I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of close to 100 executives recently about an 18-month business process transformation I co-created with one of my clients on how to redesign their inner workings and grow from $200M to $500M. I also continually chat dozens of people each month (via my coaching practice) about what alignment feels like to them personally.
Alignment looks the same in your personal life and your business.
Let’s examine.
As a consultant, I have worked with organizations to help them streamline and align their business processes to increase productivity and revenue.
Now, as a coach, I work with individuals to help them bring their careers, leadership prowess, and lives into alignment with their desires and values.
On a personal level, I believe in sometimes doing “hard work.” Although, I used to believe that we should always be doing the hard work; that you weren’t really working unless you were grinding. (High-achievers, I see you! I know you’ve bought into this lie too!) I’ve spent years coming to understand the difference between the feeling of doing good old fashioned “hard work” and doing work that was not in alignment to my greater purpose that felt “hard”. Let that sink in…they are different experiences if we are conscious of it.
Here’s the thing. When we are in alignment, it feels easy. That doesn’t mean we don’t make difficult decisions, max out our intellectual capabilities and skills and ask for big things from our teams, friends, and families. The difference is that it doesn’t feel soul-sucking “hard.” It feels right. You feel light and invigorated by the initiative – whatever it may be. See how this applies at home and at work? How this applies to both our personal transformations and our business transformations?
Out of Alignment = forcing, ‘pulling the leash’, in-fighting, sleepless nights, things constantly falling apart. Every decision feels hard and “icky” and emotionally charged, it is often every (wo)man for her/himself.
Alignment = allowing, energizing, collaborating, things might fall apart but they quickly pull back together to be better than they were to begin with, every decision is made with our highest good in mind and win-win situations abound.
Even during times of change, the feeling of alignment is possible. Don’t pull on the door you’re meant to push, as I once read.
I gave a candid interview that was just published. This woman (Megan Zink) runs the blog Moderately Excited as her passion project. This is her effort to be in full-alignment with serving her greater purpose. What struck me is that while I didn’t use the word “alignment” in this interview it truly was all about precisely that. See if our conversation inspires you, enlightens you or in the very least, validates you.
If you’re feeling “stuck” then something is out of alignment. I wish there was time for me to tell you about all the radical decisions I’ve made over the years on my own quest for alignment. (Now I make those decisions on a daily basis in an effort to preserve my alignment.) Suffice it to say, each small decision and step matters.
Which one would you like to take for yourself today?
