Attention to Alignment

crop unrecognizable orthopedist checking up back of woman in clinic

It was 4 am on Thursday and I was awoken by a real cry from my 3-year-old. Those of you with infant and toddler experience know what I mean when I say a real cry. Andy got up first and went into her room to try and calm her. When the normal approaches didn’t soothe, I got up and went in to assist-also unsuccessfully. She was holding her neck and cringing in pain. From 4 am to 9 am we continued to assess the situation. 

Did she have a freak accident and get bitten by a Black Widow? Did she get whiplashed yesterday and we didn’t know it? Is she playing us?

Unaligned.

We can’t always predict it, articulate the specific pain point, or what the root cause is, but wow, we can feel it. 

Luckily, in most cases, we can realign, but it takes grappling with the discomfort first. 

This week, I encourage you to spend some time scanning. Both your physical self as well as your roles and interactions within the organization. Where are you feeling solid and strong? What’s feeling pressured, slightly uncomfortable, or unclear?

The worst thing you can do when you are out of alignment is ignore it. Prioritize engaging in stretches literally and figuratively. Take some preventive actions to maintain the elements that are working, and respond to the areas that may need attention. 

As a leader, this may mean providing a space to scan and check in with your team. What’s working? Where is additional support or clarification needed? 

Facilitators, what actions can you take to ensure you are in alignment when bridging our organizational goals, values, and content to your partner’s context? 

Coaches, how are you ensuring you are in alignment with your coachees and leaders? When you talk about engagement and expectations, does their definition match yours? When we say improvement what will that look like and sound like?

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