Alignment isn’t Enough: The case for flourishing systems

Many organisations look well-aligned on the surface.  

Strategy? Tick.  

Org charts? Sorted.  

KPIs? Everywhere.  

But if you scratch beneath all that structure, you’ll often find teams running on empty. People are stretched, disengaged, or quietly switching off. Something doesn’t quite add up. 

That’s because the perception of alignment alone isn’t enough. 

Traditional alignment focuses on structure and execution - roles, reporting lines, performance goals. But organisations aren’t machines. They’re living systems made up of people who think, feel, adapt, and relate. When the human energy inside the system starts to fade, no amount of alignment will carry you through disruption, let alone help you thrive. 

The limits of traditional alignment 

Let’s be clear: alignment is important. But many leaders treat it like a checkbox. Strategy rolled out? Tick. Goals cascaded? Tick. Team stand-ups in motion? Tick. 

Yet inside those neat layers of alignment, people can feel boxed in. The structures that once created clarity start to generate fatigue, rigidity, and resistance to change. The cracks are subtle at first: 

• Teams doing the work but lacking energy 

• Meetings full of nods, but no real engagement 

• A strategy that looks great but doesn’t feel lived 

This is what happens when alignment is purely structural. It lines things up without breathing life into them. 

Organisations are living systems 

If we treat organisations like machines, alignment is about engineering control. But if we see them as living systems, alignment needs to support coherence. Coherence is the dynamic connection between people, purpose, and practice. 

This idea is grounded in the flourishing science of Professors Matthew Lee and Tyler VanderWeele. Their work highlights that thriving systems aren’t just efficient, they’re human. They prioritise: 

• Meaning – People know why their work matters 

• Well-being – Energy, relationships, and resilience are part of the equation 

• Connection – Collaboration, trust, and psychological safety are non-negotiable 

In a flourishing system, alignment doesn’t just serve strategy, it also serves the health and adaptability of the people within it. 

When alignment masks disconnection 

Here’s the tricky part: surface-level alignment can look like progress while masking deeper disconnection. You may have: 

• Teams that hit their targets but feel emotionally checked out 

• Leaders who talk strategy but avoid the real cultural conversations 

• Functions working in parallel, but not in partnership 

We’ve seen organisations where alignment was used to push harder, not listen better. Where it became about conformity, not coherence. That’s when people start going through the motions. That’s when the system starts to suffer, quietly at first, then all at once. 

From alignment to flourishing 

So, what’s the shift? 

We move from enforcing alignment to nurturing flourishing systems. That means: 

• Creating space for reflection and honest conversation, not just rollouts 

• Integrating human dynamics (the complex social behaviours of your people) into strategy execution 

• Looking at not just what is aligned, but how it feels to live and work inside the system 

This is where People & Culture leaders come into their own. You see the patterns others miss. You hold the stories, tensions, and subtle signs that alignment isn’t landing as deeply as it needs to. 

Questions to reflect on 

• Where is your organisation aligned, but not thriving? 

• Where are you mistaking structure for energy? 

• What would it take to build a system where alignment supports flourishing, not just performance? 

At DISCO, we help organisations see what’s really going on beneath the surface. Our Alignment Reality Check brings strategy, people, and energy into the same conversation. This helps ensure you’re not just aligned, but alive. 

Ready to build a system that thrives, not just survives? 
Let’s talk. 

Katy Cooper is an experienced Futurist, trained through The Institute for the Future, POLI-Design at Milan POLI.technic and Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies. She has also studied Disruptive Innovation with INSEAD. She holds a Graduate Diploma of Management (GradDipMgt) from Australian Institute of Business. Katy is an exceptional Experience Designer and Facilitator. She helps organisations and communities build strategic plans and leadership capability for a future they can’t see yet through her foresight-driven, whole systems design practice.