Distinguish from
Value alignment
People can pursue the same immediate goal for very different reasons or evaluate broader outcomes differently.
A lens
Goal alignment
Do the parts intend or pursue the same outcome?
Systems can be aligned in what their components are trying to accomplish. But agreement about an outcome leaves open how that outcome will be interpreted, implemented, and coordinated in action.
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Agreement about the destination does not specify the route.
Two people can genuinely want the same result while choosing actions that interfere with one another.
A team can share a high-level objective while still needing roles, plans, communication, timing, and feedback to turn that shared goal into competent collective behavior.
Distinguish from
Behavioral alignment
Wanting an outcome does not establish that behavior actually fits the target.
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What fills in the plan?
Which roles, procedures, cues, constraints, or interactions translate the goal into action?
Does not determine
The relationship
People can pursue the same outcome while disagreeing about authority, reciprocity, obligation, or how decisions should be made between them.
A question to carry elsewhere