Do your kids seem to be going in a different direction than you are going?
Is your spouse pulling away from where you thought you were going
Within the team you are working, do you not feel everyone is on the same page?
Does your organization seem to be riddled with confusion about the purpose for which it is organized?
Alignment is the value that we are all going in the same direction.
- Alignment = working in sync
- Alignment = unity
- Alignment = moving in the same direction
- Alignment = flow
- Misalignment = friction
- Misalignment = working at odds
- Misalignment = incorrect arrangement
- Misalignment = resistance
Alignment is the value that we are all going in the same direction.
Have you ever tried to carry a piece of furniture pulling in different directions? Or maybe the speed at which it was being carried wasn’t in sync.
Without alignment energy is wasted, things wear unevenly, and things potentially get dropped.
When a car gets out of alignment, it starts pulling in a different direction. Let go of the steering wheel and the car seems to have a mind of its own.
When dealing with a car, alignment can never be fixed on the road. It always requires some time in the shop. I have never heard of it working itself back into alignment. The same goes for a team, marriage, or business. Alignment issues require time in the shop.
You can’t keep going and expect things to work themselves back into order. A conversation is necessary. A meeting must be scheduled. A timeout needs to be called.
You can’t continue barreling down the road.
In his book Visioneering, Andy Stanley writes, “Visions thrive in an environment of unity; they die in an environment of division.” Division holds the idea of competing visions. It means to see separate things, to see things differently, to not see things the same way. The etymology of division means to force apart.
Stanley offers a diagnostic for alignment, with the following questions:
- Are there alignment issues among team members (children, spouses, board, employees) that need to be addressed?
- What is keeping you from confronting the issues?
- What is the worst thing that could happen as a result of a confrontation?
- How does the misalignment among team members relate to the overall vision?
- How might the vision be negatively impacted if the alignment issue is not addressed?
- How has your leadership or behavior contributed to the alignment problems among team members?
- What steps do you need to take to address your contribution to the problem?
Abraham Lincoln said, “Some single mind must be master, else there will be no agreement in anything.”
Again, as Andy Stanley says, ““Visions thrive in an environment of unity; they die in an environment of division.”
