By Laura Hay, Senior Director of Global Program Management, Trax Technologies
Most organizations I work with are good at setting ambitious goals. Leadership agrees on where the business needs to go, the targets get set and everyone leaves the room with a sense of direction. The complicated part comes next. Those goals have to be translated into what needs to happen, who owns each part and how everyone works together to deliver it. That is where cross-functional alignment either holds a program together or lets it drift apart.
Execution is the area I'm most passionate about, because it sits at the heart of what I do. In a recent conversation on the Trax YouTube channel, I talk about leadership, AI and what's changing for businesses in 2026 and heading into 2027. Turning strategy into results was the part of that conversation I care about most.
Good Work in Isolation Can Still Sink a Program
Imagine three teams. One is focused on reducing costs, another on improving service and a third on implementing a new system by a deadline. Individually, each team might be doing an excellent job. If they aren't aligned around the same outcome, the overall program can still fail.
That challenge grows when you're working across departments, countries and time zones. In global organizations, something that seems relatively small in one part of the business can have a much bigger impact somewhere else. Procurement, finance, operations and leadership can't each make decisions in isolation and expect the overall business to perform well. We need the right people in the room, aligning together on the plan going forward.
Start Cross-Functional Alignment With Clarity
For me, it always goes back to clarity. Everybody involved needs to understand what we're trying to achieve and why it matters. They need to know what success looks like and what they specifically are accountable for.
Clarity also means being honest about what's changing, what we know and what we don't know yet. As a leader, you don't need to have every answer. People do need direction, and they need to know what the priorities are.
Part of giving direction is being realistic about trade-offs. You can't always have the lowest costs, the fastest delivery, the greatest flexibility and the lowest risk all at the same time. Leaders have to understand what matters most and make deliberate decisions about where they're prepared to compromise.
Build Structure Without Adding More Meetings
Once people know what they're working toward, they need some structure and accountability around it. That means clear milestones, regular communication, visibility of risks and a process for making decisions.
Structure should make sure the right conversations happen with the right people at the right time, without endless meetings for the sake of meetings. When those conversations happen on schedule, decisions get made while there are still good options on the table.
Make It Safe to Say Something Isn't Working
Too often, issues are allowed to develop because nobody wants to be the person who says that something isn't working. By the time the problem reaches leadership, your options may be much more limited.
That's why leaders need to create an environment where people feel comfortable raising problems early. It also means listening carefully when people push back. Sometimes what looks like resistance to change is someone highlighting a genuine problem that hasn't been considered. Sometimes it's someone who's already stretched and doesn't feel they have the time or support to take on something new. Either way, it's our responsibility as leaders to dig into that and understand whether it's something we can support, fix or move.
What Alignment Looks Like When It's Working
Good alignment looks like this: everyone understands the objective, has the opportunity to challenge and contribute, and then commits to moving forward once the decision has been made. People don’t have to agree on everything to get there.
You can have the best strategy and the best technology in the world. If your people don't understand it, don't trust it or don't know how to use it, you won't get the results you're looking for. Getting people aligned around the same outcome is how an ambitious goal becomes something the business can deliver.
Watch my full conversation above, and find more conversations like it on the Trax YouTube channel. If your procurement, finance and logistics teams are making transportation decisions from different sets of data, talk to Trax about building a shared view of your transportation spend.