Making changes to company culture or changing the way a team or board makes decisions can feel like an impossible and overwhelming undertaking.
We get far too comfortable going through the motions in meetings and lose sight of the connection to our team’s alignment and our capacity as a leader to make the practical changes we know are needed to drive our projects forward.
With the fourth step, Changes, in the 5Cs of Alignment, we find a process that allows us to re-engage with our team’s ideas and activate the creative energy of the group to come up with new and innovative solutions.
This is where all the magic happens.
Some Changes are minor but others create huge leaps forward and a momentum in the team that is breathtaking.
By using a codified process to collect opinions and solutions and allow time to explore, new and emergent ideas always rise to the surface.
The goal is not to please everyone but to land on the option most likely to be adopted by all involved.
One of my clients in Senior Leadership used the 5Cs of Alignment with their team when struggling to deliver on company initiatives, spinning in indecision and overwhelm, getting nowhere.
By going through the 5Cs and gathering data directly from the team on the ground we were able to clarify the project outlines and build a coherent team.
The changes step was the most exciting as we discovered new innovative solutions to each of the concerns. This brought a level of trust and safety in the team who felt valued for their part in contributing to the solution.
Finally, as we confirmed the commitment levels of the team we were able to focus and prioritize 5 initiatives that the team decided on collectively with all their questions and concerns addressed and clarified.
A clear action plan was in place and they started to see progress immediately. The lifting of overwhelm was palpable and they had a clear path to drive the initiatives forward.
We see this alignment process work again and again to get ideas and projects moving forward quickly, while activating the creative energy of the team and getting them on fire to deliver on time.
How much more time would you have if you didn’t need to go through endless brainstorm sessions without knowing who’s committed to take action on your ideas?
Imagine the clarity you would experience knowing that your team is offering their best ideas and contributing to the changes they want to see on a project and company level?