Employees are critical to the achievement of organizational goals and strategy. This study
defined and explored the predictors and consequences of employee goal alignment, whereby
employees have an understanding of their own goals and perceive that their goals are aligned to
organizational goals. Comparisons were made, and differentiation was established between the
construct of goal alignment and other related, established organizational phenomenon such as
meaningful work, person-organization fit, goal congruence, and role clarity. Using data from a
multinational organization, this study employed structural equation modeling to test the
relationships between goal alignment and employee outcomes.
Positive relationships were found between goal alignment and the outcome variables of
employee satisfaction, pride for the organization, initiative, and employee performance. Thus,
goal alignment was established to be a construct of interest for organizations today. This study
also explored how leadership style contributes to employee goal alignment. Results of this study
suggest that both task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership behaviors positively related
to goal alignment, suggesting that leadership is an important predictor of the effective alignment
of employees to organizational goals.