Case Study: Creating Clarity and Cohesion Through Strategic Alignment
How a biodegradability testing and technology company aligned on vision, clarified priorities and built a shared roadmap during a period of rapid growth and organizational complexity.
As part of a half-day Strategic Alignment and Planning retreat in Cleveland, Evolve facilitated a customized workshop for a biodegradability testing and technology company serving clients across the environmental, engineering and design sectors.
The organization was in a period of exciting — but stretching — growth. New service offerings, expanded teams and emerging client demands were putting strain on alignment. Leadership felt the weight of competing priorities, ambiguity around roles and a lack of clarity around how to pursue ambitious goals without burnout or friction. The workshop offered space to pause, reflect and co-create a shared path forward with purpose and clarity.
Team Culture: Mission-Driven but Muddled
Rooted in a mission to deliver climate-conscious, science-backed solutions for a circular economy, the team shared a powerful sense of purpose. Yet internally, the growing pace and complexity of work had created operational drag. Communication breakdowns, unclear decision-making authority and misaligned expectations were slowing progress and increasing tension.
With the prior year’s momentum tapering under the weight of shifting goals and internal strain, the leadership team needed to regroup — to name what was working, release what was not and build a roadmap that aligned vision, people and capacity for the current year and beyond.
Workshop Objectives: Aligning Vision and Strategy
This offsite workshop focused on helping the leadership team:
Reflect on the prior year and create space to release outdated patterns
Clarify and articulate shared goals and direction for the next 3 years
Align staffing, operations and fundraising goals with realistic projections
Identify business and personal needs that support sustainable performance
Define rhythm and cadence for the year ahead — both structurally and culturally
Build cohesion, clarity and renewed personal connection across the team
Leaders arrived open and reflective, ready to explore not just business planning but how to lead in alignment with their values and vision.
Key Takeaways & Impact
Grounded Strategic Thinking
The session began with personal and business check-ins, inviting leaders to reflect on “what they wanted to let go of” — creating space for honest, human connection. This emotional grounding set the tone for a deeper business strategy discussion.
The team then reviewed where they stood on the prior year’s goals and revenue — examining actuals versus expectations. A structured whiteboard exercise followed, mapping current year goals across a grid of months vs. workstreams. This included:
People and staffing goals
Operational and accreditation milestones
Revenue metrics (MQLs, SQLs, active pipeline)
Fundraising targets and use of funds
The visual mapping helped translate abstract goals into time-bound, trackable milestones, bringing clarity to dependencies, constraints and sequencing.
From Overload to Focus
A key breakthrough came during the revenue alignment exercise, where the team iterated between customer volume assumptions and realistic revenue targets. This surfaced a disconnect between aspiration and capacity — allowing them to right-size projections and reduce pressure.
Participants reported “immediate relief” in being able to name where goals had outpaced current resourcing — and appreciated the focus on what’s achievable, not just aspirational.
Reclaiming Decision-Making Clarity
Using real business needs as a lens, the team worked through headcount planning and investment priorities — surfacing previously unspoken assumptions about who owned what and how decisions would get made.
Role clarity wasn’t tackled through abstract models alone — it emerged through discussion around upcoming hires, project approvals and client work. This “live working session” allowed the team to resolve tension in real time and walk away with clearer ownership and accountability.
Cultural Integration
Beyond structure and strategy, the group explored cadence as rhythm — not just workflow. Leaders asked: What’s our song this year? Will we move aggressively? Melodically? What tempo will keep us in flow?
This metaphor invited the group to move beyond to-do lists into intentional leadership: defining not only what they’d pursue, but how they’d move through the year — with joy, sustainability and a shared beat.
The facilitation helped integrate strategy with culture — reconnecting the team to the emotional tone they wanted to set as leaders and collaborators.
Leadership and Team Transformation
Individual Growth
Throughout the session, personal reflections and emotional honesty led to notable leadership shifts. One team member realized they had been masking burnout under performance — and opened up about needing more support. Another embraced a larger coordinating role after recognizing how siloed communication had slowed decisions in the prior quarter.
CEO Breakthrough
For the CEO, the workshop created a space to release the internalized pressure of carrying everything alone. As the team aligned on ownership, planning and cadence, she described feeling “a hundred pounds lighter.” With renewed trust in her leadership team, she left the retreat clearer and more confident in their collective direction.
Barriers Overcome
From Diffusion to Alignment
The team named how “everything had started to feel important,” but in reality, not everything was essential. This workshop was the first time in months they had collectively stepped back to separate urgency from impact — and emerged with a plan built on alignment, not adrenaline.
Naming What Wasn’t Working
A powerful moment came when one leader said, “We talk about sustainability in our products, but not in how we operate.” That sparked a reflection on cultural contradictions — including tolerance of burnout and hyper-responsibility. These realizations led to renewed commitments to leadership sustainability, team wellbeing and personal boundaries.
Lasting Impact
In the weeks following the retreat, leaders reported more focused team meetings, better prioritization of initiatives and greater energy among staff. The shared language of “rhythm,” “capacity” and “alignment” continued to shape planning conversations and team dynamics.
Strategic goals were not only clearer — they were tied to real metrics, people and timelines. Even more importantly, the leadership team left with a shared sense of purpose and a cultural tone they had co-authored together.
What Participants Are Saying
“We’re no longer guessing. We’re moving forward in sync.”
“We finally got real about what’s working and what’s not. There was honesty, but also hope.”
“We didn’t just talk strategy — we talked about how we want to lead. That changed everything.”
“This experience helped us grow not just as leaders, but as collaborators and stewards of our firm’s future.”
Conclusion: A Unified Vision for Sustainable Growth
This biodegradability testing and technology company left the Strategic Alignment and Planning retreat with more than a roadmap — they left with a rhythm.
By clarifying goals, confronting cultural gaps and aligning people with priorities, the team built the foundation for sustainable, values-aligned growth in the current year and beyond.
Start Your Team’s Journey to Greater Focus and Alignment
Let’s talk about how a Strategic Alignment workshop can support your organization’s next chapter.