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What if you had the power to influence other people's actions and make a positive impact? Do you know what drives people to work towards a common goal? And what if they could have fun doing it? Even if you are an excellent communicator, or you have completed various business communication courses, or are thinking of enroll in one of these courses to take you to that next level, this article will help you learn something new. The first thing you will discover is how to create alignment with other people. How do we define alignment, and why would you align your goal with other people? Keep reading and we'll reveal the secret to this little-known process that creates incredible results!

~ Results = Alignment with others ~

If you're like most people, it's likely that the only time you think about alignment is when you need to get your car tuned up. While that's not the "alignment" we're talking about here, it does operate on the same principle. In order for your car to function at its best, it's important that your tires are aligned - that they're all moving in the same direction. The same is true for any business relationship; they'll be at their best when both people are aligned and moving in the same direction toward a desired result.

This goes beyond just finding new ways to listen or even improving your general communications skills. Any kind of interaction with other people requires alignment to produce a positive outcome for everyone involved.

Consider this: in life, we continue on our way, heading off on our own paths, while trying to accomplish our individual goals. All the while, we are tied to one another. As we work to achieve our desired results, our interconnections with those around us holds us back from achieving what we want, in the exact way we want it. If we create alignment with others and have support in reaching our goals the whole process is much more rewarding. Alignment most often leads us to greater success and satisfaction.

~ Developing Intrinsic Order ~

Be aware of the outcome you want and you will be able to align yourself with others. Realize and express what is of utmost importance to you. The first step in doing this is to identify hidden values in the outcome you desire. If you want all office personnel to get to a meeting 10 minutes early, then you might find that you place importance on effectiveness or consideration when you examine your motives. Keep in mind that there are values that make you want a particular outcome in the first place.

~ How to have an Alignment Conversation ~

Once you identify your own underlying values, it's time to discover the values that you share within a partnership or group. You start this discovery process by expressing the values you've identified as important to you in your work environment. Then you ask if those things are also important to the other person, or people, and if they would be willing to explore ways to create that kind of experience. This is the process of aligning your values--creating a shared vision. This shared vision might sound something like: having a more harmonious relationship or being more effective or increasing productivity. Once you define your shared vision, you're ready to effectively negotiate strategies to achieve your desired results.

Alignment conversation key points:

It's crucial to keep the alignment conversation as strategy free as possible once you start it. Within this initial stage, you should make an agreement with the other person and not try to iron out specific details with them at the same time. Once you're in agreement on a shared vision, you can then get down to the business of figuring out all the specificities. It's also a good idea if you and the other party agree to not dwell on past failures. Although bringing up the past can be useful in understanding missing values, it's not a reason to find fault in someone or be skeptical of an impending agreement.

Some other things to cover in the conversation include:

An agreement to let go of past criticism and judgment, to celebrate the positive results that come from this discussion, and a willingness to talk about strategies that will result in optimal outcomes for everyone involved.

Once everyone involved agrees on a vision, they can work toward one end result in a coordinated fashion, so that everyone can get what they want. This will make it easier to achieve those results and make everyone happy.

If everyone involved is making agreements from a shared vision, working together, and is cooperating, increase productivity will happen more quickly. Once this process starts rolling, fewer misunderstandings will occur and that always creates much more rewarding results for everyone involved.