The Direction Leak | Article 2: Priority Sync

It happens all the time: your team is moving fast, but each person is pulling in a different direction. You’ve got a group of high-powered engineers working at full throttle, but no one is in sync. Some are building the core feature, others are fixing bugs, and others are buried in small side projects. The result? Chaos.

It’s like trying to play a symphony with a bunch of soloists. Everyone’s playing their part, but the music sounds like noise.

That’s the problem of Priority Sync. Without clear, shared priorities, you’re doomed to waste time, effort, and—ultimately—velocity.

Why Priorities Get Out of Sync

Here’s the deal: If your team doesn’t agree on what matters most, the work will get lost in a sea of low-priority tasks. You end up with:

• Dueling priorities: One engineer is fixing bugs, another is working on a new feature, and no one knows which one takes precedence.
• Constant context switching: The “urgent” things keep changing—now it’s a hotfix, now it’s a customer complaint.
• Missed deadlines: Key tasks take longer than expected because everyone’s working on what seems urgent, not what’s critical for the product or company.

It’s the classic case of working hard but not working on the right things.

Signs That Priority Sync is Off

How do you know if your team is out of sync? Check for these signs:

• Team members are constantly asking, “What should I focus on right now?”
• Deadlines slip because teams aren’t focused on the right tasks.
• You hear things like, “I thought this was top priority!” or “Wasn’t this supposed to be done already?”
• Engineers are overwhelmed because they’re juggling too many conflicting tasks.

The Fix: Syncing Priorities

1. Leadership Alignment – This one’s on leadership: Make sure you’re all in agreement on what the highest priorities are. If your leadership isn’t clear, your team won’t be either.
2. Weekly Priority Check-ins – A quick sync every week to make sure everyone is aligned on what’s important that sprint. It’s like a weekly tune-up for your roadmap.
3. “Critical Path” Visibility – Everyone should know what the critical path is: what has the highest impact and what must be done first.
4. Decision Filters – Create a filter for decisions. For example: If this isn’t directly related to our Q1 goals, it gets deferred. This makes decisions quicker and clearer.

Submit a Bug Report

To see if Priority Sync is on point, ask:

• Can every engineer name the top 3 priorities for this sprint?
• Do engineers know where to focus their energy for maximum impact?
• Are key tasks slipping because of unclear priorities?

If you hear “no” here, you don’t need faster engineers or more resources. You need alignment on priorities.