The concept of "strategic fit," as explored by Darrell Rigby and Zach First in the March-April 2025 issue of the Harvard Business Review, underscores the importance of aligning an organization’s strategy, structure, and execution for optimal performance. While this principle is often discussed in the context of private sector organizations, its application to U.S. federal government agencies is both necessary and timely. By applying the core leadership insights from “The Power of Strategic Fit” to government, public sector leaders can enhance efficiency, foster innovation, and deliver better services to citizens.
Understanding Strategic Fit
Rigby and First define strategic fit as the careful alignment between an organization’s strategy, capabilities, and operational model. Private sector organizations that master this alignment create a sustainable competitive advantage by ensuring that every element of their business works in harmony to achieve their objectives. When misalignment occurs, inefficiencies arise, leading to wasted resources, poor performance, and diminished trust from stakeholders.
According to Rigby and First, the process of achieving strategic fit begins by identifying seven essential elements of strategy -- the mental model, purpose and ambitions, stakeholder value creation, macro forces, markets and products, competitive advantages, and the operating model. Because they must remain aligned under ever-changing and unpredictable conditions to deliver superior performance, they should be developed concurrently and iteratively.
For federal agencies, strategic fit translates into ensuring that policies, leadership, organizational culture, and operational processes are synchronized to fulfill their missions effectively. Achieving this fit requires intentional leadership, adaptive management, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Key Leadership Insights and Their Application to Government
1. Aligning Mission, Structure, and Capabilities
Private sector firms that excel in strategic fit ensure that their mission, structure, and capabilities reinforce each other. Government agencies, often burdened with bureaucratic silos, must similarly integrate their strategy and execution.
For example, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has increasingly focused on enhancing the customer experience for veterans by restructuring internal processes to match its service-oriented mission. By implementing human-centered design principles and leveraging data analytics, the VA ensures that its operational framework aligns with its strategic goal of improving veteran services.
The U.S. Department of State has also made significant strides in aligning its diplomatic mission with modern operational strategies. By leveraging advanced data analytics and restructuring its communication channels, the State Department enhances its ability to address global challenges efficiently. This alignment ensures that its diplomatic workforce, technological infrastructure, and strategic objectives function cohesively.
Leadership within government agencies should continuously assess whether their structure and workforce capabilities align with their overarching mission. Agencies that successfully navigate this alignment will be more agile and responsive to shifting demands.
2. Creating Cross-Functional Collaboration
One of the major challenges in government is inter-agency collaboration. Private sector companies that achieve strategic fit break down functional silos and foster teamwork across departments.
A federal example is NASA, which successfully collaborates across government, academia, and the private sector to achieve its ambitious space exploration goals. By working with commercial partners like SpaceX and Boeing while coordinating with agencies such as the Department of Defense and NOAA, NASA ensures that its research, technological advancements, and mission execution are seamlessly aligned.
Another example is the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which operates within the Department of Homeland Security. CISA works across multiple sectors—including federal, state, and private industry partners—to protect critical infrastructure from cyber threats. By aligning its mission with national security priorities and leveraging cross-agency collaboration, CISA enhances the nation's cyber resilience and ensures strategic fit in its approach to safeguarding digital assets.
To replicate these models across government, agency leaders should foster collaboration through joint initiatives, integrated data-sharing platforms, and cross-agency leadership development programs. By doing so, they can eliminate redundancies and maximize impact.
3. Leveraging Technology for Greater Alignment
In the private sector, companies use digital tools to synchronize strategy and execution. Federal agencies must do the same by integrating technology into their operational frameworks to ensure strategic fit.
A compelling example is the U.S. Census Bureau, which has embraced digital transformation to enhance data collection and analysis. By implementing cloud-based systems and AI-driven analytics, the Census Bureau ensures accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility in delivering population insights that guide federal decision-making.
The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) with its modernization efforts has also embraced digital transformation to streamline tax processing and enhance customer experience. Through AI-powered chatbots and automated data analysis, the IRS is reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies and improving service delivery.
Federal leaders must continue investing in technology-driven initiatives that align with their strategic goals. This means not only adopting emerging technologies but also ensuring that employees are equipped with the skills to utilize them effectively.
4. Enhancing Agility and Adaptability
The private sector thrives on rapid adaptation to market conditions. Government agencies, often constrained by rigid bureaucratic processes, must cultivate greater flexibility to respond to evolving challenges.
One example of adaptability in government is the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA has undertaken significant modernization efforts to improve healthcare delivery for veterans. By implementing electronic health records, telemedicine, and streamlined benefits processing, the VA aligns its operations with evolving healthcare needs. This strategic fit ensures that the agency remains responsive to the well-being of veterans while maintaining efficiency in service delivery.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also provides am example of adaptability in action. By shifting from a reactive disaster response model to a proactive resilience-building approach, FEMA has enhanced its ability to respond to crises more effectively. This shift aligns its operational capabilities with its strategic objective of mitigating disaster risks before they occur.
Agency leaders can foster agility by adopting iterative policy development approaches, encouraging experimentation, and empowering front-line employees to make data-driven decisions.
Conclusion: Strengthening Strategic Fit in Government
Federal agencies face complex and evolving challenges that require more than just incremental improvements. By applying the principles of strategic fit outlined by Rigby and First, government leaders can help their agencies operate with greater efficiency, collaboration, and innovation.
To achieve this, it would benefit federal agency leaders to ensure they:
- Align their agency’s mission, structure, and capabilities.
- Foster cross-functional collaboration and break down silos.
- Leverage technology to synchronize strategy and execution.
- Enhance agility to respond effectively to shifting demands.
As we navigate budget deficits, technological disruption, and rising public expectations, strategic fit offers a path to resilience and relevance. By embracing these private sector insights, government leaders can build organizations that are not only efficient but also resilient and forward-looking. Strategic fit is not just a corporate imperative—it is essential for effective governance in the 21st century.