Hey there,

Let’s start with a truth we all know:

“Disappointment is the gap between expectations and reality.”

And yet, we all fall into that trap—when goals are fuzzy, communication is spotty, and teams are left guessing.

That’s why the first foundation of effective execution is so important: Clarify Expectations.

Start with the Destination

If your team doesn’t know exactly what “winning” looks like this quarter, how can they hit the mark?

Align helps you set expectations in a way that’s visible, data-driven, and reinforced weekly.

Here’s how:

✅ 1. Use the Company Dashboard to define this quarter’s targets

Your organization should have 3–5 numbers that must be hit this quarter to stay on track for the year. These become your company’s scoreboard.

Make sure those numbers are clearly posted in your Company Dashboard. They’re your team’s north star—and they should never be a mystery.

✅ 2. Use Team Huddles to connect the dots

In your weekly huddles, bring in the data that shows where you stand:

• Critical Numbers: These are usually team-level lagging indicators tied to company goals.

• Leading Indicators: These show if you're on pace to hit those goals (things like sales calls, submitted proposals, etc.).

Here’s how to set up your KPIs for weekly tracking →

Come to Ask Align if you want hands-on live help!

✅ 3. Set the expectation: If it’s yellow or red, you talk about it

Build this habit across your team:

If your name is on a KPI and it’s not green, come ready to share your plan to fix it. 

This creates alignment, ownership, and consistent action—without surprises.

• Add an Action Plan section to your huddle and set expectations that it's filled out prior to the meeting for any yellow or red numbers. 

Takeaway:
Clear expectations build confident teams. The more visibility and context you give your people, the better they can execute—and the less often you’ll feel that “expectation gap.”

Next week, we’ll break down the second foundation: Give the Team the Tools. Until then, if you want to review all three steps in one place, review last week's email here: 
👉 Smart Moves Today, Big Wins Tomorrow

Ask Align Topic: Building out the Quarter

• Focus Topic: First 10 minutes will focus on best practices to build out your quarter. Talk through the best practices and what works for your specific company ...or ask questions about what you already have. 
• Open Q&A: The remaining time will be spent on open Q&A about any topic, feature, or even your individual account.  

Ask Align is the best way to get FREE technical training and Advisory services.  We also love hearing product feedback and success stories.  Help us help you!  Please give us your feedback to make Align Customer Success work for your needs.  Email advisor@aligntoday.com or share at Ask Align!

The Align Team

PS - We added a Weekly Tips and Tricks history page - check out past emails!

Do you find this newsletter helpful? Are there any topics you want us to cover? Reply with your feedback!