When everyone on a team is pulling in the same direction, execution becomes faster, smoother, and more effective. But too often, individual goals and team objectives drift apart, leading to confusion, misalignment, and wasted effort. The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) offers a clear path to align personal and team goals—so both individuals and the group achieve more, together.
In this article, you’ll learn how to connect your personal WIG (Wildly Important Goal) to your team’s bigger goals using the 4DX framework.
Why Alignment Matters in Execution
Even highly motivated people fail to execute when goals don’t align. Misalignment leads to:
- Conflicting priorities
- Duplicate work or missed tasks
- Low morale and unclear direction
- Teams that are busy but not productive
Alignment, on the other hand, builds:
- Clarity of purpose
- Accountability to shared results
- Trust and cohesion
- Strategic momentum
Step 1: Understand the Team’s WIG
Start by identifying your team or department’s Wildly Important Goal. Ask:
- What is our team responsible for achieving this quarter/year?
- How is success measured?
- When is the deadline?
Example Team WIGs:
- “Increase customer retention from 75% to 90% by Q4”
- “Launch new mobile app with 1,000 users by October”
- “Reduce support response time from 12 to 6 hours by year-end”
Understanding this gives context for your personal contributions.
Step 2: Set Your Personal WIG to Support the Team WIG
Now create a personal WIG that aligns directly with the team’s goal.
Examples:
- Team WIG: “Grow monthly recurring revenue (MRR) from $30K to $50K”
- Personal WIG: “Book 20 sales calls/month from inbound leads”
- Team WIG: “Improve onboarding score from 7.0 to 9.0”
- Personal WIG: “Respond to every new user within 4 hours for 60 days”
This ensures your execution efforts move the team forward, not just your own tasks.
Step 3: Define Lead Measures That Fit Your Role
Identify the actions you control that drive progress toward both your WIG and the team’s.
Examples of aligned lead measures:
- Send 10 personalized outreach messages/day (sales)
- Publish 2 support articles/week (customer success)
- Launch 1 A/B test/week (marketing)
- Hold 2 strategy sessions/week (management)
Key rule: Focus only on what you can control, even if the team goal is broader.
Step 4: Share and Communicate Your WIG
Once your personal WIG and lead measures are clear, share them with your team or manager.
Why this matters:
- Builds transparency
- Creates collaboration opportunities
- Encourages accountability
Add your WIG to the team’s shared workspace, project board, or Slack thread. Encourage others to do the same.
Step 5: Update Your Progress in the Team Scoreboard
As you execute your lead measures, update a shared scoreboard that tracks team and individual progress.
Best tools for this:
- Google Sheets or Excel dashboards
- Airtable or Notion boards
- Weekly update channels in Slack or Teams
Seeing everyone’s progress builds collective momentum and creates a culture of ownership.
Step 6: Join the Weekly Accountability Rhythm
Join your team’s WIG session or weekly check-in. Use this time to:
- Report on your commitments
- Reflect on wins and blocks
- Make new commitments for the coming week
This shared rhythm is what turns goals into results—and teams into high performers.
Final Thought: One Goal, Many Roles—One Direction
Team goals succeed when individual efforts are clearly aligned. By using 4DX to structure your personal goals around team priorities, you create synergy, not separation.
Start by asking: “How can I help the team win?” Then choose a WIG, define your lead measures, and commit to the same rhythm of execution.
When one person aligns, results improve. When everyone does—it’s unstoppable.