The praxis of 'alignment seeking' in project work

Alignment seeking is the process of reaching agreement on what needs to be done and on the process that should be followed to complete the activity. This empirical study extends the scope of the current project-as-practice literature by providing descriptions of how project managers actually achieve alignment. Photographs taken by the research participants are used to trigger discussion in semi-structured interviews that explore the praxis of alignment seeking in project work. The practices found to enable alignment seeking include: creating a vision; storytelling; seeding ideas; identifying and using personal drivers, and appealing to stakeholders and team members' sense of a 'higher good'. This paper highlights how alignment seeking can be achieved 'in practice' by project managers.