I have been reflecting on my vision for the world, for my future and for my family.
I am looking to see what areas of my life are misaligned and where I can bring more alignment to move projects forward, to scale my business, to launch my new alignment software and to serve my clients to step into the leaders they want to be.
I invite you to do the same.
It all starts with a vision.
What do you want to achieve for yourself, for your company, for your business, for your life?
Get clear on that first.
If you are a leader who has a vision of bringing about a new development in your organization, or a coach helping your clients with culture change then you know the challenge of decision making and trying to move things forward without the input from others in the organization.
True Leadership inspires committed and aligned action to achieve a better future, to reach our vision of a better world, a better environment to live and work in.
So how do we get there?
How can we be sure that everyone on the team is in agreement with our vision and is just as inspired as we are to take practical action?
Over ten years ago, I worked with George, a talented mid-level manager who was pulling together a joint venture between his US company and a European company. This challenge required a lot of political savvy. He had to build one team from two companies working across cultural and organizational lines. To complete his task, he used alignment practices to engage his leadership team in the work of crafting the mission, vision, values, and strategic plan of the joint venture.
Once plans were firm, his team shared what they were up to with upper management, employees, and partners using elegant presentations and simple graphics. Soon everyone could see their part in the bigger picture. The result was wildly successful and helped turn a US company into a thriving global enterprise.
George became so highly regarded that he eventually was named CEO of the global company and now has over 11,000 employees reporting to him. In his first week as CEO, he wasted no time and convened all his company managers to start the work of aligning a new vision for the enterprise. Usually, CEO kickoffs are just a lot of boring PowerPoint presentations punctuated by posturing during breaks. This session was not like that at all. The team was on fire; everyone was eager to play an active role in manifesting the vision. Clearly, this team was not only ready to stand behind George, they were ready to stand behind each other and the great ideas they crafted together.
George’s story is just one example of the power of alignment. If one leader like George can align his seventy managers, and they can align their 11,000 employees, who can align millions of customers, then alignment can shape the world.
If you, too, master the Art of Alignment, you can change the world for the better.
Imagine what we could do?
So start with you, what’s your vision?