Take Yourself Seriously: ALIGN in Practice

Have you ever been in a meeting and thought, “this is a waste of time”?

Most people have.

Meetings improve when enough people ask a second question:

What can I do about it?

In this post, I use meetings as a practical example of how to apply the ALIGN method at an individual level.

ALIGN, on an individual level, begins in a familiar place: Your own experience.

Absorb: Pay attention to what is actually happening

The next time you are in a meeting you find frustrating, ask yourself:

Why does this feel like a waste of time? What is actually going on?

Listen for specific, observable details:

• We started 10 minutes late

• There is no agenda

• I do not actually know why I am here

• People are on their computers

• Things have to be repeated because people are not listening

You may also notice a broader pattern:

I spend a significant portion of my time in meetings and do not feel like I get a corresponding value from that investment.

This is Absorb. You are not judging the meeting. You are noticing what is happening and what it adds up to over time.

Legitimize: Acknowledge that what you are noticing matters

Once you have identified what is happening, the next step is to take it seriously.

This is where most people dismiss their own thinking.

• Maybe it’s just me

• This is probably just how meetings go

• It’s not worth saying anything

Instead, stay with the observation.

If meetings consistently:

• start late

• lack clarity

• require repetition

• leave you unsure of purpose

then your experience is grounded in something real.

Next is something that may be a little more difficult.

Ask yourself: How am I helping or hindering this meeting?

It might look like something like this:

• We started 10 minutes late

  • I was on time!

• There was no agenda

  • Turns out there was an agenda, which I ignored and review it before the meeting

• I don’t know why I am here:

  • I ignored the agenda sent three days in advance and that is why I do not know why I am here

    • I did not bring the information that could have helped the team make a decision

    • The decision we needed to made was clearly stated on the agenda that I did not read.

• People are on their computers

  • I keep looking at my phone

• Things have to be repeated because people are not listening

  • Sorry, could you repeat that?

The legitimizing phase is recognizing that your perspective is worth paying attention to, including where you are contributing to the problem.

You move from:

• This is frustrating
  to

• There is something here worth understanding and acting on

Integrate: Act in a way that improves the outcome

Once you have taken your observation seriously, the next step is to do something with it.

This is where alignment becomes visible.

There are many aspects of organizational life we can positively impact through our own actions.
Meetings are one of them.

It may look like preparing before you arrive.
Reviewing the agenda, or asking for one if it has not been shared.
Taking a few minutes to consider where you have perspective to add, or what you need clarified.

It may mean getting clear on your role.
Are you there to contribute to a decision, or to stay informed?
If you are there to contribute, come ready to do that.
If you are there to be informed, it is reasonable to ask whether notes would be sufficient, knowing that stepping out also means stepping back from the decision.

In the meeting itself, it often shows up in small, visible ways.
Staying present.
Building on what has been said instead of repeating it.
Saying the thing you were considering holding back.

And when the conversation turns to action, helping ensure clarity.
Who is doing what, and by when.

Afterward, it is following through.

You follow through and let others know when your part is complete, or when you are experiencing delays.

These techniques are known to improve meetings, and they are available to anyone who chooses to use them.

Grow: Pay attention to what develops as you engage

As your commitment to improving meetings growing, you may notice more about your contributions:

• When your contribution moves the conversation forward

• When it does not land the way you expected

• When a question opens up better thinking

• When active listening encourages people to speak up

• When clarity informs what happens next

Growth comes from paying attention to what happens when you participate and adjusting over time.

It also requires openness.

You may realize that when you are asked to present something complex, especially in the moment, it is not as clear or engaging as you would like. You may also notice that the meetings you lead are not as effective as they could be. Or recognize that it would be helpful to let others speak first, and listen more.

These are useful signals. They point to where additional development could help.

For some, that may mean practicing how to think and respond in real time, in a setting like Toastmasters International.
For others, it may mean learning how to design and facilitate meetings so time is used well.

Growth occurs through reflection and a commitment to improving your own skills so that you are more effective in your role.

Nurture: Sustain the practice

One meeting does not change much. A pattern does. Nurture is the decision to keep showing up this way, consistently over time.

There will be meetings where it would be easier to disengage.
Where the agenda is unclear.
Where the conversation circles.
Where you are not sure your input will change anything.

This is where the practice matters.

You prepare anyway.
You stay present anyway.
You contribute when you have something to add.
You help bring clarity when the conversation drifts.
You follow through on what you commit to.

Not perfectly, but consistently over time.

Over time, this compounds.

• Conversations become more focused as you ask clearer questions

• Decisions become more defined as ownership and timing are named

• Your presence begins to shape how the meeting operates

People notice.

They come to expect that when you are in the room:

• the conversation will move forward

• the work will become clearer

• commitments will be real

This is where Take Yourself Seriously becomes visible.

You are no longer waiting for the meeting to be well run. You are part of what makes it work.

And that changes both your experience of the meeting, and the quality of the work that comes out of it.

When you read this, who did you think it applied to?

A CEO? A Director? A Manager? A staff member?

Any person in any of those roles can sit in a meeting and think it is a waste of time.

Anyone in any of those roles can also make it better.