What does the team need from its leaders?
Select the capabilities that matter most, define the behaviors people should see, and clarify how managers will create the conditions for success.
How the alignment session works
Misalignment between what a manager expects and what frontline leaders actually do is one of the most common — and most fixable — drags on team performance. This session turns broad expectations into specific behaviors, names the conditions you as manager need to create, and leaves you with a plan you can actually measure.
You complete all six steps yourself, in about 60–90 minutes, in preparation for a conversation with your frontline leaders — or, later, with the next level of leaders you’re developing. Review the result with your coach first; nothing here goes to your frontline leaders automatically until you choose to send it. At the last step, you also have the option to generate a link for each frontline leader to complete a self-assessment covering the competencies you identified in this session, if you want their own read alongside yours.
Frame
Name the results that matter, what’s getting in the way, and what’s already working.
Frontline Leader Competencies
Choose which leadership capabilities matter most for this role right now.
Define Frontline Leader Key Behaviors
Turn each one into a specific behavior, plus the condition you as manager will create to make it possible.
Prioritize Frontline Leader Behaviors
Narrow the list to the three behaviors that would make the biggest difference.
Align Manager Conditions & Frontline Behaviors
Commit to those conditions yourself, then set the working agreements you’ll bring to your frontline leaders.
Unified Commitment
Leave with a draft plan — an owner, an action, and dates to check progress. From here you can also generate a link for your frontline leader(s) to complete a self-assessment covering the competencies you identified, if you want a broader read.
Who this session is for, and what you’re building
Name your organization and the frontline leader(s) this session is about. You’ll build the plan yourself below — it becomes the basis for your conversation with them, not something you draft together in real time.
The steps ahead move from broad to specific. Frontline Leader Competencies starts with all 10 leadership competencies so you can pick what matters for this role. Define Frontline Leader Key Behaviors turns each one you picked into a specific behavior, paired with the condition you as the manager need to create to support it. Prioritize Frontline Leader Behaviors narrows that list to the 3 behaviors worth focusing on for 90 days. Align Manager Conditions & Frontline Behaviors starts with your own commitment to those conditions, then moves to agreements that go both ways between you and your frontline leaders. Unified Commitment names an owner and dates for your draft plan — reviewed with your coach, then brought into the conversation with your frontline leaders.
Several fields ahead also come prefilled with suggested starting text — for example, the behaviors in Define. These are common starting points, not something generated from what you type here. Read and edit every prefilled field so it reflects this team, not a generic default.
1. Identify the results the team must deliver.
2. Name the recurring constraints or breakdowns.
3. Name the strengths or enablers already present to build from.
4. Describe what frontline leaders must do consistently.
Describe actions people can see, both what’s getting in the way and what’s already working. Avoid personality labels, assumed motives, and vague qualities.
Which frontline leader competencies matter most here?
Select every competency that is important for the role. These become the framework for the behaviors you’ll define next and for future assessment items.
Define the behavior — and what you, as manager, will do to enable it
For each competency you picked, you’ll write three things: the specific frontline leader behavior, the condition you as manager must create to make it possible, and the evidence you’d see. All three are seeded with suggested starting text — edit every field so it reflects this team, not a generic default.
Choose three frontline leader behaviors to strengthen first
Select the behaviors that would have the greatest meaningful impact in the next 90 days.
Commit to the conditions, then agree on how you’ll work together
Start with your own commitment as manager. Then the agreements that go both ways between you and your frontline leaders.
This is the same “What managers must do” field from Define, for the 3 behaviors you prioritized. Edit it here or back in Define — it’s the same answer either place.
Now the agreements that go both ways. Edit these to fit this team — specific enough that everyone would recognize when one is being honored or broken.
Which of these will require the most change from you — and what will your frontline leaders see when you’re honoring it?
Leave with a unified commitment and follow-through
This is your draft, not a finished agreement — you’re building it on your own right now. Review it with your coach first, then bring it into the actual conversation with your frontline leader(s); that conversation is where it becomes a real, shared commitment. Name who will own it, who else is part of that follow-up conversation, and when you’ll check progress. This session isn’t shared with your frontline leaders automatically — use the actions below to save or distribute it.
“Send results” sends this record to Burns Leadership Consulting for tracking — it doesn’t go to your frontline leaders. To share the plan with your team, copy the summary or use “Create PDF” for a formatted copy you can print, save, or send.