GROW: Build Capacity Through Intentional Support
GROW: Part 4B of the ALIGN Series
Absorb | Legitimize | Integrate | Grow | Nurture
In this series of posts, I introduce each stage of the ALIGN Framework, a method designed to align leadership and engage staff. My premise is simple: when leadership is aligned, brilliant ideas take flight, and when staff is engaged early to shape the details, those ideas are far more likely to be adopted. Staff feel valued, heard, and involved. It is a win win for the organization.
Do you feel like the demand for innovation, efficiency, and effectiveness creates ongoing pressure for people in an organization to stretch and grow? Successful organizations understand that growth requires providing the right support at the right time.
In Part 4A of the ALIGN Series, we explored how growth is sustained through reflection, feedback, and learning. Part 4B turns toward the practice of supporting growth and the concrete actions leaders can take so individuals and teams build confidence, strengthen their skills, and create momentum.
People want to do good work. They want to feel competent, capable, and successful. The fastest way to accelerate progress is to ask people what they need to be successful in their roles. When individuals have agency in shaping their development plan and can see how it strengthens their own career trajectory, they engage more readily in the work ahead.
What People Need to Grow: A Menu of Supports
Support can take many forms. Depending on the person, the team, and the task, it may involve skills, structure, capacity, confidence, or clarity.
Below is a menu of options with questions to guide conversations about what people need to be successful. Taking a cue from the Work Wise Studio tagline, Study what works. Craft what’s next, it helps to begin by identifying what is already working well before deciding what needs to change.
By starting with what is already working, leaders help people feel grounded as they step into something new. Recognizing strengths provides solid footing, builds confidence, and eases anxiety, making it easier for individuals and teams to engage in growth and innovation.
Skill and Knowledge Support
Key questions to guide reflection:
Where do I feel most confident and capable in my work?
Where would strengthening my skills or knowledge make my work more effective?
Support options:
Targeted training or skill-building workshops
Job shadowing or guided practice with a mentor
Access to subject-matter experts
Learning modules or curated resources
Practice labs or simulations
Additional time to build proficiency before expectations rise
When people feel supported to grow their skills, they participate more fully and with more ease.
Structural and Workflow Support
Key questions to guide reflection:
What systems or processes facilitate my workflow?
What systems or processes make my work harder than it needs to be?
Support options:
Clearer workflows or decision paths
Streamlined processes that remove friction
Updated tools or technology
Redefined roles or expectations
Cross-functional clarity to reduce bottlenecks
Clearly defined roles and processes free up time and energy to focus on priorities.
Capacity and Workload Support
Key questions to guide reflection:
Do I realistically have the time and space to take on additional work?
What could be paused, reassigned, or adjusted to make success possible?
Support options:
Pausing or stopping lower-priority tasks
Redistributing work across the team
Temporary relief from nonessential duties
Additional staffing or contractor support during heavy periods
Reprioritization conversations with leadership
Capacity support protects people from burnout and increases the likelihood that new expectations can be met well.
Confidence and Coaching Support
Key questions to guide reflection:
Where do I feel confident and skillful?
What kind of support would help me navigate challenges with more confidence?
Support options:
One-on-one coaching
Strengths-based development conversations
Peer learning circles or buddy systems
Leadership modeling vulnerability and learning
Confidence grows when people have trusted spaces to test ideas, name concerns, and see their progress over time.
Clarity and Communication Support
Key questions to guide reflection:
Where am I very clear about the purpose and expectations of this work?
What information or communication would help me move forward more effectively?
Support options:
Revisit and clarify goals and success measures
Timely updates on shifts or decisions
Opportunities to ask questions and test assumptions
Cross-functional communication to align expectations
Clarity reduces friction and ensures effort is focused in the right direction.
Putting It All Together
Ensuring effective support options are visible and accessible across the organization is a powerful alignment strategy.
Growth takes root when people feel supported. When leaders offer a thoughtful range of support and invite people to identify what they need most, they create the conditions for sustained progress.
When people have the skills, structure, capacity, confidence, and clarity they need, both they and the organization grow.
In practice: coaching, mentoring, leadership development, peer learning circles, skill-building workshops, and feedback systems that reinforce alignment and growth.