The Executive Leadership Alignment Blueprint

A free practical guide by Paul R. de la Garza

Review your leadership team’s alignment, core values, and accountability practices, then build a 90-day action plan. Read the guide below and use your browser’s Print option to keep a copy.

This is a leadership reflection tool. Use it to guide discussion and planning, rather than as a validated assessment.

1. Conflicting priorities: leaders communicate different strategic goals.
2. Values do not govern behavior: hiring, promotion, or accountability decisions conflict with stated values.
3. Meetings lack decisions: issues recur without clear owners or next steps.
4. Productive conflict is avoided: difficult conversations happen privately or are delayed.
5. The CEO becomes a bottleneck: decisions escalate instead of being owned at the appropriate level.

Identify the signs you recognize and record a recent example of each.

Rate each area from 1 (weak) to 5 (fully integrated), and write down evidence for your rating.

1. Clarity: can leaders describe your values and the behaviors they require?
2. Hiring: do screening and interview questions reflect those values?
3. Performance: are evaluation and promotion decisions tied to values?
4. Accountability: are the same standards applied consistently, including to high performers?
5. Strategic decisions: do major trade-offs reflect your stated values?

Compare the ratings across your leadership team. Select the lowest-rated area and define one behavior to strengthen it.

Ask each executive to answer yes or no independently, then compare examples.

1. Can every executive articulate the same top three priorities?
2. Are roles and decision rights clearly defined?
3. Is there open, respectful conflict in leadership meetings?
4. Do executives consistently model the core values?
5. Are strategic goals clearly communicated through the organization?
6. Is there trust at the leadership level?
7. Do leaders leave meetings clear on next steps?

Discuss every “no” and every difference in perspective. Agree on the most important gap to address first.

Review whether each practice is consistently in place:

• Clear quarterly priorities.
• Defined leadership performance measures.
• A meeting rhythm with documented follow-up.
• Clear decision rights.
• Transparent reporting of progress.
• A regular leadership evaluation process.
• Consistent responses to missed commitments.
• Recognition for behavior that reflects your values.

For each missing practice, record an owner, a first action, and a review date.

• Reactive: decisions follow crises and accountability varies.
• Structured: roles and basic accountability are defined.
• Disciplined: values, meeting rhythms, and performance standards guide daily work.
• High-performance culture: teams share ownership, correct course, and develop future leaders.

Choose the description that best fits how your organization operates today. Record evidence and the next practice needed to progress.

Days 1–30: establish clarity. Compare the team’s responses, audit core values, identify three critical gaps, and agree on the top three priorities. Record leadership expectations in a short alignment brief.

Days 31–60: put structure in place. Define decision rights, establish a meeting rhythm, connect performance measures to priorities, and practice accountability conversations.

Days 61–90: reinforce and review. Review progress, address gaps directly, recognize aligned behavior, and agree on the next stage of leadership development.

Give each action an owner, a due date, and evidence that will show whether it helped.

Paul R. de la Garza, founder of High Performance Business Solutions, works with business owners, executives, and leadership teams on clarity, communication, values, and accountability.

Request a leadership strategy session to discuss the priorities this exercise revealed. For a personalized leadership report and optional coaching, explore the Executive Alignment Program.