December 29, 2025 • 52 mins
In the quiet space between Christmas and New Year’s, we revisit a favorite 2025 conversation with Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring on alignment.
This episode explores why high-performing teams aren’t just working hard—but moving in the same direction—and how leaders can create clarity, trust, and momentum at every level.
Reflection for the year ahead:
Can your team clearly see how their daily work connects to the bigger mission?
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- How organizational alignment fosters clarity and momentum.
- Why leadership alignment sets the tone for team success.
- The role of team alignment in creating a high-trust culture.
- How personal well-being impacts leadership effectiveness.
- Practical steps for ensuring alignment within your team and organization.
Key Quotes:
- "When an organization is aligned, people feel enthusiastic, energized, and connected." – Brian Schubring
- "The speed of the leader is the speed of the team." – Linda Schubring
- "When leaders communicate their vision clearly, their teams feel seen and heard." – Nathan Freeburg
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📘 Grab your copy + get the FREE Reflection Guide!
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Read the full blog post here!
CONTACT US
- email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
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ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_04 (00:53):
Hey everyone, it's Nathan Freeberg.
Welcome back to the LeadershipVision Podcast.
As we find ourselves in thisunique kind of twilight-y zone
of time between Christmas andNew Year, we wanted to take a
moment to look back before wemove forward into the new year.
So today we're revisiting one ofour favorite episodes from 2025.
It was a deep dive conversationinto the concept of alignment
(01:16):
that I had with Dr.
Linda and Brian Schubring.
And I chose this to rebroadcastbecause this specific
conversation, it really is agreat transition into the new
year.
It's which is obviously theperfect time to evaluate the
sync, if you will, within yourleadership.
So whether you're reflecting onyour organizational strategy or
(01:37):
your own personal well-beingalignment, I think, and our team
thinks, that this framework isreally gonna help you start your
next chapter with clarity andpurpose.
And as you listen, I do have anew reflection question for you
to think about.
And so as you think of the yearahead, wondering, or can you
just think about if every memberon your team is able to clearly
(02:00):
see the line of sight, which isreferenced in the episode,
between their daily tasks andthe organization's ultimate
mission, or are they, are youjust rowing hard in a direction
that hasn't been defined?
Now, for purposes of thisconversation, organization could
mean anything from your familyto the large organization that
(02:21):
you're a part of, or a volunteerclub, or anything like that.
So it's just a helpful frameworkas we start the year.
Enjoy.
Have you ever worked on a teamwhere everything just clicked,
where ideas flowed, trust washigh, and people weren't just
doing their jobs, but actuallyengaged in a shared mission?
Now think of the opposite (02:43):
an environment filled with
miscommunication, conflictingpriorities, and a sense that
nobody was on the same page.
Well, that's the power ofalignment, or maybe lack
thereof.
Hello everyone, my name isNathan Freeberg.
Welcome to the Leadership VisionPodcast, our show helping you
build positive team culture.
To learn more about us, you canclick on the link in the show
(03:03):
notes or visit us on the web atLeadership Vision
Consulting.com.
Today on the show, I have Dr.
Linda and Brian Schuberg, and weare going to be talking about
how alignment is one of the mostcrucial and often overlooked
elements of leadership.
Alignment isn't just abouthaving the right strategy on
paper, it's about creating theconditions for trust,
motivation, and sustainedsuccess.
(03:26):
And here's a kicker.
You ready for this?
It's not just a leadershiptheory, it's deeply rooted in
neuroscience and psychology,some of Brian's favorite easy
reading things to do onvacation.
So on the show today, we'regonna be breaking down alignment
into four critical areas.
Number one, organizationalalignment.
How well your company'sstrategy, culture, and execution
fit together.
(03:46):
Without it, confusion anddisengagement thrive.
Number two, leadershipalignment.
How well leaders' values,decisions, and actions match up.
Because when leaders aremisaligned, teams are just gonna
follow that pattern.
Number three, team alignment.
The key to high-performingteams, positive team culture, is
more than talent.
It's about trust, motivation,and clarity of purpose.
(04:07):
And number four, personal andinterpersonal alignment.
How your emotional,intellectual, and physical, even
well-being impact your abilityto lead effectively.
Misalignment at this level leadsto burnout and poor decision
making.
Now, which of these is the mostimportant?
Well, that's what we're going totalk about here today.
Honestly, they're allinterconnected, and a misaligned
(04:28):
leader creates misaligned teams.
A misaligned organizationstruggles to execute its vision,
and when leaders themselvesaren't aligned internally, well,
everything else just kind offalls apart.
So today we're bringing inneuroscience, psychology, and
real-world leadership examplesfrom some of our clients, with
the names, of course, obscuredto protect their identities to
help you understand whyalignment matters and how you
(04:50):
can build it at every level.
So let's get started.
We are as aligned as usual.
I think that's good.
SPEAKER_00 (05:10):
Let's not talk about where we're not aligned.
SPEAKER_04 (05:11):
Yes, we're we are aligned.
Some days we're not aligned interms of technology.
Some days we're not aligned interms of we don't have enough
coffee.
Some days we're not alignedbecause we're looking at the
wrong document.
But I feel pretty good aboutthis today.
Uh, as I said in my intro, we'regonna be talking about
neuroscience, we're gonna betalking about psychology.
(05:34):
But first and foremost, we'regonna be talking well, all of us
in the context of alignment.
So would one of you like tomaybe, I don't know, you heard
my intro, set this up anymore?
Do we need any more?
Can we just get into the foursides?
Where are we at here?
SPEAKER_02 (05:47):
Yeah, I'll give a little more because I want to
start on a positive note.
We work with a lot oforganizations, a main different
sizes, and one of the thingsthat we know to be true is that
when an organization and whoeverthat is that does this next
thing, when they sit down tothink about who are we, what is
our vision, what do we want todo, what are our values, what we
(06:09):
know is that they're usuallyreally well aligned.
The topics they discuss, thevalues they identify, the
strategies that are aligned withtheir business model, we see we
find over and over again a lotof alignment there.
And so I think that companies doa relatively great job um
setting the foundational work tocreate the types of alignment
(06:32):
that they're looking for.
It's the after uh that usuallyis a problem, or not spending
some of the time to identify thebehaviors and the emotions and
you know what does performancelook like to align with these
values.
However, at the beginning, wethink that people do a really
great job at it.
SPEAKER_00 (06:48):
I think that's such a great start.
And it is true that theorganizations that we work with
often have great leaders thatare repeating a message so that
when when we're interacting withmembers of the team, when we're
interacting with members ofmembers of the organization,
there's almost a anunderstanding of everyone is
(07:10):
kind of going in the samedirection.
I think it's sometimes thefine-tuning because we're so
familiar with the message andthe intention for some of the
alignment conversation, it's thefine-tuning where it starts to
feel like that's out of tune,there's something breaking down
here.
It doesn't match exactly wherewe're headed.
(07:32):
And I think that allows us toget curious and start asking
questions.
Well, is this just a person?
Is this because of outsidepressures or inside pressures?
And I think that's part of theconversation that we want to
have today.
SPEAKER_02 (07:46):
And the reason why I want to start with this example
is because if you are a part ofa company or a part of a team
and you've ever been a part ofone of these meetings or, you
know, an off-site event or anall-employee meeting where the
values were shared, the visionwas shared, the strategy was
shared.
Just that experience alone doesso much to the the human psyche
(08:07):
and the emotional side of who weare because people are all
gathered together.
We're talking about the thingsthat we believe in, where we're
amplifying the cause of whywe're all showing up.
People feel great about that.
They feel enthusiastic, theyfeel energized, they feel
connected to each other.
And it it and usually theseevents are happening with people
(08:27):
that we work with, creatinggreater social bonds and even
elevating levels of trust areall going to go in the same
direction.
The reason why these sessionsare so important is because it
creates that kind ofhuman-to-human connection that
people need so much.
So they so when we talk aboutalignment around values and
strategy and culture, it'simportant to recognize when and
(08:49):
where these uh values andstrategies are created, because
just that event itself isusually a time when people are
emotionally invested, they areintellectually stimulated, and
they feel a sense of connectionwith their people.
So that emotional andpsychological memory, when you
(09:10):
start to bend away from that,when things begin to maybe get a
little off-center, people feelthat first before they recognize
that the actual mode of work ornot meeting our objectives is
causing us to feel a sense ofdisconnection, a lack of
harmony, a lack ofsynchronization.
And that's really where peoplebegin to sense that something's
(09:31):
out of alignment because they'refeeling differently than when
the initial expression of thisis who we are happened.
SPEAKER_04 (09:38):
So this is a great transition into this first side
of the frame, part one, if youwill, about organizational
alignment.
And I think we could all thinkof organizations that struggle
with this misalignment betweenstrategy, culture, execution,
whatever it is, but perhapsshare a couple indicators or
markers that organizations useto know, hey, we are aligned,
(10:01):
like we are all going in thesame direction.
These things are matching up.
Like, what should folks belooking for to, you know, kind
of elevate positive alignment,if you will?
SPEAKER_00 (10:11):
I remember one of my mentors once saying to me that
the speed of the leader is thespeed of the team.
And I remember when he shared itwith me, I thought, I don't even
know what that means.
Um I can assume I know what itwe means, and then we have seen
it lived out.
And there are some examples thatthat we have of uh partnerships
(10:32):
with leaders who are so alignedand bought in to their vision or
the collective vision of wherethe organization is going, that
that that speed that that leaderis taking indicates the speed of
the organization.
And we've been working with anagency for a while now, and as
(10:54):
we have heard this leader speakand interact, we hear remnants
of her voice at all levels ofthe organization.
And for me, you can feel it asyou walk around on the entire
floor.
And even you can feel it whenyou talk to people in a Zoom
(11:16):
call or in some sort of off-sitemeeting.
And we find that a leadingindicator of organizations that
are very much aligned have aleader that is willing to walk
the tight rope with their armsout, um, helping balance the
whole organization.
SPEAKER_04 (11:36):
So, Linda, we're talking about organizational
alignment.
The second part, which we'll getto in a second, is leadership
alignment.
You just gave an example of theleader, is this, that, and the
other thing to know if yourorganizational is aligned.
Help me understand why that'simportant.
SPEAKER_00 (11:52):
Yes, and what I'd like to share is that how I see
it as different.
Um, the organizational alignmentis this all-encompassing what is
the overall feel?
Is the is the organizationheaded in the same direction?
And that usually comes with asingle leader, or usually single
(12:16):
leader, that paints that horizonso clearly that that's that's
the motion or momentum that therest of the org is taking.
It's different than leadershipalignment because then it's not
just a single leader, but oftena leadership team, whether it's
executive, senior, or evenmiddle managers.
(12:36):
And I think that's thedistinction we're making.
And that's why I think theleader's voice within
organizational alignment is socritical.
SPEAKER_02 (12:45):
Brian, what do you want to add to that?
Now, this is where my mind goes.
Like when we ask the questionabout organizational alignment,
I almost have this vision ofpeople saying, I'm all in for
the cause and the purpose ofwhat this organization stands
for.
That they step across thatthreshold from the outside world
into the organization every day,sure, and they're saying, I'm
(13:07):
here to support thisorganization's cause because
they feel that part of theiridentity is aligned with the
organizational's alignments.
How do we get there?
And I think that part of how weget there is that an
organization is clear on theirmessaging, like this is who we
are and this is what we'redoing.
Um, the organization is able tosay this is the direction that
(13:30):
we're headed, and they cansupport it, and they know why.
Organizational alignment, Ithink, has a lot to do with an
organization's understanding ofhow they got to where they are.
Because that's the kind ofbecause knowing an
organization's history, knowingan organization's track record,
people can, you know, they canactually touch that.
And that also reinforces whetherthey can trust leadership to
(13:51):
take us into the future.
SPEAKER_04 (13:52):
So give me some examples like specific from our
clients.
What does that actually looklike to know the organization is
aligned and going into thefuture?
SPEAKER_00 (14:02):
Aaron Ross Powell It's talking to some of the
staff that are going through anexperience with us, and we'll
ask them how they arrived at theorganization, and they could
say, I read the missionstatement on the website, and I
knew that's where I wanted to,you know, where I wanted to be.
The reputation of thisorganization made me feel that I
(14:24):
could really contribute or addvalue when people get excited
about even the writtendocumentation of who an
organization aspires to be.
There are pe there's it's almosta rallying cry to join in and be
a part of that.
Oftentimes, then people willcome in and be like, wait a
(14:47):
minute, this is not what I Ithought we were more this.
And I think that's where we findthat the executive director, the
CEO, the person in charge issaying, This is where we're
headed.
It will take time to get there,but to be a part of this
organization means you'realigned and you are even aligned
(15:10):
in in your ideals or purpose tobe a part of the motion to get
where we want to be.
SPEAKER_02 (15:19):
Organizational alignment isn't intuitive, it's
pretty pragmatic and practical.
It's something that you canmeasure, it's something that you
can see.
Organizational alignment isbeing able to see how the risks
that were taken have brought usto where we are and are keeping
us heading in the rightdirection.
And same thing with decisions.
(15:40):
Organizational alignment happenswhen the decisions that are
being made are all kind offalling in the same direction.
They're headed towards the samepoint on the horizon.
Even the changes that are made,organizational alignment is seen
when changes are actuallyadapting back towards an
original vision or a solve orsome type of opportunity that
(16:03):
we're we're moving forward andwe're kind of just nudging as we
go, nudging as we go.
There's a synchronicity in themomentum because more than one
person or more than one team isinvolved.
That's when you know somethingis aligned within the
organization.
When people start to behavesimilarly, they they they kind
of sound the same way, they'rerepeating some of the same
language.
(16:24):
That's some of the tells oforganizational alignment.
Interesting.
Even how people address, howpeople dress, how they show up,
the things they do for hobbies.
Like I've seen organizationalalignment just in how people
like spend their free time,right?
They kind of have the same kindof interests.
Um, and that's always surprisingme, but not surprising.
Like, well, of course they'regonna have interests that are
(16:44):
the same, because they're kindof doing the same kind of work.
SPEAKER_04 (16:46):
So, what you're saying is if the employees are
drinking the Kool-Aid or theyunderstand they can articulate
it, then you know that at thetop the organization has done
something right.
If yeah, if if if no employeesat Nike are actually wearing
Nike, something's wrong.
But as we know, most of them areall decked out in Nike wherever
(17:08):
they go.
Okay.
There's something I mean, that'sa different exact maybe a bad
example, but you get the idea.
SPEAKER_02 (17:13):
That's a great example, but just change the
company name and there's we findwhen organ organizations are
aligned, people are acting,behaving, believing kind of in
similar ways.
Oh man, the examples here arejust abundant.
Give a couple we have someorganizations where when there
(17:38):
is a community event celebrationor something, they all show up.
Everybody shows up.
Not everybody, but most peopleshow up.
Yeah.
That there's just they'reinvolved in the events that say
this is who we are.
There are other organizationswhere they do look similar, they
kind of dress the same way, andthat kind of shows that you know
(18:01):
we can be comfortable andserious and super smart, but we
don't have to dress up to behere.
Um, when work styles aresimilar, when when people really
try to meet their goals and thecommitments that they made in a
timely manner, we've seenorganizations where you know
that that level of work isexpected, they play into it, and
(18:22):
you have people there that havehigh achievers, they love to
check things off their lists,they just have that kind of way
of doing.
We've been a part oforganizations where we where
there's humor there.
I and I think that's part ofwhat represents organizational
alignment is that people have acertain way of having fun
together.
Yeah.
And those are all things thatsay, you know what, there's
(18:44):
unity here among the people, andthat's something to be
celebrated.
Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_00 (18:50):
Yeah, or the or the ways that they live out the
values or the mission.
So there are some organizationsI'm thinking of where they they
dress sharply.
Um I was gonna say dress to thenines, but I don't even know
exactly what that means.
I know what it means.
But what does that mean?
SPEAKER_02 (19:08):
Why not the tens?
SPEAKER_04 (19:09):
Nobody knows.
Nobody knows.
Ten would be better.
Or eleven.
This one goes to eleven.
SPEAKER_00 (19:13):
But dressed to the eleven.
Oh yeah.
What movie is that?
SPEAKER_02 (19:20):
Um it's not space.
Spinal tape though.
Spinal tap.
Volumes up to eleven.
Yeah.
It's a special amp.
SPEAKER_00 (19:27):
Oh, okay.
So it's so there is anexpectation when certain people
are visiting or certainpresentations are happening that
people act, interact, dress upfor that specific event or uh
once again in the language, onceagain in how we detect whether a
(19:51):
level of excitement.
Once again, it's not necessarilypersonality-based.
Like everyone has to be wild andoutgoing, but there's a sense of
no, I see I have a line of sightinto how I can contribute
because I know what it means tobe aligned.
SPEAKER_02 (20:09):
So we're saying is it's important that
organizations are aligned ontheir strategy, their culture,
their vision, their values.
It's also and thatorganizational alignment is also
seen in many of the ways thatpeople show up, their work
patterns, their interpersonaland social patterns.
(20:31):
That's where you can also seeorganizational alignment.
And the reason why I think thisis so important is because when
people feel like they're withinthose expectations or they're
within those communities, theyfeel a greater sense of
belonging.
And then we also know thatpeople that may not fit for
whatever reason, they'll alsofeel a dissonance because they
(20:53):
Don't feel they're a part ofthat inner circle or that
community and culture.
SPEAKER_04 (20:59):
So, like this, the first side of the frame,
organizational alignment.
The second side of the frame isleadership alignment.
And that is really about therole of individual leaders in
maintaining personal andstrategic alignment.
So as we know, leadership startsat the top.
And your earlier quote, Linda,about what was it, the speed of
(21:19):
the leader?
SPEAKER_00 (21:20):
The speed of the leader is the speed of the
leader.
SPEAKER_04 (21:21):
Determines it.
So how do you think leadersensure that their values, their
decisions, their actions, andagain, we're talking about, you
know, maybe the individual teamleaders, not necessarily the
CEO.
How do we ensure that thatremains in sync?
Maybe uh speak about it brieflyphilosophically and then uh
(21:42):
share some examples.
SPEAKER_02 (21:44):
Philosophically, we think it's important that
leaders and leadership teamsspend time reminding themselves
of what it means to be aligned.
Remind themselves of what theirobjectives are, what their big
projects are, what they believein.
Because every time that youremind uh a leadership team or
any team for that matter of whywe're here and reminding people
(22:05):
of why they're committed to thework, that increases the
potential of social bonding thathappens among that team.
When that happens, people feelrelationally closer to
individuals because they feelthat they, as a leadership team,
are aligned.
And the reason why I want toemphasize leadership team is
(22:25):
because when you have a becausewhen that leadership team comes
together, they're also bringingthe teams that are reporting to
them, the teams that they'releading and the people that they
represent.
And when people feel likethey're risking together, not
only is that trust elevating,but that responsibility to
ensure that their teams arecared for, that also increases
(22:47):
that social bond, that socialconnection.
SPEAKER_00 (22:50):
Even if, and especially if there's great
diversity in those leadershipteam members.
So, for example, we worked witha group of three leaders who are
leading and kind of on theleading edge of this
organization.
They're going through a lot ofchange, and these three leaders
could not be more different.
(23:12):
And we did an exercise with themthat we've done with other
companies as well.
And this exercise was name threewords that describe the culture
of the organization.
And we gave them a little bit oftime to think.
And this group of three cameback with very similar words.
(23:33):
Once again, words out of theirown experience and even ratings
of how, you know, how good theculture is, as well as then had
them think about some of theaspirational values or ways that
they would detect cultureseveral months from now.
And same thing happened.
(23:53):
Very much aligned.
Once again, different words anddifferent examples, but this
clarity and excitement wasbuilding as they were kind of
nodding, like, yeah, or actuallyI would fine-tune it this way,
or I would um edit this.
Is that kind of what we'relooking at?
And that exercise reallydemonstrated to me that you can
(24:16):
be very different people,different backgrounds, different
motivations for even being inyour role, and can be very much
aligned.
Because what it allowed peoplethough that group of three, what
it allowed them to do was todemonstrate what is okay and not
okay to the rest of theorganization.
And what they were doing isalmost closing the gap of the
(24:39):
lack of alignment that there hadbeen historically.
So it was it was an excitingthing.
SPEAKER_02 (24:45):
And the reason why we're focusing on leadership
alignment so much is not only doleaders represent their teams
and the and the people'sresponsibilities and the
organizational responsibilitiesthat their teams have, what
we've also come to realize andseen over and over again is that
some of the executive leadershipteams that we work with are the
(25:07):
most diverse teams within anentire organization.
And when a leadership teamlearns how to become aligned,
not just in what they're doingin their area of expertise, but
aligned around how differenteach of these executive leaders
are.
They're usually very differentethnically, culturally, their
education is very different,their at their levels of
(25:28):
expertise are vastly different.
And so the distance between thepeople is pretty great.
When an executive leadershipteam learns how to work across
those gaps, learns how to seethe value of someone else's
perspective and learns how tolisten in in different ways.
When they understand what takingtrust risks are, then when they
(25:51):
lead their teams, they areuniquely equipped to deal with a
team that is probably morealigned with their skill level,
their background, becausethey've learned how to wrestle
across greater differences.
When they do lead their teams,they're better equipped for how
to create a positive teamculture where high trust is
(26:15):
present, where people workthrough conflict and challenge
in constructive ways, and wherepeople can know each other in
unique ways.
So the executive leader passesdown what they've learned from
being aligned at a higher level,then they bring it to their
teams, and they know what toactually look for, what to
expect, and how to motivate whenthey're working with their
(26:35):
specific teams ofresponsibility.
So this is I believe that bigtime.
SPEAKER_04 (26:41):
I love that.
And this is clearly part threethen.
Yes.
How teams function when they arealigned and what happens when
they're not.
Do you think this is I don'twant to say the most important
level or the most importantplace for this whole frame to
work?
Because as we said, there's allthey're all connected.
(27:03):
But when you think of theindividual leader, when you
think of the team as a whole,how uh what's my question here?
Maybe be very like how does aleader do that very
specifically?
You know, just buying matchingshirts, doing lots of team
dinners, like what are thosehats.
Hats and shirts.
Hats and shirts, the collectiongo together.
I like it.
SPEAKER_02 (27:22):
Well, uh Nathan, this may not be in the podcast.
I think the most important levelis what the individual needs
professionally and emotionallyto feel like they are aligned.
And the team environment is thecontext where someone finds
their alignment.
It's in the place, but it is thethe person saying, you know
(27:44):
what?
For me to feel aligned, theseare some of the tactile things
that I need.
This is the kind of clarity thatI need.
And it sounds like a veryselfish question, but it's that
that individual feeling safeenough to say I need to know how
my contribution is actuallyhelping us get to that deadline.
(28:06):
Or I need to know that myopinion matters.
So when you talk then look onthe team, I think it's within
the team where when when teamsare aligned, people feel and
experience three things.
And we've seen this over andover again.
People feel seen, they feelheard, and they feel understood.
(28:28):
And when they when those threethings happen, those are some of
the immediate indicators thatthere's a psychological safety
happening on that team wherepeople know that they belong
because when they talk, peoplelisten.
When people are feeling likethey're they're really
struggling emotionally, not onlycan they vent what they're
feeling emotionally, but theirleader actually hears with a
(28:50):
sense of compassion that they'restruggling with something.
Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_00 (28:55):
Yeah, it makes sense and it makes me think of some of
the examples of where we've seengreat team alignment and where
we haven't.
When a leader of a team can besuccinct with that team about
what the purpose is for thatteam that contributes to the
overall organizationalalignment, game over.
(29:19):
When those team membersunderstand that their work in
finance helps the whole, whenthey they understand that their
work in IT helps the whole inselling, so on.
Where we find alignmentbreakdown is often when that
leader of a team, you know,maybe they're really aligned
with the leadership team, thenthey go to their team and be
(29:41):
like, oh, I don't know how thisis gonna happen.
And if a leader gives excuses toteam members of why they don't
belong, or I guess this won'twork, that's where some of the
fractures and fissures come whenit comes to alignment within a
whole organization.
It kind of bubbles up to thatleadership level, and teams then
(30:03):
they can almost feel like thissense of energy growing of like,
yeah, we're either way.
They feel this in energy oflike, yep, and this is why we're
different, and that's nevergonna work, and we're gonna just
sit over here and watch how thisthing is gonna explode.
Or they can say, This is how Idirectly impact the mission, the
(30:24):
values of the organization.
And that's where catalyticbreakthrough happens.
That's really good.
SPEAKER_04 (30:31):
So this then, Linda, sounds immediately like going to
part four (30:33):
the personal, interpersonal alignment, how
individuals manage their ownwell-being, how they're able to
sustain high performance.
I mean, this is everything from,you know, how are you managing
your own stress?
How are you managing your ownworkload?
How are you taking breaks whenyou need it?
In some ways, I feel like thisalmost should be the starting
(30:54):
point of this, but maybe not.
Maybe there is no startingpoint, maybe they all happen
succinctly.
How does part four fit in withthe whole?
SPEAKER_00 (31:03):
Yeah, I'm not sure it would be helpful to get into
the chicken and the egg when itcomes to what you need to do to
get ready to be a contributingmember to an organization, um,
or how you're gonna helpindividually be aligned and
demonstrate that you're alignedand contribute to the alignment
of the overall.
(31:24):
Sometimes there are individualsthat have a lot of needs, and
sometimes it's the good leadersthat look at those individuals
and say, I know you're notgetting all your needs met.
I just need you to row in thisdirection.
This is where this is wherewe're going.
And we find with a lot of theleaders that we work with, when
(31:44):
there is misalignment in theteam or misalignment with
individuals, really it comesdown to a culture fit.
Really, it comes down to theleaders that are saying, like,
maybe I'm not, maybe I'm notgoing where everyone else is
going anymore.
And sometimes getting clear withdo you have a line of sight to
(32:06):
see how you belong to thisorganization, how you belong to
the cause, how you belong to thefuture lean of wherever this org
is heading, do you find meaningin the day-to-day?
Do you understand why you'rehere?
That there's often thiscognitive leap that happens that
just says, yep, even though Idon't have all my needs met,
(32:27):
even though I haven't maybeslept the best, or I have
pressures at home, or uhconflicting, you know, needs
around in my environment.
So sometimes I think it just forfor leaders, for individuals, it
begins with getting clear in whyyou belong and why you want to
(32:50):
be a part of this in the firstplace.
Why are you what what are youthinking about as you're
listening to me?
That was good.
Wow.
SPEAKER_04 (32:57):
Very good.
Brian, what would you add tothat?
SPEAKER_00 (33:02):
Don't act so surprised.
SPEAKER_03 (33:03):
Whoa my gosh, can you believe what she just did,
Doctor?
SPEAKER_00 (33:07):
Well, why it's like explain wow.
This is what we live in.
SPEAKER_02 (33:10):
I believe uh all that you said, it's really,
really important.
It wasn't what I was thinking.
But it's important for a personto be able to ask and answer
those those questions and togive themselves whatever time it
takes to arrive at that placebecause I believe that that's so
important to how someone showsup.
I was just thinking aboutalignment before someone shows
(33:32):
up.
SPEAKER_00 (33:33):
Oh, tell us more about that.
SPEAKER_02 (33:35):
Oh.
Um can't just say that and thenbe like, wait, why?
SPEAKER_00 (33:38):
Why would I just I was gonna say something really
brilliant, but I'll wait for it.
SPEAKER_02 (33:42):
No, I was thinking about a person being aligned
before they show up.
SPEAKER_00 (33:45):
Yeah, talk about that.
SPEAKER_02 (33:47):
Um when an organization is aligned, I feel
that I often see people who arealigned.
And when we work with teamswhere we feel that the team
isn't functioning in alignment,I often hear that individuals
kind of question like thatthere's some things about their
life that are not alignedeither.
(34:09):
And so I really believe thatthis question about alignment,
it kind of settles into howaligned are we as individuals?
Like, how self-aware are we?
What do we need so that we canarrive in an emotionally stable
state?
Like, what does that alignmentlook like?
What are some of the theself-care practices that that we
(34:33):
engage in so that we'repromoting our own well-being?
And like, what does that looklike?
And oftentimes we only payattention to that when things
seem to be out of alignment,then we think about what are the
adjustments I need to make.
But oftentimes it's just thatsimple consistency of ensuring
that each of us are aligned,whether that's in an
intellectual way, relationalway, physical way, emotional
(34:55):
way.
Because when we have that senseof alignment within ourselves,
that means that our stresslevels are low, our cortisol
levels are low before we arriveinto an organization or a team
where there could be stress andtension and anxiety there.
We're more able to adapt.
(35:16):
We have maybe we may be betterequipped to handle the stress
outside.
If we feel like we're alignedwith who we are as individuals,
I believe that when people arealigned with their own identity,
then they then have a choice ofhow they want to express
themselves in the worlds withinwhich they work, with the people
(35:37):
that they work for thebetterment of others, because
they know what they themselvesneed.
Because I know personally, I'msure that the two of you can't
attest to that, that when I feellike I'm out of alignment, it
may be felt by others or heardby other people.
Or there's there's what is thattell me more?
And what is that?
Tell me more.
So when when individualsprioritize their health and
(36:00):
their well-being, I feel thatpeople are aligned themselves.
When we have a more healthy,more aligned individual show up
to a team, that can promoteothers to align more quickly
because we trust one another tobe able to know and care for
each other as is needed.
SPEAKER_00 (36:18):
And we also know that context can shape shift all
of that.
So I've I've seen That's true.
I've seen the other angle wheresomeone comes in and they're
really grounded and they've beentaking care of themselves and
they're ready to just go.
That's true.
And the intensity of theenvironment, the pressures from
the outside, the pressures ofthe industry begin to erode that
(36:43):
individual alignment.
And I think that's whyindividual is only alignment is
only a part of the four sides,knowing that, okay, as an
individual, I'm starting to feelcrushed.
But what can I do as a member ofthe team?
What can I do to help my leader?
What can I uh do to help theoverall organization or repeat
(37:04):
the messages of what theexecutive director is speaking?
So sometimes it just really likepeople can get crushed in the
alignment.
And and I think then sometimespeople are blamed.
Blamed for for causing the umthe chaos, or you're you know,
(37:27):
like you're not providing thekind of alignment, or it's your
fault when I think if we do abetter job at detecting the
pressures and the things thatare outside of our control, then
I think we get closer to toknowing then, okay, how do I
prepare differently?
Not not how do I just run alittle bit more and eat a few
(37:48):
more vegetables, but how I meanit does help a lot.
Sleeping also helps.
However, there are times whenyou just need a higher level
call when you know, detectinghow you act in an emergency, how
you act in when there's a senseof urgency, it's do or die.
And we do find that that nomatter I don't know how poorly
(38:11):
you might be aligned, if youcare about your team members, if
you care about the organization,there are times where we see the
best from humanity.
SPEAKER_02 (38:20):
One of the things that Linda said is abundantly
true is that people often losetrack of their own well-being to
be aligned with an organizationbecause that culture has such a
strong pull.
Psychologically, neurologically,there is such a strong need for
a human being to belong tosomething that they're likely to
(38:41):
sacrifice some of their ownunique behavioral patterns and
preferences to belong, eventhough they know that by
surrendering or giving up asense of being healthy for
themselves to belong, they havea stronger need to belong than
to be healthy.
Than for self-care.
It's like you'll, you know, it'slike that guy that cut his leg
off with a pocket knife.
(39:02):
Like, I need to live.
SPEAKER_00 (39:03):
Okay, maybe it was his.
Maybe that's a bad example.
SPEAKER_02 (39:06):
But that's that's his arm?
SPEAKER_04 (39:07):
Yeah, that's the 87 hours.
That's interesting because don'tyou think we It's true, we all
sacrifice a little something tobe in relationship with others?
I mean, certainly parents dothat.
Certainly each other with theloving eyes.
There's so much daily is how doyou know if uh if you're aligned
(39:34):
with like it's it it's okay thatI don't always get to eat where
I want to eat when we go out.
That's okay because sometimes Ido, and I would rather make my
family happy.
Uh, you know, you could probablyget a work example in there, a
lot of work examples in there,and so it's it's interesting to
think about for the individualare you healthy enough that you
know what your uh you knowhills, proverbial hill to die on
(39:57):
is versus like, you know what, Iactually don't care about the
color of the flowers in thelobby or whatever it is.
SPEAKER_00 (40:04):
Sometimes people see the word alignment and they
think compromise, or they thinkit's all or nothing, or this is
what it means.
And I think compromise is good,but it there's also the give and
take.
And so it's not compromising whoyou are, not compromise your
your contribution, notcompromising why you even you
(40:29):
know showed up to thisorganization or this team in the
first place.
So when I think about alignment,I think that we're not always
aligned.
And so it's how do you what kindof levers can you pull, whether
organizationally, as a team,leadership, individual, in order
to promote greater alignment?
(40:49):
I think that's that's really theheart of what we're inviting
people to think.
SPEAKER_04 (40:54):
And I think from this conversation, and if you
look at the show notes, you'llsee it all written out, but this
idea that there's four parts toorganizate, like to get
everything aligned, is not justthe CEO has to have a really
good mission and visionstatement.
It's not just that you have tohave a really great leader or a
(41:16):
great team or all the people.
It's just it all works together.
And to your earlier point,Linda, it's we don't need to
talk about the chicken or theegg here.
It's kind of all happens atonce.
It all happens first and it allhappens second.
So there's a And it's not easy.
And it's not easy.
There's this, there's this uh Iwas listening to uh U2's Songs
(41:37):
of Surrender album recently,where they've all their popular
songs, they've rewritten some ofthe lyrics, and there's a lyric
in Beautiful Day that I actuallylooked up, and it's a quote from
a Mexican poet.
Laughter is the evidence offreedom.
And I was like, oh, that'sinteresting.
I wonder if that's why I likelaughing so much and like making
other people laugh is becauseit's an indicator of something
(42:01):
else.
And so I guess I don't know toclose things out, or but just to
think about if you havesomething in your own life that
you can use as a as a anindicator of alignment, that
when I am aligned with myself,with my team, it means that I
don't know, I laugh more.
Maybe it is laughter, maybe it'sI sleep better and I'm not
(42:24):
falling asleep at four o'clockin the afternoon, or whatever
that is.
Perhaps that's uh some homeworkwe can give our listeners is to
think about, you know, for mepersonally, Nathan as an
individual, Nathan as a teamleader, Nathan as, you know, any
any one of these four things,what is that indicator of
alignment for me?
Um, off the top of your heads,Brian and Linda, do you have
(42:46):
something that you would say foreither one of you?
Is I know that I'm aligned in myjob, in my life, whatever, if
this one particular thing ispresent, if I'm does any of that
make sense?
SPEAKER_00 (43:03):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_04 (43:06):
All the things you can't say.
I know.
I do not want to make thisnegative.
SPEAKER_02 (43:10):
No, this is not negative.
Because I spend a lot of my timeobserving what's aligned in my
life and how I feel.
Okay.
SPEAKER_04 (43:22):
Um where's this going?
SPEAKER_00 (43:29):
I know.
I'm I'm sitting back andwaiting.
SPEAKER_02 (43:33):
Um let me ease into this.
Okay, here we go.
The other day we were uh in ameeting with a CEO and a CFO.
And it was clear from the momentthe cameras were on that these
two were aligned.
They their facial expressionswere the same.
(43:54):
When they got serious, they bothgot like if one got passionate
about the vision, the other onedid too.
It's like they were finishingeach other's sentences, um, and
they were just talking aboutothers that agreed the same way,
what no matter what the level ofthe organization that this you
knew that they were aligned inthe same direction.
Um they were complementary ofeach other.
(44:15):
We've been in otherconversations just this week
where you can tell that they'renot aligned by the language that
they're using, how they talkabout their team members, the
questions that they ask, theamount of stress they're
bringing in the conversation.
Both of these examples point towhere I'm going.
(44:37):
People pay attention to what isreinforcing their feeling that
they're aligned, and people payattention to when they're not
aligned.
They can name them.
Then the important thing is thenwhat do you do with that
information?
Um Linda and I have a lot ofconversations about the way that
we're feeling and things thatare happening in our lives about
(44:59):
you know, that were that reflectwhether we're in alignment or
not.
On the meta level, you know, dowe have a consistency in getting
away and going on vacation?
That's alignment.
Even to like having healthymeals.
That's alignment for mepersonally.
Like I sometimes feel the mostaligned when you know I'm in an
(45:23):
environment where there are I'msurrounded by competitive
athletes, we're working outtogether, and there's a sense of
unity there.
Um, like you're in a uh lane ofa pool with six other people,
and you're just like, you'rekilling it with each other.
I just love that sense of likewe're on the same page, yeah.
(45:43):
You know, we're workingtogether.
We don't have to say why we'rethere, you just know it.
And when you're on a team wherethat happens too, when we show
up somewhere and we know thatthat team is driven, no matter
how intense the situation is orhow difficult the lifting is,
you can just feel that thisgroup is about one thing.
Yeah, uh, they're creatingsomething really important,
(46:06):
they're willing to make thesacrifices for themselves and
for their teams because they'rejust aligned on what needs to be
done.
You can just feel it.
And that to me is important onall levels.
Yeah.
I don't know.
That was a long answer to Idon't even know where the
question was.
SPEAKER_04 (46:24):
No, but I think it's how do you feel I think it
speaks to I I think sometimes inbusiness we want we want a
number, we want an indicatorthat this is working, that this
is aligned, be that you know anROI, a blah blah blah number,
whatever.
And there's some element of thisthat it's more art than science
that you can, to your point, youcan feel it.
(46:45):
You can uh you know, you'relaughing more.
Like there's just there's acertain thing, like we were just
traveling with another family toDisneyland, and there was
alignment in how we werenavigating the parks.
Like you could just kind of feelit.
There wasn't ever uh the stressor pressure to run to the next
ride, but there was also anurgency because we wanted to do
(47:07):
a lot, and the two families werejust really in sync and aligned
in a way that just felt good.
It wasn't like, okay, let's sitdown.
All right, we're gonna do thisat this time and da-da-da.
It just kind of worked.
And I wonder sometimes inbusiness it's harder because
there's obviously more peopleand there's more in the line,
but you have to sort of knoweach other well enough.
We know these families, thesethis family from these things,
(47:28):
it speaks to some of that truststuff.
Put in the work to get to knowthese people at a personal
level.
So on your team, how are youdoing that?
Make sure that you understandwhat your organization is about
and what they stand for.
And then I don't know.
And also I think, you know,there's a uh a preschool at the
end of our street that's a giantsign out that says progress, not
(47:50):
perfection.
SPEAKER_01 (47:51):
Yes.
SPEAKER_04 (47:52):
And how often is that yeah, yeah.
How often is that a re do weneed that as a reminder in all
of life that we're just we'reprogressing towards alignment?
It doesn't have to be perfect,but we're moving moving the
needle towards a more alignedpersonal, interpersonal, team,
(48:12):
organization level, and I thinkevery time we get aligned is the
is an opportunity for like somewheel to fall off.
SPEAKER_00 (48:21):
So for me, if what?
Yeah, to yeah.
Well, no, get so get this.
Well, that's kind of extreme.
But Nathan, in your question of,you know, what are some of the
indicators for us, I thought ifmy check engine light comes on,
it's usually because I'm nothaving fun.
(48:46):
No.
In me.
SPEAKER_02 (48:47):
That's why I think how we check in light comes on,
you go faster.
Well, that in my car, that'swhat happens.
SPEAKER_00 (48:54):
But in no, in my life, if I would look at how
aligned I am to the work I'mdoing, um, who I'm doing the
work with, um, and how I'mindividually aligned, the when
the check engine light comes on,it's this indicator to me is
like, okay, why am I not havingfun here?
And it could be because theswirl of everything that's
(49:15):
happening, it could be because Idon't see how all the pieces are
feed uh fitting together.
It could be that I'm just out ofsync.
It could be not like, oh, how doI bring the joy and the laughter
back, but realize because I'mbecause I'm not afraid to do
hard work.
And I actually find hard workvery fun, very exhausting as
(49:39):
well.
But so for me, that's myindicator.
And I think we all have one.
And I think it would lookdifferent for some people.
So if I'm not having fun, it'slike, oh, well, which area do I
need to focus on to bring backthat kind of alignment?
Because, like you're saying,Nathan, it's it's not alignment
that you arrive at.
Yeah, it is a maintenance thathappens, it is a shape shifting,
(50:02):
it is making sure that you'remaking progress.
And I would say that we stilldrive for some level of
perfection.
But anyway, you still try forsure.
SPEAKER_04 (50:14):
The other thing I'm reminded of, and not to just
kill kill our listeners withmetaphors, but if you play an
instrument, you can get itperfectly aligned.
Uh take a guitar, for example,you get all six strings
perfectly aligned and in tune.
But the more you play it, itjust naturally goes out of tune.
And you have to play.
If you're not gonna play it,what's the point of tuning it?
(50:34):
So with a team, you can be like,okay, we're perfectly in line.
No, don't touch it.
But that's not what you'resupposed to do.
An instrument is supposed to beplayed, it's supposed to get out
of tune and a little wonky everyonce in a while, because that
means you're learning, you'remaking progress, then you take
some time and get out the tuner.
Ding ding ding ding ding dingding ding.
Next one, dun-da-da-da-da-da-da.
And it's a little annoying, andnever if you're like on stage,
(50:56):
everyone's gotta wait.
But it's part of the process.
SPEAKER_00 (50:59):
So um guitar lessons at the preschool.
Progress nap.
SPEAKER_04 (51:03):
Get a little yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (51:06):
That is my favorite story.
SPEAKER_04 (51:08):
This is a long podcast here, but um, I don't
think we have that's a reallygood metaphor.
You like that?
I just I just thought it justcame to me in my Brian Linda.
Thank you so much.
This is fun.
Thank you.
It's always fun.
It's always fun.
And thank you, listeners, forlistening to the Leadership
Vision Podcast, our show helpingyou build positive team culture.
(51:28):
If you found value from any ofthis, we'd appreciate it if you
could share it with someone thatyou think might benefit from
learning more about alignment orany of our other resources at
Leadership Vision Consulting.comabout helping you uh become a
stronger leader yourself, abouthaving a more aligned team, or
an organization that is clickingon all cylinders.
(51:50):
And just one thing, kind offinal reflection, something to
think about.
What is one area that you'regonna focus on this week around
these ideas of alignment?
Is it your personal well-being?
Is it your role on a team?
Maybe you have a higher level orhigh level of an organization.
And then I guess the other thingI would pose you is also the
same question I did to Brian andLinda on the spot, is what is an
(52:11):
indicator that you're inalignment in any one of those
areas?
So report back, think aboutthat, let us know.
You can send me an email, Nathanat Leadership Vision
Consulting.com, or just share iton our website, uh comments
area, on social media, whereverthat is.
My name is Nathan Freeberg.
SPEAKER_00 (52:29):
I'm Linda Schubring.
SPEAKER_04 (52:31):
And I'm Brian Schubring.
And on behalf of our entireteam, thanks for listening.
Ooh, that was very in line.
I think that we really What notewas that?
Uh D.
unknown (52:42):
G.
G.
Hey everyone, it's Nathan Freeberg.
Welcome back to the LeadershipVision Podcast.
As we find ourselves in thisunique kind of twilight-y zone
of time between Christmas andNew Year, we wanted to take a
moment to look back before wemove forward into the new year.
So today we're revisiting one ofour favorite episodes from 2025.
It was a deep dive conversationinto the concept of alignment
(01:16):
that I had with Dr.
Linda and Brian Schubring.
And I chose this to rebroadcastbecause this specific
conversation, it really is agreat transition into the new
year.
It's which is obviously theperfect time to evaluate the
sync, if you will, within yourleadership.
So whether you're reflecting onyour organizational strategy or
(01:37):
your own personal well-beingalignment, I think, and our team
thinks, that this framework isreally gonna help you start your
next chapter with clarity andpurpose.
And as you listen, I do have anew reflection question for you
to think about.
And so as you think of the yearahead, wondering, or can you
just think about if every memberon your team is able to clearly
(02:00):
see the line of sight, which isreferenced in the episode,
between their daily tasks andthe organization's ultimate
mission, or are they, are youjust rowing hard in a direction
that hasn't been defined?
Now, for purposes of thisconversation, organization could
mean anything from your familyto the large organization that
(02:21):
you're a part of, or a volunteerclub, or anything like that.
So it's just a helpful frameworkas we start the year.
Enjoy.
Have you ever worked on a teamwhere everything just clicked,
where ideas flowed, trust washigh, and people weren't just
doing their jobs, but actuallyengaged in a shared mission?
Now think of the opposite (02:43):
an environment filled with
miscommunication, conflictingpriorities, and a sense that
nobody was on the same page.
Well, that's the power ofalignment, or maybe lack
thereof.
Hello everyone, my name isNathan Freeberg.
Welcome to the Leadership VisionPodcast, our show helping you
build positive team culture.
To learn more about us, you canclick on the link in the show
(03:03):
notes or visit us on the web atLeadership Vision
Consulting.com.
Today on the show, I have Dr.
Linda and Brian Schuberg, and weare going to be talking about
how alignment is one of the mostcrucial and often overlooked
elements of leadership.
Alignment isn't just abouthaving the right strategy on
paper, it's about creating theconditions for trust,
motivation, and sustainedsuccess.
(03:26):
And here's a kicker.
You ready for this?
It's not just a leadershiptheory, it's deeply rooted in
neuroscience and psychology,some of Brian's favorite easy
reading things to do onvacation.
So on the show today, we'regonna be breaking down alignment
into four critical areas.
Number one, organizationalalignment.
How well your company'sstrategy, culture, and execution
fit together.
(03:46):
Without it, confusion anddisengagement thrive.
Number two, leadershipalignment.
How well leaders' values,decisions, and actions match up.
Because when leaders aremisaligned, teams are just gonna
follow that pattern.
Number three, team alignment.
The key to high-performingteams, positive team culture, is
more than talent.
It's about trust, motivation,and clarity of purpose.
(04:07):
And number four, personal andinterpersonal alignment.
How your emotional,intellectual, and physical, even
well-being impact your abilityto lead effectively.
Misalignment at this level leadsto burnout and poor decision
making.
Now, which of these is the mostimportant?
Well, that's what we're going totalk about here today.
Honestly, they're allinterconnected, and a misaligned
(04:28):
leader creates misaligned teams.
A misaligned organizationstruggles to execute its vision,
and when leaders themselvesaren't aligned internally, well,
everything else just kind offalls apart.
So today we're bringing inneuroscience, psychology, and
real-world leadership examplesfrom some of our clients, with
the names, of course, obscuredto protect their identities to
help you understand whyalignment matters and how you
(04:50):
can build it at every level.
So let's get started.
We are as aligned as usual.
I think that's good.
SPEAKER_00 (05:10):
Let's not talk about where we're not aligned.
SPEAKER_04 (05:11):
Yes, we're we are aligned.
Some days we're not aligned interms of technology.
Some days we're not aligned interms of we don't have enough
coffee.
Some days we're not alignedbecause we're looking at the
wrong document.
But I feel pretty good aboutthis today.
Uh, as I said in my intro, we'regonna be talking about
neuroscience, we're gonna betalking about psychology.
(05:34):
But first and foremost, we'regonna be talking well, all of us
in the context of alignment.
So would one of you like tomaybe, I don't know, you heard
my intro, set this up anymore?
Do we need any more?
Can we just get into the foursides?
Where are we at here?
SPEAKER_02 (05:47):
Yeah, I'll give a little more because I want to
start on a positive note.
We work with a lot oforganizations, a main different
sizes, and one of the thingsthat we know to be true is that
when an organization and whoeverthat is that does this next
thing, when they sit down tothink about who are we, what is
our vision, what do we want todo, what are our values, what we
(06:09):
know is that they're usuallyreally well aligned.
The topics they discuss, thevalues they identify, the
strategies that are aligned withtheir business model, we see we
find over and over again a lotof alignment there.
And so I think that companies doa relatively great job um
setting the foundational work tocreate the types of alignment
(06:32):
that they're looking for.
It's the after uh that usuallyis a problem, or not spending
some of the time to identify thebehaviors and the emotions and
you know what does performancelook like to align with these
values.
However, at the beginning, wethink that people do a really
great job at it.
SPEAKER_00 (06:48):
I think that's such a great start.
And it is true that theorganizations that we work with
often have great leaders thatare repeating a message so that
when when we're interacting withmembers of the team, when we're
interacting with members ofmembers of the organization,
there's almost a anunderstanding of everyone is
(07:10):
kind of going in the samedirection.
I think it's sometimes thefine-tuning because we're so
familiar with the message andthe intention for some of the
alignment conversation, it's thefine-tuning where it starts to
feel like that's out of tune,there's something breaking down
here.
It doesn't match exactly wherewe're headed.
(07:32):
And I think that allows us toget curious and start asking
questions.
Well, is this just a person?
Is this because of outsidepressures or inside pressures?
And I think that's part of theconversation that we want to
have today.
SPEAKER_02 (07:46):
And the reason why I want to start with this example
is because if you are a part ofa company or a part of a team
and you've ever been a part ofone of these meetings or, you
know, an off-site event or anall-employee meeting where the
values were shared, the visionwas shared, the strategy was
shared.
Just that experience alone doesso much to the the human psyche
(08:07):
and the emotional side of who weare because people are all
gathered together.
We're talking about the thingsthat we believe in, where we're
amplifying the cause of whywe're all showing up.
People feel great about that.
They feel enthusiastic, theyfeel energized, they feel
connected to each other.
And it it and usually theseevents are happening with people
(08:27):
that we work with, creatinggreater social bonds and even
elevating levels of trust areall going to go in the same
direction.
The reason why these sessionsare so important is because it
creates that kind ofhuman-to-human connection that
people need so much.
So they so when we talk aboutalignment around values and
strategy and culture, it'simportant to recognize when and
(08:49):
where these uh values andstrategies are created, because
just that event itself isusually a time when people are
emotionally invested, they areintellectually stimulated, and
they feel a sense of connectionwith their people.
So that emotional andpsychological memory, when you
(09:10):
start to bend away from that,when things begin to maybe get a
little off-center, people feelthat first before they recognize
that the actual mode of work ornot meeting our objectives is
causing us to feel a sense ofdisconnection, a lack of
harmony, a lack ofsynchronization.
And that's really where peoplebegin to sense that something's
(09:31):
out of alignment because they'refeeling differently than when
the initial expression of thisis who we are happened.
SPEAKER_04 (09:38):
So this is a great transition into this first side
of the frame, part one, if youwill, about organizational
alignment.
And I think we could all thinkof organizations that struggle
with this misalignment betweenstrategy, culture, execution,
whatever it is, but perhapsshare a couple indicators or
markers that organizations useto know, hey, we are aligned,
(10:01):
like we are all going in thesame direction.
These things are matching up.
Like, what should folks belooking for to, you know, kind
of elevate positive alignment,if you will?
SPEAKER_00 (10:11):
I remember one of my mentors once saying to me that
the speed of the leader is thespeed of the team.
And I remember when he shared itwith me, I thought, I don't even
know what that means.
Um I can assume I know what itwe means, and then we have seen
it lived out.
And there are some examples thatthat we have of uh partnerships
(10:32):
with leaders who are so alignedand bought in to their vision or
the collective vision of wherethe organization is going, that
that that speed that that leaderis taking indicates the speed of
the organization.
And we've been working with anagency for a while now, and as
(10:54):
we have heard this leader speakand interact, we hear remnants
of her voice at all levels ofthe organization.
And for me, you can feel it asyou walk around on the entire
floor.
And even you can feel it whenyou talk to people in a Zoom
(11:16):
call or in some sort of off-sitemeeting.
And we find that a leadingindicator of organizations that
are very much aligned have aleader that is willing to walk
the tight rope with their armsout, um, helping balance the
whole organization.
SPEAKER_04 (11:36):
So, Linda, we're talking about organizational
alignment.
The second part, which we'll getto in a second, is leadership
alignment.
You just gave an example of theleader, is this, that, and the
other thing to know if yourorganizational is aligned.
Help me understand why that'simportant.
SPEAKER_00 (11:52):
Yes, and what I'd like to share is that how I see
it as different.
Um, the organizational alignmentis this all-encompassing what is
the overall feel?
Is the is the organizationheaded in the same direction?
And that usually comes with asingle leader, or usually single
(12:16):
leader, that paints that horizonso clearly that that's that's
the motion or momentum that therest of the org is taking.
It's different than leadershipalignment because then it's not
just a single leader, but oftena leadership team, whether it's
executive, senior, or evenmiddle managers.
(12:36):
And I think that's thedistinction we're making.
And that's why I think theleader's voice within
organizational alignment is socritical.
SPEAKER_02 (12:45):
Brian, what do you want to add to that?
Now, this is where my mind goes.
Like when we ask the questionabout organizational alignment,
I almost have this vision ofpeople saying, I'm all in for
the cause and the purpose ofwhat this organization stands
for.
That they step across thatthreshold from the outside world
into the organization every day,sure, and they're saying, I'm
(13:07):
here to support thisorganization's cause because
they feel that part of theiridentity is aligned with the
organizational's alignments.
How do we get there?
And I think that part of how weget there is that an
organization is clear on theirmessaging, like this is who we
are and this is what we'redoing.
Um, the organization is able tosay this is the direction that
(13:30):
we're headed, and they cansupport it, and they know why.
Organizational alignment, Ithink, has a lot to do with an
organization's understanding ofhow they got to where they are.
Because that's the kind ofbecause knowing an
organization's history, knowingan organization's track record,
people can, you know, they canactually touch that.
And that also reinforces whetherthey can trust leadership to
(13:51):
take us into the future.
SPEAKER_04 (13:52):
So give me some examples like specific from our
clients.
What does that actually looklike to know the organization is
aligned and going into thefuture?
SPEAKER_00 (14:02):
Aaron Ross Powell It's talking to some of the
staff that are going through anexperience with us, and we'll
ask them how they arrived at theorganization, and they could
say, I read the missionstatement on the website, and I
knew that's where I wanted to,you know, where I wanted to be.
The reputation of thisorganization made me feel that I
(14:24):
could really contribute or addvalue when people get excited
about even the writtendocumentation of who an
organization aspires to be.
There are pe there's it's almosta rallying cry to join in and be
a part of that.
Oftentimes, then people willcome in and be like, wait a
(14:47):
minute, this is not what I Ithought we were more this.
And I think that's where we findthat the executive director, the
CEO, the person in charge issaying, This is where we're
headed.
It will take time to get there,but to be a part of this
organization means you'realigned and you are even aligned
(15:10):
in in your ideals or purpose tobe a part of the motion to get
where we want to be.
SPEAKER_02 (15:19):
Organizational alignment isn't intuitive, it's
pretty pragmatic and practical.
It's something that you canmeasure, it's something that you
can see.
Organizational alignment isbeing able to see how the risks
that were taken have brought usto where we are and are keeping
us heading in the rightdirection.
And same thing with decisions.
(15:40):
Organizational alignment happenswhen the decisions that are
being made are all kind offalling in the same direction.
They're headed towards the samepoint on the horizon.
Even the changes that are made,organizational alignment is seen
when changes are actuallyadapting back towards an
original vision or a solve orsome type of opportunity that
(16:03):
we're we're moving forward andwe're kind of just nudging as we
go, nudging as we go.
There's a synchronicity in themomentum because more than one
person or more than one team isinvolved.
That's when you know somethingis aligned within the
organization.
When people start to behavesimilarly, they they they kind
of sound the same way, they'rerepeating some of the same
language.
(16:24):
That's some of the tells oforganizational alignment.
Interesting.
Even how people address, howpeople dress, how they show up,
the things they do for hobbies.
Like I've seen organizationalalignment just in how people
like spend their free time,right?
They kind of have the same kindof interests.
Um, and that's always surprisingme, but not surprising.
Like, well, of course they'regonna have interests that are
(16:44):
the same, because they're kindof doing the same kind of work.
SPEAKER_04 (16:46):
So, what you're saying is if the employees are
drinking the Kool-Aid or theyunderstand they can articulate
it, then you know that at thetop the organization has done
something right.
If yeah, if if if no employeesat Nike are actually wearing
Nike, something's wrong.
But as we know, most of them areall decked out in Nike wherever
(17:08):
they go.
Okay.
There's something I mean, that'sa different exact maybe a bad
example, but you get the idea.
SPEAKER_02 (17:13):
That's a great example, but just change the
company name and there's we findwhen organ organizations are
aligned, people are acting,behaving, believing kind of in
similar ways.
Oh man, the examples here arejust abundant.
Give a couple we have someorganizations where when there
(17:38):
is a community event celebrationor something, they all show up.
Everybody shows up.
Not everybody, but most peopleshow up.
Yeah.
That there's just they'reinvolved in the events that say
this is who we are.
There are other organizationswhere they do look similar, they
kind of dress the same way, andthat kind of shows that you know
(18:01):
we can be comfortable andserious and super smart, but we
don't have to dress up to behere.
Um, when work styles aresimilar, when when people really
try to meet their goals and thecommitments that they made in a
timely manner, we've seenorganizations where you know
that that level of work isexpected, they play into it, and
(18:22):
you have people there that havehigh achievers, they love to
check things off their lists,they just have that kind of way
of doing.
We've been a part oforganizations where we where
there's humor there.
I and I think that's part ofwhat represents organizational
alignment is that people have acertain way of having fun
together.
Yeah.
And those are all things thatsay, you know what, there's
(18:44):
unity here among the people, andthat's something to be
celebrated.
Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_00 (18:50):
Yeah, or the or the ways that they live out the
values or the mission.
So there are some organizationsI'm thinking of where they they
dress sharply.
Um I was gonna say dress to thenines, but I don't even know
exactly what that means.
I know what it means.
But what does that mean?
SPEAKER_02 (19:08):
Why not the tens?
SPEAKER_04 (19:09):
Nobody knows.
Nobody knows.
Ten would be better.
Or eleven.
This one goes to eleven.
SPEAKER_00 (19:13):
But dressed to the eleven.
Oh yeah.
What movie is that?
SPEAKER_02 (19:20):
Um it's not space.
Spinal tape though.
Spinal tap.
Volumes up to eleven.
Yeah.
It's a special amp.
SPEAKER_00 (19:27):
Oh, okay.
So it's so there is anexpectation when certain people
are visiting or certainpresentations are happening that
people act, interact, dress upfor that specific event or uh
once again in the language, onceagain in how we detect whether a
(19:51):
level of excitement.
Once again, it's not necessarilypersonality-based.
Like everyone has to be wild andoutgoing, but there's a sense of
no, I see I have a line of sightinto how I can contribute
because I know what it means tobe aligned.
SPEAKER_02 (20:09):
So we're saying is it's important that
organizations are aligned ontheir strategy, their culture,
their vision, their values.
It's also and thatorganizational alignment is also
seen in many of the ways thatpeople show up, their work
patterns, their interpersonaland social patterns.
(20:31):
That's where you can also seeorganizational alignment.
And the reason why I think thisis so important is because when
people feel like they're withinthose expectations or they're
within those communities, theyfeel a greater sense of
belonging.
And then we also know thatpeople that may not fit for
whatever reason, they'll alsofeel a dissonance because they
(20:53):
Don't feel they're a part ofthat inner circle or that
community and culture.
SPEAKER_04 (20:59):
So, like this, the first side of the frame,
organizational alignment.
The second side of the frame isleadership alignment.
And that is really about therole of individual leaders in
maintaining personal andstrategic alignment.
So as we know, leadership startsat the top.
And your earlier quote, Linda,about what was it, the speed of
(21:19):
the leader?
SPEAKER_00 (21:20):
The speed of the leader is the speed of the
leader.
SPEAKER_04 (21:21):
Determines it.
So how do you think leadersensure that their values, their
decisions, their actions, andagain, we're talking about, you
know, maybe the individual teamleaders, not necessarily the
CEO.
How do we ensure that thatremains in sync?
Maybe uh speak about it brieflyphilosophically and then uh
(21:42):
share some examples.
SPEAKER_02 (21:44):
Philosophically, we think it's important that
leaders and leadership teamsspend time reminding themselves
of what it means to be aligned.
Remind themselves of what theirobjectives are, what their big
projects are, what they believein.
Because every time that youremind uh a leadership team or
any team for that matter of whywe're here and reminding people
(22:05):
of why they're committed to thework, that increases the
potential of social bonding thathappens among that team.
When that happens, people feelrelationally closer to
individuals because they feelthat they, as a leadership team,
are aligned.
And the reason why I want toemphasize leadership team is
(22:25):
because when you have a becausewhen that leadership team comes
together, they're also bringingthe teams that are reporting to
them, the teams that they'releading and the people that they
represent.
And when people feel likethey're risking together, not
only is that trust elevating,but that responsibility to
ensure that their teams arecared for, that also increases
(22:47):
that social bond, that socialconnection.
SPEAKER_00 (22:50):
Even if, and especially if there's great
diversity in those leadershipteam members.
So, for example, we worked witha group of three leaders who are
leading and kind of on theleading edge of this
organization.
They're going through a lot ofchange, and these three leaders
could not be more different.
(23:12):
And we did an exercise with themthat we've done with other
companies as well.
And this exercise was name threewords that describe the culture
of the organization.
And we gave them a little bit oftime to think.
And this group of three cameback with very similar words.
(23:33):
Once again, words out of theirown experience and even ratings
of how, you know, how good theculture is, as well as then had
them think about some of theaspirational values or ways that
they would detect cultureseveral months from now.
And same thing happened.
(23:53):
Very much aligned.
Once again, different words anddifferent examples, but this
clarity and excitement wasbuilding as they were kind of
nodding, like, yeah, or actuallyI would fine-tune it this way,
or I would um edit this.
Is that kind of what we'relooking at?
And that exercise reallydemonstrated to me that you can
(24:16):
be very different people,different backgrounds, different
motivations for even being inyour role, and can be very much
aligned.
Because what it allowed peoplethough that group of three, what
it allowed them to do was todemonstrate what is okay and not
okay to the rest of theorganization.
And what they were doing isalmost closing the gap of the
(24:39):
lack of alignment that there hadbeen historically.
So it was it was an excitingthing.
SPEAKER_02 (24:45):
And the reason why we're focusing on leadership
alignment so much is not only doleaders represent their teams
and the and the people'sresponsibilities and the
organizational responsibilitiesthat their teams have, what
we've also come to realize andseen over and over again is that
some of the executive leadershipteams that we work with are the
(25:07):
most diverse teams within anentire organization.
And when a leadership teamlearns how to become aligned,
not just in what they're doingin their area of expertise, but
aligned around how differenteach of these executive leaders
are.
They're usually very differentethnically, culturally, their
education is very different,their at their levels of
(25:28):
expertise are vastly different.
And so the distance between thepeople is pretty great.
When an executive leadershipteam learns how to work across
those gaps, learns how to seethe value of someone else's
perspective and learns how tolisten in in different ways.
When they understand what takingtrust risks are, then when they
(25:51):
lead their teams, they areuniquely equipped to deal with a
team that is probably morealigned with their skill level,
their background, becausethey've learned how to wrestle
across greater differences.
When they do lead their teams,they're better equipped for how
to create a positive teamculture where high trust is
(26:15):
present, where people workthrough conflict and challenge
in constructive ways, and wherepeople can know each other in
unique ways.
So the executive leader passesdown what they've learned from
being aligned at a higher level,then they bring it to their
teams, and they know what toactually look for, what to
expect, and how to motivate whenthey're working with their
(26:35):
specific teams ofresponsibility.
So this is I believe that bigtime.
SPEAKER_04 (26:41):
I love that.
And this is clearly part threethen.
Yes.
How teams function when they arealigned and what happens when
they're not.
Do you think this is I don'twant to say the most important
level or the most importantplace for this whole frame to
work?
Because as we said, there's allthey're all connected.
(27:03):
But when you think of theindividual leader, when you
think of the team as a whole,how uh what's my question here?
Maybe be very like how does aleader do that very
specifically?
You know, just buying matchingshirts, doing lots of team
dinners, like what are thosehats.
Hats and shirts.
Hats and shirts, the collectiongo together.
I like it.
SPEAKER_02 (27:22):
Well, uh Nathan, this may not be in the podcast.
I think the most important levelis what the individual needs
professionally and emotionallyto feel like they are aligned.
And the team environment is thecontext where someone finds
their alignment.
It's in the place, but it is thethe person saying, you know
(27:44):
what?
For me to feel aligned, theseare some of the tactile things
that I need.
This is the kind of clarity thatI need.
And it sounds like a veryselfish question, but it's that
that individual feeling safeenough to say I need to know how
my contribution is actuallyhelping us get to that deadline.
(28:06):
Or I need to know that myopinion matters.
So when you talk then look onthe team, I think it's within
the team where when when teamsare aligned, people feel and
experience three things.
And we've seen this over andover again.
People feel seen, they feelheard, and they feel understood.
(28:28):
And when they when those threethings happen, those are some of
the immediate indicators thatthere's a psychological safety
happening on that team wherepeople know that they belong
because when they talk, peoplelisten.
When people are feeling likethey're they're really
struggling emotionally, not onlycan they vent what they're
feeling emotionally, but theirleader actually hears with a
(28:50):
sense of compassion that they'restruggling with something.
Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_00 (28:55):
Yeah, it makes sense and it makes me think of some of
the examples of where we've seengreat team alignment and where
we haven't.
When a leader of a team can besuccinct with that team about
what the purpose is for thatteam that contributes to the
overall organizationalalignment, game over.
(29:19):
When those team membersunderstand that their work in
finance helps the whole, whenthey they understand that their
work in IT helps the whole inselling, so on.
Where we find alignmentbreakdown is often when that
leader of a team, you know,maybe they're really aligned
with the leadership team, thenthey go to their team and be
(29:41):
like, oh, I don't know how thisis gonna happen.
And if a leader gives excuses toteam members of why they don't
belong, or I guess this won'twork, that's where some of the
fractures and fissures come whenit comes to alignment within a
whole organization.
It kind of bubbles up to thatleadership level, and teams then
(30:03):
they can almost feel like thissense of energy growing of like,
yeah, we're either way.
They feel this in energy oflike, yep, and this is why we're
different, and that's nevergonna work, and we're gonna just
sit over here and watch how thisthing is gonna explode.
Or they can say, This is how Idirectly impact the mission, the
(30:24):
values of the organization.
And that's where catalyticbreakthrough happens.
That's really good.
SPEAKER_04 (30:31):
So this then, Linda, sounds immediately like going to
part four (30:33):
the personal, interpersonal alignment, how
individuals manage their ownwell-being, how they're able to
sustain high performance.
I mean, this is everything from,you know, how are you managing
your own stress?
How are you managing your ownworkload?
How are you taking breaks whenyou need it?
In some ways, I feel like thisalmost should be the starting
(30:54):
point of this, but maybe not.
Maybe there is no startingpoint, maybe they all happen
succinctly.
How does part four fit in withthe whole?
SPEAKER_00 (31:03):
Yeah, I'm not sure it would be helpful to get into
the chicken and the egg when itcomes to what you need to do to
get ready to be a contributingmember to an organization, um,
or how you're gonna helpindividually be aligned and
demonstrate that you're alignedand contribute to the alignment
of the overall.
(31:24):
Sometimes there are individualsthat have a lot of needs, and
sometimes it's the good leadersthat look at those individuals
and say, I know you're notgetting all your needs met.
I just need you to row in thisdirection.
This is where this is wherewe're going.
And we find with a lot of theleaders that we work with, when
(31:44):
there is misalignment in theteam or misalignment with
individuals, really it comesdown to a culture fit.
Really, it comes down to theleaders that are saying, like,
maybe I'm not, maybe I'm notgoing where everyone else is
going anymore.
And sometimes getting clear withdo you have a line of sight to
(32:06):
see how you belong to thisorganization, how you belong to
the cause, how you belong to thefuture lean of wherever this org
is heading, do you find meaningin the day-to-day?
Do you understand why you'rehere?
That there's often thiscognitive leap that happens that
just says, yep, even though Idon't have all my needs met,
(32:27):
even though I haven't maybeslept the best, or I have
pressures at home, or uhconflicting, you know, needs
around in my environment.
So sometimes I think it just forfor leaders, for individuals, it
begins with getting clear in whyyou belong and why you want to
(32:50):
be a part of this in the firstplace.
Why are you what what are youthinking about as you're
listening to me?
That was good.
Wow.
SPEAKER_04 (32:57):
Very good.
Brian, what would you add tothat?
SPEAKER_00 (33:02):
Don't act so surprised.
SPEAKER_03 (33:03):
Whoa my gosh, can you believe what she just did,
Doctor?
SPEAKER_00 (33:07):
Well, why it's like explain wow.
This is what we live in.
SPEAKER_02 (33:10):
I believe uh all that you said, it's really,
really important.
It wasn't what I was thinking.
But it's important for a personto be able to ask and answer
those those questions and togive themselves whatever time it
takes to arrive at that placebecause I believe that that's so
important to how someone showsup.
I was just thinking aboutalignment before someone shows
(33:32):
up.
SPEAKER_00 (33:33):
Oh, tell us more about that.
SPEAKER_02 (33:35):
Oh.
Um can't just say that and thenbe like, wait, why?
SPEAKER_00 (33:38):
Why would I just I was gonna say something really
brilliant, but I'll wait for it.
SPEAKER_02 (33:42):
No, I was thinking about a person being aligned
before they show up.
SPEAKER_00 (33:45):
Yeah, talk about that.
SPEAKER_02 (33:47):
Um when an organization is aligned, I feel
that I often see people who arealigned.
And when we work with teamswhere we feel that the team
isn't functioning in alignment,I often hear that individuals
kind of question like thatthere's some things about their
life that are not alignedeither.
(34:09):
And so I really believe thatthis question about alignment,
it kind of settles into howaligned are we as individuals?
Like, how self-aware are we?
What do we need so that we canarrive in an emotionally stable
state?
Like, what does that alignmentlook like?
What are some of the theself-care practices that that we
(34:33):
engage in so that we'repromoting our own well-being?
And like, what does that looklike?
And oftentimes we only payattention to that when things
seem to be out of alignment,then we think about what are the
adjustments I need to make.
But oftentimes it's just thatsimple consistency of ensuring
that each of us are aligned,whether that's in an
intellectual way, relationalway, physical way, emotional
(34:55):
way.
Because when we have that senseof alignment within ourselves,
that means that our stresslevels are low, our cortisol
levels are low before we arriveinto an organization or a team
where there could be stress andtension and anxiety there.
We're more able to adapt.
(35:16):
We have maybe we may be betterequipped to handle the stress
outside.
If we feel like we're alignedwith who we are as individuals,
I believe that when people arealigned with their own identity,
then they then have a choice ofhow they want to express
themselves in the worlds withinwhich they work, with the people
(35:37):
that they work for thebetterment of others, because
they know what they themselvesneed.
Because I know personally, I'msure that the two of you can't
attest to that, that when I feellike I'm out of alignment, it
may be felt by others or heardby other people.
Or there's there's what is thattell me more?
And what is that?
Tell me more.
So when when individualsprioritize their health and
(36:00):
their well-being, I feel thatpeople are aligned themselves.
When we have a more healthy,more aligned individual show up
to a team, that can promoteothers to align more quickly
because we trust one another tobe able to know and care for
each other as is needed.
SPEAKER_00 (36:18):
And we also know that context can shape shift all
of that.
So I've I've seen That's true.
I've seen the other angle wheresomeone comes in and they're
really grounded and they've beentaking care of themselves and
they're ready to just go.
That's true.
And the intensity of theenvironment, the pressures from
the outside, the pressures ofthe industry begin to erode that
(36:43):
individual alignment.
And I think that's whyindividual is only alignment is
only a part of the four sides,knowing that, okay, as an
individual, I'm starting to feelcrushed.
But what can I do as a member ofthe team?
What can I do to help my leader?
What can I uh do to help theoverall organization or repeat
(37:04):
the messages of what theexecutive director is speaking?
So sometimes it just really likepeople can get crushed in the
alignment.
And and I think then sometimespeople are blamed.
Blamed for for causing the umthe chaos, or you're you know,
(37:27):
like you're not providing thekind of alignment, or it's your
fault when I think if we do abetter job at detecting the
pressures and the things thatare outside of our control, then
I think we get closer to toknowing then, okay, how do I
prepare differently?
Not not how do I just run alittle bit more and eat a few
(37:48):
more vegetables, but how I meanit does help a lot.
Sleeping also helps.
However, there are times whenyou just need a higher level
call when you know, detectinghow you act in an emergency, how
you act in when there's a senseof urgency, it's do or die.
And we do find that that nomatter I don't know how poorly
(38:11):
you might be aligned, if youcare about your team members, if
you care about the organization,there are times where we see the
best from humanity.
SPEAKER_02 (38:20):
One of the things that Linda said is abundantly
true is that people often losetrack of their own well-being to
be aligned with an organizationbecause that culture has such a
strong pull.
Psychologically, neurologically,there is such a strong need for
a human being to belong tosomething that they're likely to
(38:41):
sacrifice some of their ownunique behavioral patterns and
preferences to belong, eventhough they know that by
surrendering or giving up asense of being healthy for
themselves to belong, they havea stronger need to belong than
to be healthy.
Than for self-care.
It's like you'll, you know, it'slike that guy that cut his leg
off with a pocket knife.
(39:02):
Like, I need to live.
SPEAKER_00 (39:03):
Okay, maybe it was his.
Maybe that's a bad example.
SPEAKER_02 (39:06):
But that's that's his arm?
SPEAKER_04 (39:07):
Yeah, that's the 87 hours.
That's interesting because don'tyou think we It's true, we all
sacrifice a little something tobe in relationship with others?
I mean, certainly parents dothat.
Certainly each other with theloving eyes.
There's so much daily is how doyou know if uh if you're aligned
(39:34):
with like it's it it's okay thatI don't always get to eat where
I want to eat when we go out.
That's okay because sometimes Ido, and I would rather make my
family happy.
Uh, you know, you could probablyget a work example in there, a
lot of work examples in there,and so it's it's interesting to
think about for the individualare you healthy enough that you
know what your uh you knowhills, proverbial hill to die on
(39:57):
is versus like, you know what, Iactually don't care about the
color of the flowers in thelobby or whatever it is.
SPEAKER_00 (40:04):
Sometimes people see the word alignment and they
think compromise, or they thinkit's all or nothing, or this is
what it means.
And I think compromise is good,but it there's also the give and
take.
And so it's not compromising whoyou are, not compromise your
your contribution, notcompromising why you even you
(40:29):
know showed up to thisorganization or this team in the
first place.
So when I think about alignment,I think that we're not always
aligned.
And so it's how do you what kindof levers can you pull, whether
organizationally, as a team,leadership, individual, in order
to promote greater alignment?
(40:49):
I think that's that's really theheart of what we're inviting
people to think.
SPEAKER_04 (40:54):
And I think from this conversation, and if you
look at the show notes, you'llsee it all written out, but this
idea that there's four parts toorganizate, like to get
everything aligned, is not justthe CEO has to have a really
good mission and visionstatement.
It's not just that you have tohave a really great leader or a
(41:16):
great team or all the people.
It's just it all works together.
And to your earlier point,Linda, it's we don't need to
talk about the chicken or theegg here.
It's kind of all happens atonce.
It all happens first and it allhappens second.
So there's a And it's not easy.
And it's not easy.
There's this, there's this uh Iwas listening to uh U2's Songs
(41:37):
of Surrender album recently,where they've all their popular
songs, they've rewritten some ofthe lyrics, and there's a lyric
in Beautiful Day that I actuallylooked up, and it's a quote from
a Mexican poet.
Laughter is the evidence offreedom.
And I was like, oh, that'sinteresting.
I wonder if that's why I likelaughing so much and like making
other people laugh is becauseit's an indicator of something
(42:01):
else.
And so I guess I don't know toclose things out, or but just to
think about if you havesomething in your own life that
you can use as a as a anindicator of alignment, that
when I am aligned with myself,with my team, it means that I
don't know, I laugh more.
Maybe it is laughter, maybe it'sI sleep better and I'm not
(42:24):
falling asleep at four o'clockin the afternoon, or whatever
that is.
Perhaps that's uh some homeworkwe can give our listeners is to
think about, you know, for mepersonally, Nathan as an
individual, Nathan as a teamleader, Nathan as, you know, any
any one of these four things,what is that indicator of
alignment for me?
Um, off the top of your heads,Brian and Linda, do you have
(42:46):
something that you would say foreither one of you?
Is I know that I'm aligned in myjob, in my life, whatever, if
this one particular thing ispresent, if I'm does any of that
make sense?
SPEAKER_00 (43:03):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_04 (43:06):
All the things you can't say.
I know.
I do not want to make thisnegative.
SPEAKER_02 (43:10):
No, this is not negative.
Because I spend a lot of my timeobserving what's aligned in my
life and how I feel.
Okay.
SPEAKER_04 (43:22):
Um where's this going?
SPEAKER_00 (43:29):
I know.
I'm I'm sitting back andwaiting.
SPEAKER_02 (43:33):
Um let me ease into this.
Okay, here we go.
The other day we were uh in ameeting with a CEO and a CFO.
And it was clear from the momentthe cameras were on that these
two were aligned.
They their facial expressionswere the same.
(43:54):
When they got serious, they bothgot like if one got passionate
about the vision, the other onedid too.
It's like they were finishingeach other's sentences, um, and
they were just talking aboutothers that agreed the same way,
what no matter what the level ofthe organization that this you
knew that they were aligned inthe same direction.
Um they were complementary ofeach other.
(44:15):
We've been in otherconversations just this week
where you can tell that they'renot aligned by the language that
they're using, how they talkabout their team members, the
questions that they ask, theamount of stress they're
bringing in the conversation.
Both of these examples point towhere I'm going.
(44:37):
People pay attention to what isreinforcing their feeling that
they're aligned, and people payattention to when they're not
aligned.
They can name them.
Then the important thing is thenwhat do you do with that
information?
Um Linda and I have a lot ofconversations about the way that
we're feeling and things thatare happening in our lives about
(44:59):
you know, that were that reflectwhether we're in alignment or
not.
On the meta level, you know, dowe have a consistency in getting
away and going on vacation?
That's alignment.
Even to like having healthymeals.
That's alignment for mepersonally.
Like I sometimes feel the mostaligned when you know I'm in an
(45:23):
environment where there are I'msurrounded by competitive
athletes, we're working outtogether, and there's a sense of
unity there.
Um, like you're in a uh lane ofa pool with six other people,
and you're just like, you'rekilling it with each other.
I just love that sense of likewe're on the same page, yeah.
(45:43):
You know, we're workingtogether.
We don't have to say why we'rethere, you just know it.
And when you're on a team wherethat happens too, when we show
up somewhere and we know thatthat team is driven, no matter
how intense the situation is orhow difficult the lifting is,
you can just feel that thisgroup is about one thing.
Yeah, uh, they're creatingsomething really important,
(46:06):
they're willing to make thesacrifices for themselves and
for their teams because they'rejust aligned on what needs to be
done.
You can just feel it.
And that to me is important onall levels.
Yeah.
I don't know.
That was a long answer to Idon't even know where the
question was.
SPEAKER_04 (46:24):
No, but I think it's how do you feel I think it
speaks to I I think sometimes inbusiness we want we want a
number, we want an indicatorthat this is working, that this
is aligned, be that you know anROI, a blah blah blah number,
whatever.
And there's some element of thisthat it's more art than science
that you can, to your point, youcan feel it.
(46:45):
You can uh you know, you'relaughing more.
Like there's just there's acertain thing, like we were just
traveling with another family toDisneyland, and there was
alignment in how we werenavigating the parks.
Like you could just kind of feelit.
There wasn't ever uh the stressor pressure to run to the next
ride, but there was also anurgency because we wanted to do
(47:07):
a lot, and the two families werejust really in sync and aligned
in a way that just felt good.
It wasn't like, okay, let's sitdown.
All right, we're gonna do thisat this time and da-da-da.
It just kind of worked.
And I wonder sometimes inbusiness it's harder because
there's obviously more peopleand there's more in the line,
but you have to sort of knoweach other well enough.
We know these families, thesethis family from these things,
(47:28):
it speaks to some of that truststuff.
Put in the work to get to knowthese people at a personal
level.
So on your team, how are youdoing that?
Make sure that you understandwhat your organization is about
and what they stand for.
And then I don't know.
And also I think, you know,there's a uh a preschool at the
end of our street that's a giantsign out that says progress, not
(47:50):
perfection.
SPEAKER_01 (47:51):
Yes.
SPEAKER_04 (47:52):
And how often is that yeah, yeah.
How often is that a re do weneed that as a reminder in all
of life that we're just we'reprogressing towards alignment?
It doesn't have to be perfect,but we're moving moving the
needle towards a more alignedpersonal, interpersonal, team,
(48:12):
organization level, and I thinkevery time we get aligned is the
is an opportunity for like somewheel to fall off.
SPEAKER_00 (48:21):
So for me, if what?
Yeah, to yeah.
Well, no, get so get this.
Well, that's kind of extreme.
But Nathan, in your question of,you know, what are some of the
indicators for us, I thought ifmy check engine light comes on,
it's usually because I'm nothaving fun.
(48:46):
No.
In me.
SPEAKER_02 (48:47):
That's why I think how we check in light comes on,
you go faster.
Well, that in my car, that'swhat happens.
SPEAKER_00 (48:54):
But in no, in my life, if I would look at how
aligned I am to the work I'mdoing, um, who I'm doing the
work with, um, and how I'mindividually aligned, the when
the check engine light comes on,it's this indicator to me is
like, okay, why am I not havingfun here?
And it could be because theswirl of everything that's
(49:15):
happening, it could be because Idon't see how all the pieces are
feed uh fitting together.
It could be that I'm just out ofsync.
It could be not like, oh, how doI bring the joy and the laughter
back, but realize because I'mbecause I'm not afraid to do
hard work.
And I actually find hard workvery fun, very exhausting as
(49:39):
well.
But so for me, that's myindicator.
And I think we all have one.
And I think it would lookdifferent for some people.
So if I'm not having fun, it'slike, oh, well, which area do I
need to focus on to bring backthat kind of alignment?
Because, like you're saying,Nathan, it's it's not alignment
that you arrive at.
Yeah, it is a maintenance thathappens, it is a shape shifting,
(50:02):
it is making sure that you'remaking progress.
And I would say that we stilldrive for some level of
perfection.
But anyway, you still try forsure.
SPEAKER_04 (50:14):
The other thing I'm reminded of, and not to just
kill kill our listeners withmetaphors, but if you play an
instrument, you can get itperfectly aligned.
Uh take a guitar, for example,you get all six strings
perfectly aligned and in tune.
But the more you play it, itjust naturally goes out of tune.
And you have to play.
If you're not gonna play it,what's the point of tuning it?
(50:34):
So with a team, you can be like,okay, we're perfectly in line.
No, don't touch it.
But that's not what you'resupposed to do.
An instrument is supposed to beplayed, it's supposed to get out
of tune and a little wonky everyonce in a while, because that
means you're learning, you'remaking progress, then you take
some time and get out the tuner.
Ding ding ding ding ding dingding ding.
Next one, dun-da-da-da-da-da-da.
And it's a little annoying, andnever if you're like on stage,
(50:56):
everyone's gotta wait.
But it's part of the process.
SPEAKER_00 (50:59):
So um guitar lessons at the preschool.
Progress nap.
SPEAKER_04 (51:03):
Get a little yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (51:06):
That is my favorite story.
SPEAKER_04 (51:08):
This is a long podcast here, but um, I don't
think we have that's a reallygood metaphor.
You like that?
I just I just thought it justcame to me in my Brian Linda.
Thank you so much.
This is fun.
Thank you.
It's always fun.
It's always fun.
And thank you, listeners, forlistening to the Leadership
Vision Podcast, our show helpingyou build positive team culture.
(51:28):
If you found value from any ofthis, we'd appreciate it if you
could share it with someone thatyou think might benefit from
learning more about alignment orany of our other resources at
Leadership Vision Consulting.comabout helping you uh become a
stronger leader yourself, abouthaving a more aligned team, or
an organization that is clickingon all cylinders.
(51:50):
And just one thing, kind offinal reflection, something to
think about.
What is one area that you'regonna focus on this week around
these ideas of alignment?
Is it your personal well-being?
Is it your role on a team?
Maybe you have a higher level orhigh level of an organization.
And then I guess the other thingI would pose you is also the
same question I did to Brian andLinda on the spot, is what is an
(52:11):
indicator that you're inalignment in any one of those
areas?
So report back, think aboutthat, let us know.
You can send me an email, Nathanat Leadership Vision
Consulting.com, or just share iton our website, uh comments
area, on social media, whereverthat is.
My name is Nathan Freeberg.
SPEAKER_00 (52:29):
I'm Linda Schubring.
SPEAKER_04 (52:31):
And I'm Brian Schubring.
And on behalf of our entireteam, thanks for listening.
Ooh, that was very in line.
I think that we really What notewas that?
Uh D.
unknown (52:42):
G.
G.
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