538 Alignment Diagnostic
The 538 Alignment Diagnostic is a structured look at how important information actually travels from leadership through managers to employees, and where it stalls. It compares what leaders intend with what employees experience, identifies the communication friction in between, and narrows everything down to the three to five problems most worth solving.
Example: A 175-person organization has mediocre engagement scores and employees say “communication is bad.” The diagnostic establishes what that means, why it’s happening and what leadership should fix first.
Typically about four to six weeks.
- 01
Discovery and research
A kickoff with the executive sponsor, four to eight leadership interviews, employee interviews or focus groups across roles, locations and levels, a review of existing survey data, and an audit of the major channels. Two or three recent priorities or announcements are traced from leadership through managers to employees.
- 02
Analysis
Findings are coded into themes, and leadership intent is compared with employee experience. Communication friction is identified: searching, duplication, unclear ownership, inaccessible channels, repeated questions and manager bottlenecks. The three to five highest-priority problems are selected, each with recommendations and a way to measure progress.
- 03
Readout
The report, flow map, roadmap and scorecard are presented in a 60–90 minute findings session with leadership, which ends with agreed next steps.
- Diagnostic report: executive summary, methodology, key findings and supporting evidence
- Communication flow map: how important information travels today, where it breaks down and how feedback moves back up
- 90-day roadmap: each priority with an action, owner, timing and measure
- Measurement scorecard: exposure, understanding, employee effort, voice, behavior and outcome
- A 60–90 minute leadership findings session
Talk through whether this fits.
Every engagement is scoped to the organization. A short note about what you’re seeing is enough to start.
Not ready for a full engagement? Start with a workshop or a Communication Health Assessment. Workshops · Communication Health Assessment