Only 27% of business leaders believe their staff are fully aligned with their organization’s business goals, according to a survey from Axios HQ. Sounds bad, doesn’t it?

Well, it gets even worse: In the same survey, only 9% of employees agreed.

Cultural alignment is so rare, leaders and employees can’t even align on whether it exists.

Closing this gap takes a real cultural transformation — one centered on communication, transparency, and working together toward shared goals and values.

This kind of transformation usually means leaders must rethink how they show up for employees and how they maintain strong connections over time. It may sound like a lot of work, but not investing in cultural alignment creates far greater problems in the long run.

Fortunately, some foundational steps, like improving employee communication and seeking coaching to strengthen connection and empathy, can make this kind of cultural transformation achievable.

What Is Cultural Alignment, and Why Does it Matter?

Cultural alignment occurs when everyone, from the highest levels of leadership to the most junior employees, understands and embraces the organization’s core mission, values, and goals.

It’s built on two key components:

• A clearly defined and well-communicated mission and vision
• Leadership that models the values and priorities outlined in that mission

When cultural alignment exists, everyone is moving in the same direction toward shared goals. The organization becomes more productive, but the benefits go much deeper than that.

Cultural alignment boosts morale, motivation, and meaning. It gives employees a sense of purpose — something Gallup has identified as essential for engagement and retention.

Engaged, aligned employees work harder, stay longer, and contribute more. But when alignment is lacking, commitment declines, turnover rises, and burnout takes hold.

Where Cultural Misalignment Comes From

Most cases of cultural misalignment stem from poor employee communication.

Take this example: An organization publicly commits to gender equity but has a mostly male C-suite. To employees, that looks hypocritical and signals misalignment.

However, leadership might see the commitment as aspirational, with a multi-year plan already underway to diversify leadership. Both perspectives are valid, but if leadership does not communicate context or progress, employees are left frustrated and disengaged.

This breakdown illustrates one of the most persistent challenges of leadership: forgetting to share context, clarify intent, or explain decisions.

Unclear expectations are another factor in cultural misalignment. If leadership champions kind, patient customer service but also pressures customer service agents to rush through dozens of tickets every day, employees receive mixed messages. Contradictions like this blur cultural lines and erode trust.

It’s understandable that busy leaders may sometimes unintentionally neglect employee communication as they juggle competing priorities. But without it, cultural alignment quickly deteriorates.

Bridging the Employee Communication Gap

Even when executives recognize a lack of cultural alignment, they often delay action, focusing instead on immediate performance concerns or other challenges of leadership.

That’s a costly mistake. According to Gartner, strong cultural alignment can boost revenue by 9% and improve employee performance by 22%. Culture isn’t a soft initiative; it’s a measurable driver of business success.

True cultural transformation starts with improving how leaders communicate. Most organizations default to top-down messaging, but successful ones create consistent, two-way employee communication that allows ideas, questions, and feedback to flow freely between teams and leadership.

This kind of communication builds understanding and trust — two foundations of sustained cultural alignment. Practical ways to build this transformation include:

• Hosting regular town halls and Q&A sessions
• Scheduling skip-level meetings between leaders and team members
• Providing anonymous feedback channels for candid input

These efforts only succeed when leaders prioritize empathy, humility, and self-awareness — qualities that help them listen deeply and respond authentically. Developing these soft skills takes time and guidance, but it’s essential for any meaningful cultural transformation.

Building the Skills Needed to Inspire Alignment

Successful cultural transformation doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a gradual process  of small, consistent improvements like communicating more proactively, listening more deeply, and building emotional intelligence across leadership.

Establishing stronger employee communication channels is an excellent place to start, as is leadership coaching focused on developing empathy, adaptability, and authenticity.

Coaching can be especially powerful for overcoming the challenges of leadership that come with driving cultural change. With guidance from experienced coaches, leaders can develop the self-awareness and communication skills needed to foster trust and model alignment for others.

When leaders demonstrate integrity, openness, and curiosity, employees feel heard and valued — and that’s where real cultural alignment begins to take hold.

To begin improving cultural alignment across your organization, learn how The Pacific Institute supports authentic and sustainable cultural transformation in the workplace.