For many organizations, cross-functional alignment is the difference between an ambitious strategy and measurable success. Nadine Green, a seasoned COO with more than two decades of experience scaling companies and leading business transformations, has seen firsthand how silos and miscommunication erode performance. Through her work at The C-Suite Group, Green helps founders and leadership teams shift from reactive management to intentional execution by building clarity, accountability, and connection across departments.
The Barriers to True Alignment
“Usually there’s no process or way that is aligning the teams and they’re all working in silos,” she explains. “Departments are separate rather than cohesive. There may not be shared vision or KPIs across the company, so everyone’s sort of doing their own thing rather than aligning with a company plan.” This issue is particularly acute in early stage companies where founders remain the sole decision-makers. In many of the organizations she advises, “there’s no one other than the founder owner who’s making the decisions and feels accountable. They haven’t parsed that out because they haven’t either shared their vision or haven’t done it in a way that is clear to everyone else.”
The ripple effects are easy to spot. A surge in sales might strain a service team that was never looped into growth targets. Recruitment may lag behind demand because human resources was unaware of the pipeline. “They don’t see themselves as part of the same system,” Green says. “But they are very much attached to one another, and one can really offset the other in a negative way if they’re not aligned.”
Laying the Foundations for Execution
For Green, alignment begins with disciplined planning. She encourages companies to create a detailed business plan each October for the year ahead. “If you’re starting your planning in January, you’re already behind,” she says. “By then you’ve wasted three months of precious time. You want to hit the ground running.”
That plan must be shared across the organization, supported by KPIs and clearly defined accountability. “We need to understand who’s responsible for each key performance indicator, what the handoffs look like, and how we communicate them through the company,” she says. Ongoing visibility is equally critical. Weekly leadership meetings and quarterly reviews ensure that strategy is not filed away until next year but adapted in real time. “You just don’t do it and then forget about it for the rest of the year. You have to continually amend it and update it, making sure every department understands their piece,” says Green.
The Power of Communication and Accountability
Beyond process, Green believes alignment requires leaders to invest in communication and accountability. Employees want to feel connected to a larger mission. “For employees to be engaged and really do a great job, they need to understand what their piece is and it has to be more than ‘I just get a paycheck.’ People want to be part of something bigger.” But clarity without follow-through is ineffective. Leaders must hold teams accountable in ways that foster development rather than resentment. “Communication and accountability are the two most difficult things for leaders to wrap their head around,” Green says. “It should feel like developing employees and building good relationships, not just checking the box on a performance review.”
Adapting to Remote Work and AI
As companies wrestle with remote work and emerging technologies, Green believes the fundamentals of alignment remain the same. “I don’t think the building blocks change whether it’s a remote team, an in-person team, or you’re using AI,” she says. While face-to-face collaboration can accelerate progress, she has successfully built high-functioning distributed teams. “AI is not going to replace people. It doesn’t replace communication and it doesn’t replace accountability. It just allows people to get the administrative noise off their desk so they can do more meaningful work.” The challenge, then, is not about choosing between in-office or remote, or manual versus AI-driven. It is about ensuring that the principles of clarity, accountability, and shared purpose remain at the core of how teams operate.
Building Businesses That Thrive
Green’s track record across industries underscores her expertise in turning fragmented operations into engines of growth. From scaling revenues at medical transcription firms to steering mergers and acquisitions, her approach centers on sustainable alignment and execution. “Every department has to understand how they align with the bigger strategy and what they are going to be held responsible for.” That philosophy reflects The C-Suite Group’s mission to help business owners build companies that run effectively without over reliance on the founder. By instilling clarity and accountability across teams, Green positions organizations not just to grow, but to thrive.
Readers can connect with Nadine Green on LinkedIn or learn more on her website.
