Absorb: The Discipline of Paying Attention

Part 1A of the ALIGN Series
Absorb | Legitimize | Integrate | Grow | Nurture

This post is part of the ALIGN Series, where I introduce each stage of the ALIGN Framework — a method designed to align leadership and engage staff so organizations can move forward with clarity and confidence.

When leadership is aligned, brilliant ideas take flight. When staff are engaged early to shape the details, those ideas take root. People feel valued and involved, and the organization moves forward with greater clarity and confidence.

Slack, Teams, WhatsApp, Messenger, meetings, emails, phone calls, Zoom calls—so much comes at us every day. The demand for our attention is real, and our ability to attend effectively is stretched to its limits.

And yet, we need to figure it out.

No one wants to be the person who asks a question in a meeting that was answered in the email they only skimmed. The email with the agenda that told you exactly what would be discussed, the one you saw but did not absorb.

Maybe you were asked in that meeting to present sales numbers you had glanced at. You saw the data, but you did not absorb what it meant.

Here’s the thing: absorption takes time.
Does anyone have time on their calendar that says “Time to Absorb”?

If you do, good for you.
If you don’t, consider adding “thinking time” to your schedule.

I know, the instinctive response is, I’m too busy to think.
This is where I often share a favorite expression: go slow to go fast.
When we slow down long enough to think, we make better choices and stronger progress.

Take 20 minutes at the end of the day to process everything that came your way: the information, the emotions, the casual asides.
Make a list of your impressions. Then sit with that list.
Are you hearing anything new?
Do any patterns emerge that deserve your attention?
Are questions beginning to surface that show you need more information?

Then, start your day with 20 minutes to check in with yourself.
Revisit your impressions from the previous day. Did any new insight surface overnight? How might that information shape the way you approach today?

Absorbing is not a phase or a project. It is a daily practice.
It means slowing down long enough to notice what is happening around you.

Who are the people you most need to be communicating with, and, more importantly, listening to?
What are they really telling you?
What is the emotional tenor of those conversations?

What are you observing?
Awkward silences in meetings? People talking over each other?
Or positive energy, with deadlines being met and problems being solved?

What do your senses tell you is going on?
What feels aligned, and what feels off?

Part of absorbing is resisting the urge to jump to conclusions.
It means taking in information, examining it at face value, and then going a little deeper.
What is your intuition or instinct telling you?
What deserves quiet contemplation, and what needs to be lifted out of your head and into shared conversation to check your understanding with others?

Absorbing is not only an individual practice; it is also a team practice.
How well do people listen in meetings?
Do team members listen to one another to truly absorb what is being said, or do they wait for their turn to talk?
Is there space for ideas to land before someone jumps in?
Does the pace of work allow people time to reflect and make sense of what they are hearing?

If there are frequent errors, short tempers, or repeated misunderstandings, the answer is probably no.
If, instead, people seem focused, grounded, and able to anticipate each other’s needs, you may have found a rhythm that allows your team to absorb effectively.

Absorbing is how we begin to sense reality.
It is how we move from reacting to relating, from gathering information to gaining insight.

This is the first step in the ALIGN framework:
to listen deeply to people, systems, and lived experience before moving toward action.
Because understanding what is really happening is the beginning of all wise work.