This guide walks you through creating and managing objective alignments in Performance Leader. Objective alignments are the frameworks that determine which strategic pillars, competencies, or plans your users can align their objectives to. They determine which strategic areas objectives can be aligned to, who can see those objectives, and whether users can share objectives with colleagues.
You'll learn how to create new alignments, configure their visibility settings, control who can access them, and preview how they appear to different user groups. By the end of this article, you'll be confident in setting up alignments that match your firm's structure and strategic priorities. The video embedded above demonstrates these steps in action.
Viewing existing alignments
When you open Manage Apps → Objectives → Configuration & tools, the Strategic priorities section lists your existing alignments, organised into sections:
Alignment templates: At the top of the page, you'll find the templates that serve as the foundation for creating new alignments
Active alignments: Below that, you'll see all currently available alignments that users can select when creating objectives
Archived alignments: Any disabled alignments appear in a separate archived section
You can reorder alignments by clicking and dragging the handle next to each one. This changes the order in which alignments appear to end users.
Editing an existing alignment
To modify an alignment's settings:
In the Strategic priorities section, click Edit on the row for the alignment you want to change
Update the alignment name and description (these are user-facing and help people understand when to use this alignment)
Add an alignment image if desired – this appears as a small icon next to the alignment name
Configure the visibility settings (see next section for details)
Enable or disable the sharing option
Use the enablement toggle to keep the alignment in draft mode or archive it
Click Save to apply your changes
Note: If an alignment template has already been used to create objectives, you won't be able to change the underlying template, but you can still modify the name, description, and other settings.
Configuring visibility settings
Visibility settings determine who can see objectives created against a particular alignment. There are three options:
Public: Objectives are visible to all users across the firm. Use this for firm-wide strategic objectives or initiatives where transparency benefits everyone.
Participants only: Objectives are visible only to users who have access to that alignment. For example, if an alignment is restricted to partners, only partners can see objectives created against it. This is useful for role-specific or department-specific goals.
Private: Objectives are visible only to the user who created them, their manager, and anyone with specific leadership views. Choose this for personal development objectives or sensitive goals.
Managing the sharing option
The sharing setting determines whether users can create shared objectives with colleagues. When enabled:
Users can add another colleague when creating an objective against this alignment
Both users have full ownership and can edit the title, description, dates, and custom fields
Both users can add updates and actions
The objective appears in both users' dashboards and reviews
This is particularly useful for collaborative projects or joint business development initiatives.
Creating a new alignment
To create a new alignment from scratch:
In Manage Apps → Objectives → Configuration & tools, under Strategic priorities, click Add priority to create an alignment (this opens the Create priority dialog)
Select the alignment template you want to use (e.g., partner objectives, employee objectives)
Enter an alignment name that clearly describes its purpose (e.g., "Business development", "Technical skills")
Add a description to help users understand when to use this alignment
Optionally add an alignment image
Set the visibility option (public, participants only, or private)
Enable or disable sharing as appropriate
Set the enablement toggle to Active when you're ready for users to see it
Click Create priority
Your new alignment will appear in the list. By default all users will be able to access this alignment to set objectives, but you can also limit access to specific roles, departments or locations by setting access permissions (see next section).
Setting access permissions
Access permissions control which users can see and select a particular alignment when creating objectives. By default, new alignments are visible to everyone.
To set up access:
Locate your alignment in the list and click Manage access or the access icon
Choose whether the alignment should be available to all users or specific users only
If restricting access, select the criteria: - Department: Make the alignment available to specific departments - Position/Role: Restrict to certain roles (e.g., partners, associates) - Location: Limit to specific office locations
Click Save to apply the access settings
Previewing alignment access
Before rolling out your alignments, it's helpful to verify who can see what. The preview feature shows you exactly which alignments are visible to each user role.
To preview access:
In the Strategic priorities section, click Preview access rules (shown as Preview access)
Review the list showing all user roles and their available alignments
Verify that the right alignments are visible to the right groups
If needed, go back and adjust access settings
For example, you might see that associates can view "Client impact", "Market and sector profile", and "People experience" alignments, whilst partners can only see "Market and sector profile" and "People experience".
After setting up your alignments, consider logging in as a user from different role groups to validate the configuration. This real-world testing ensures that users see the appropriate alignments and that the experience matches your intentions.