Aligning Cross-Functional Strategy Through a Shared Product North Star
How we defined a shared product vision to align teams, clarify priorities, and prepare for outcome-based roadmapping.
50%
Reduction in Prioritization Meeting Time
+NPS
Feature releases better aligned and boosted customer experience metrics
8
Cross-functional
collaborators
A Growing Need for Strategic Alignment
As Custom Ink’s platform scaled, our teams were delivering more — but not always together. Without a unified product vision, prioritization felt reactive, and we lacked a common lens for evaluating tradeoffs. With outcome-based roadmapping around the corner, it was the perfect time to align.
Organizational Pain Points
Siloed Execution
Teams worked independently with little alignment on long-term goals
Reactive Prioritization
Work was often driven by urgent asks rather than strategic outcomes
Unclear Product Identity
Team members weren’t aligned on what the product was ultimately trying to become with little cross-functional alignment on long-term goals
Recent Survey Insights
"We keep shipping features, but I’m not sure what we're actually working toward."
"It feels like each group has its own definition of what matters most."
"Without a shared vision, prioritization becomes a battle of opinions."
"We're solving problems in isolation—it’s hard to see how this all connects."
Build a Vision That Resonates and Guides
As Director of UX, I was asked to lead the formulation of a clear, cross-functional product vision. My goal: create a shared, future-facing North Star that could unify design, product, and merchandising while supporting strategic planning and roadmap discussions.
Cross-Functional Team
👥
UX Leadership
1 VP + 3 Directors
1 Designer
📊
Product
1 Director
1 Product Manager
👕
Merchandising
1 Director
My Leadership Objectives
🧭 Define the Destination
Establish a clear, aspirational product vision that reflects organizational goals
🤝 Unify the Team
Build alignment across design, product, and merchandising functions
💬 Foster Inclusive Dialogue
Facilitate meaningful discussion and synthesis across disciplines
🧠 Lead the Process
Guide the team through a structured, inclusive vision-setting process
Success Criteria
✅ Achieve consensus on a unified product vision
✅ Ensure the vision is adopted and referenced in downstream planning efforts
✅ Improve prioritization clarity and reduce cross-functional friction
✅ Enable stronger cohesion and strategic focus across all feature initiatives
From Framework to Alignment in Just 2 Days
This was more than a brainstorm—it was a strategic sprint. I blended research, facilitation, and synthesis to guide a diverse team toward a powerful, practical product vision.
🧠
Researched Vision Frameworks
To ground the effort in strategic rigor, I explored multiple product vision models before selecting a simple yet powerful four-part framework.
Key Activities
🔶 Analyzed common frameworks used by product leaders and enterprise teams
🔶 Chose a model that balanced user needs, business strategy, and long-term differentiation
Curious where this framework came from? This article inspired my approach to product visioning.
🧭
Led a 2-Hour Vision Workshop
I brought together a carefully selected group of cross-functional leaders for a structured, high-impact session grounded in four key pillars of product vision: user focus, aspirational stretch, market differentiation, and long-term perspective.
Key Activities
🔶 Facilitated a 2-hour session with 8 cross-functional leaders
🔶 Introduced the four-pillar vision framework and walked the team through its strategic intent
🔶 Designed a structure where each participant engaged in quiet reflection and sticky-note generation for each pillar
🔶 Used breakouts to allow individuals time to contribute ideas thoughtfully and independently
🛑 Mid-Flight Pivot:
Shifting from Ideal to Real
At first, I hoped we could align on a polished vision in one session. But once we started, it was clear the team needed more time to reflect and align. So I added a second session, focused entirely on co-authorship and shared synthesis.
🧩
Synthesized and Aligned Through Collaboration
To transform raw inputs into a shared direction, I led a second collaborative session focused on merging ideas, identifying themes, and co-authoring our product vision.
Key Activities
🔶 Clustered sticky-note ideas under each pillar to surface key themes and points of tension
🔶 Facilitated live synthesis discussions to converge around aligned concepts
🔶 Co-authored vision drafts in real-time with team feedback to ensure shared ownership
🔶 Used structured voting and feedback to refine and lock the final language
✍️
Drafted and Iterated Vision Statement
After the session, I synthesized all inputs into a draft vision and facilitated a third session to refine the language together.
Key Activities
🔶 Consolidated sticky-note themes and breakout discussions into a first-draft narrative
🔶 Facilitated a follow-up session for collaborative editing and real-time alignment
🔶 Balanced clarity, tone, and strategic nuance to reflect contributions across teams
🔶 Integrated phrasing that felt authentic to both product and merchandising leadership
🔶 Finalized language through group voting and asynchronous feedback loops
A Shared Vision That Drives Decision-Making
The vision we crafted didn’t just sound good—it changed how teams planned, prioritized, and collaborated.
50%
Reduction in Prioritization Meeting Time
+NPS
Feature releases better aligned and boosted customer experience metrics
1+
I was asked to facilitate a similar vision workshop for the internal product org
Immediate Impact
✅ Strategic Alignment
Anchored future planning sessions, including outcome-based roadmapping
⏱ Efficiency Gains
Halved monthly prioritization meetings from 60 to 30 minutes
❌ Reduced Waste
Prevented work on features misaligned with the shared vision
🔄 Cross-Team Synergy:
Features became more cohesive, boosting both conversion and NPS
✨ Key Takeaway
Vision isn’t just a statement — it’s a decision-making tool. This workshop gave Custom Ink the alignment it needed to prioritize strategically, move faster, and deliver work that truly worked together.
💡 What I'd Do Differently Today
While the workshop series successfully delivered a shared vision, I’ve since identified a few ways to deepen engagement and extend its strategic impact. If I were leading this again, I would:
🪞
Build in a
Reflection Phase
Allocate dedicated time post-workshop to gather asynchronous feedback, allowing quieter voices more space to contribute
📞
Involve Customer-Facing Roles Earlier
Bring in voices from Customer Service or Sales earlier in the process to infuse direct customer insights into vision crafting.
🧰
Create a Vision
Playback Toolkit
Package the final vision with sample use cases and talking points to help internal teams more easily adopt and apply it.
🔁
Set a Revisit Cadence
Establish a lightweight quarterly check-in to ensure the vision remains relevant and continues to guide work effectively.
🎨
Include More Visual Artifacts
Supplement the final statement with lo-fi journey diagrams or moodboards to help make the vision feel more tangible and inspiring.