We are highly aligned at the leadership level, but our middle managers have no idea what our strategic Rocks are. How do we cascade our V/TO® alignment down to the rest of the company?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To bridge the gap between your leadership team and your middle managers, you must implement a structured cascading communication plan. Alignment does not happen by accident or through a single email.

Cascading Your V/TO®

• Quarterly State-of-the-Company Meeting: Use this meeting to share the high-level points of your V/TO® (Vision/Traction Organizer). Walk the entire staff through your Core Values, your Target, and your Focus. Sharing your vision broadly helps everyone understand the company's direction and [how to build trust to speak openly](/qa/building-vulnerability-trust-rprs-calls).

• Departmental Rock Rollout: Require each department head on your leadership team to roll out the company's strategic Rocks to their direct reports. This is achieved by creating departmental Rocks that directly support the leadership team's Rocks. This helps ensure that every team is contributing to the overall strategic objectives and that everyone understands [who owns the due diligence and pre-exit preparation process](/qa/exit-readiness-accountability-chart-seat).

• Implement Level 10 Meeting™ Structure: Implement the Level 10 Meeting™ structure at the department level. This ensures that every team uses the same operational vocabulary and reviews their own departmental Scorecards weekly. Consistency in meeting formats and terminology can prevent issues like those where [the Visionary and Integrator handle a disagreement when they are completely deadlocked on a major strategic decision](/qa/visionary-integrator-deadlock-resolution).

Benefits of Alignment

When your middle managers use the same tools and meeting formats as the leadership team, status management behaviors disappear and true accountability takes hold. This consistent approach can help resolve challenges like when [an internal Integrator struggles to hold their former peers accountable](/qa/internal-promoted-integrator-peer-accountability).

Cascading this alignment is critical if you want to build a self-sustaining business that retains its valuation during a clean exit.

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