life as their entry in your ‘Who does what?’ box, and ends up as a statement of why the role exists and who’s better off for it. Anyone who does lead a team gets a Team Alignment Canvas instead.
“The Team Alignment Canvas gives us a clear definition of our purpose, values, direction, responsibilities and success strategies, on a single page”
Tony Usher
General Manager, Gambara
See the Team Alignment Canvas in action.
We’ve completed a sample canvas for a few well-known organisations to show how the Team Alignment Canvas brings structure and clarity to complex missions. Each example is built using the six-question framework at the heart of the canvas – showing how any team can cut through the noise and align around what matters.
Purposeful, respected, values-driven.
Built around environmental activism and product longevity, Patagonia integrates mission into every part of its business – including how it prioritises and grows.
Visionary, ambitious, accountable.
As a publicly funded agency with a 60-year legacy, NASA must balance long-term exploration goals with near-term missions, risk management and global visibility.
Global, diversified, purpose-driven.
With operations in over 190 countries, Unilever balances global strategy with local execution – all while embedding sustainability into how it grows.
Toolkits to help you work through the canvas, together.
The Team Alignment Canvas is a powerful standalone tool – and it’s just the beginning. For teams ready to take the next step, our suite of toolkits is designed to help you run structured workshops that guide you through each section of the canvas, together. Whether you’re crafting strategy, aligning your team or setting up for quarterly execution, these proven resources offer practical guidance every step of the way.
Strategic Planning Toolkit.
Align your leadership team around a clear, shared direction. A proven process to define your purpose, prioritise what matters and build a one-page plan your whole organisation can get behind.
Team Planning Toolkit.
Help individual teams connect to the bigger picture. Designed for team leaders to translate organisational strategy into clear team-level plans with shared goals, team dynamics and a roadmap for contribution.
Quarterly Planning Toolkit.
Keep strategy alive week to week. Set quarterly priorities, track progress and review what’s working – so your team stays focused, agile and aligned throughout the year.