Legitimize: Turning Insight Into Shared Direction

Part 2A 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.

In the ALIGN Framework , we move from deep listening and absorbing information to making sense of what we have heard. Legitimize is the phase where leadership acknowledges that any perspective, frustration, and hope expressed is legitimate for the person who shared it.

That does not mean every idea becomes a priority. Nor does it mean that leaders agree with everything they hear. In fact, when there are inaccuracies or misunderstandings, this is the time to provide clear, factual information to stakeholders. It does mean that leaders take the time to understand why something matters and to discern what truth it may hold about the organization’s current reality.

This stage requires courage. Some feedback is hard to hear. Some is contradictory. At times, it feels there is simply too much information to process it quickly. It takes time to take in information, to sit with it, and then to make meaning of it. When leadership stays open, resists defensiveness, and demonstrates that feedback is being taken seriously, trust begins to grow.

When listening to stakeholders, the goal is not to judge but to hear. Listening in this way can also reveal how information flows—or fails to flow—through the organization. Where are people confused, misinformed, or missing context? Where do assumptions or old stories still shape perceptions of the present? Taking time to understand these dynamics helps leaders address not only what people are saying, but why they see things as they do.

Leadership then needs to make sense of what has been learned. This means discussing what the feedback reveals, identifying patterns, and clarifying what deserves attention first. Through this process, leaders work to align on a small set of priorities that reflect both what they heard and what the organization most needs now.

This is a critical step. Many initiatives stall here, not because of lack of effort, but because leaders move forward before they themselves are fully committed.

We often hear that change starts at the top. That requires more of the leader than simply saying, “This is a priority.” In this phase, leaders must take a close look at their own relationship to the topic at hand. They need to reflect on how they think and feel about the issue, how their actions have contributed to the current reality—both positively and negatively—and what their role will be in bringing new priorities to life.

Too often, this self-examination is skipped, and it becomes easy to assume that someone else is taking care of it. In heavily siloed organizations, this gap can deepen when the impact on one team is not understood by another. Legitimize asks leaders to consider how they will “show up” to effect change and how their personal commitment will shape the path forward.

Once leadership is aligned on their priorities and their commitment, it is time to close the loop with the broader organization. Legitimizing input requires more than saying, “We hear you.” It means demonstrating that listening led somewhere. Sharing a clear summary of what will move forward, what will wait, and what is outside the current scope helps people see that decisions were made with care.

When people see their input reflected in the path ahead, even if not every idea becomes a priority, they feel included and respected. That shared understanding is what allows alignment to take root.

Legitimize is where insight becomes direction.

In practice: leadership alignment sessions, collective sense-making, priority setting, and roadmap development

build THE culture that PAYS Attention

Part 1B 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.

When I work with an organization, I begin by listening to what people say, reviewing and analyzing data, and observing people in action. I take in all of this information and sit with it for a while. By taking time to absorb before acting, I am better able to see the full picture of what is happening and what may be needed next.

What I noticed in working with clients during change initiatives is that people often feel compelled to act quickly. Yet I found that when I took time to absorb the information—to listen, observe, and reflect—I developed a more comprehensive understanding of the situation.

In developing the ALIGN framework, I encourage organizations to do the same: to take time to absorb information, experiences, and perspectives before deciding what things mean or how to act on them.

Absorbing begins with connecting to the here and now, to the reality of what is actually happening. Different people can have very different experiences in the same environment. The goal is to understand what is real in this moment, in this phase, and in this context.

When we stay attentive to what is real, not just what was planned or hoped for, we give ourselves and our teams the best chance to learn, adapt, and move forward effectively.

An absorbing culture is one where people make sense of what they are hearing and seeing, then act with clarity. It does not happen by accident. The following five areas help create such a culture: leadership signals, meeting norms, decision design, sense-making practices, and trust.

1. Leadership Signals

Leaders set the tone by showing that thinking counts as work.
• Say plainly that reflection and planning are valued.
• Protect your own time for it and make that visible.
• Encourage teams to pace themselves so they are not always reacting.

When leaders pause to think, they give permission for others to do the same.

2. Decision Design

Absorbing well is what makes thoughtful decisions possible. Decision design builds on that awareness, helping people process what they have learned and translate understanding into action.

Decisions are only as strong as the information that supports them.

Consider:
• What information do people need to understand the situation and make an informed choice?
• Is the information current, credible, and relevant?
• Where does it come from, and who is responsible for gathering it?

Every decision exists within a larger environment.

Consider:
• Do people understand the implications of the decision to be made?
• What is the surrounding context, including timing, urgency, and interdependencies?
• What happens if we delay the decision?
• What happens if the decision proves to be wrong?
• When and how can we adjust?

Context helps people weigh options more wisely and recognize that decisions are not final; they are part of an ongoing cycle of learning and adaptation.

A well-designed decision includes clarity about how it will be shared and understood.

Consider:
• Who needs to know about the decision, and at what stage?
• How will we communicate what has been decided and why?
• How will feedback be gathered to confirm understanding and identify adjustments?

When communication is intentional, decisions gain traction. People understand not only what was decided but also why and how the decision connects to the larger purpose.

3. Meeting Norms

Norms shape how people listen, share, and participate.
• Send agendas three days in advance, clearly marking what is for information, discussion, or decision.
• Encourage one person to speak at a time.
• Begin with context and close with next steps.
• Name the energy in the room — tense, focused, hopeful — and invite brief reflection.

Meetings should create space for attention, not exhaustion. Simple, predictable norms make participation more thoughtful.

4. Sense-Making Practices

Absorbing takes time, and time is scarce. It does not seem reasonable to suggest that you find extra hours. Thankfully, even protecting small moments can allow sense-making to happen.
•For some, 20 minutes at the start or end of the day works well. Others use a midweek walk, a quiet commute, or time after a major meeting to reflect.
• When calendars are full, take a two-minute pause between meetings to jot a note or ask, “What did I just hear?”
• Once or twice a week, can you find one unbroken hour for reflection, review, or planning? Treat it as a meeting with yourself and guard it as such.
• When leaders normalize these practices, they give others permission to do the same.

Absorption is less about time management than attention management.

5. Conditions of Trust

Building and keeping trust is a practice. It enables people to share what is really going on for them and to speak honestly about what they see.

In The Trusted Advisor, David Maister and his colleagues describe the Trust Equation, a simple way to understand how trust is built and maintained. They call it the Trust Quotient (TQ) — a measure of how credibility, reliability, intimacy, and self-orientation combine to create or erode trust.

Each variable matters:
• Credibility is about words. People trust what you say when your knowledge and communication are clear and grounded.
• Reliability is about actions. Doing what you say you will do, time after time, builds confidence.
• Intimacy creates safety. It is the sense that a person can share what is true without fear of embarrassment or exposure.
• Self-orientation is about focus. When attention is primarily on oneself — reputation, performance, or image — trust weakens. When focus is on the other person and the shared goal, trust grows.

A culture that absorbs depends on trust at every level. When credibility, reliability, intimacy, and self-orientation are balanced, people feel safe to say what they see, ask for what they need, and engage in real dialogue.

Trust allows truth to surface. Without it, people protect themselves. With it, they protect the work.

Putting it all together

When we talk about absorbing, we are talking about the disciplined, collective act of noticing, listening, and taking in before acting. Building a culture that absorbs requires attention to how the day is spent: what signals leaders send, how meetings are structured, how decisions are made, and what conditions make truth-telling possible.

When absorption becomes a shared discipline, people stop reacting and begin listening to themselves and to others with greater curiosity. Curiosity opens the door to clarity, and clarity becomes action.

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.

Engagement by Design: HOw Leaders Shape the Experience of Work

Employee engagement in the U.S. recently hit its lowest level in a decade.
According to Gallup’s 2024 Engagement Survey, only 31% of employees are engaged at work, and 17% are actively disengaged. Engagement peaked at 36% in 2020 but has been trending downward ever since, exposing deeper issues in leadership, culture, and execution.

Engagement is often presented as something employees alone choose. But there is another side to the story: Engagement isn’t just about how staff choose to engage. It’s about how leaders choose to engage with staff.

From Measurement to Meaning

Tools like Clifton Strengths can help us see engagement differently. The Clifton Strengths framework is often introduced to an organization as a onetime “team building” event. While these are usually well-received, many more benefits can be realized when leaders take the time to really study their team’s results. In doing so, they will realize will gain a lot of insight as to what energizes their people, what drains them, and what they need to do their best work.

Clifton Strengths provides:

• A language for what comes naturally to each person.

• Insight into how people contribute and collaborate.

• A bridge between individual purpose and organizational performance.

When leaders use this information to shape roles, goals, and recognition, strengths they will have  tangible tactical tools to further the success of both the individual and the organization.

Engagement Is a Relationship, Not a Metric

Gallup’s research points to specific patterns in why engagement falls , and each has a leadership counterpart.

From Strengths to Alignment

At Work Wise Studio, Clifton Strengths is the first step in the ALIGN practice, a practical framework for translating insight into action:

Absorb: Gather insight from people and data. Listen to what’s working and what’s missing.
Legitimize: Validate that input by integrating it into leadership conversations and decisions.
Integrate: Align strengths, roles, and goals so individuals can contribute where they add the most value.
Grow: Build capability through coaching, reflection, and iteration.
Nurture: Protect progress and reinforce behaviors that sustain engagement over time.

Together, Clifton Strengths and ALIGN help organizations move from “what we know about our people” to “how we lead because of what we know.”

 Engagement Challenge                                                                     

Engagement Challenge: Clarity of expectations has dropped sharply

• ALIGN creates shared understanding by connecting strategy, culture, and execution into  clear roadmap.

Engagement Challenge: Fewer employees feel cared for or supported.

• ALIGN integrates people-centered practices and ensures leaders listen deeply to staff insights.

Engagement Challenge: Development opportunities are lacking.

• ALIGN strengthens capacity through leadership coaching, team development, and resilience building.

Engagement Challenge: Engagement is lowest among younger employees.

• ALIGN invites diverse voices into planning, surfacing insights across generations and roles.

Engagement Challenge: Managers themselves are disengaged.

• ALIGN equips managers with coaching tools that build trust and accountability.

This is where Clifton Strengths and the ALIGN framework work together.
Clifton Strengths shines a light on individual potential. ALIGN gives organizations a way to act on what they learn.

When Leaders Engage Differently, So Do Their Teams

Consider this example:
A leadership team invested in Clifton Strengths because the leader felt that his team was while his team was responsive to requests, it was more reactive than proactive, and led to wasted time, inefficient use of resources , poor communication and times of real tension.

Through the ALIGN process, the team revisited their Strengths results,  not as a personality inventory, but as strategic input. They realized their collective profile was heavy on Execution and Relationship Building, but light on Strategic Thinking and Influencing
The result: Strong collaboration, excellent can-do attitude, but the work was reactive.

Once the team absorbed that insight and legitimized it in planning, they shifted how they worked. They slowed down. They did a retrospective of the previous year and identified patterns to inform practices. They used their excellent relationship building strengths to engage stakeholders in better planning. Deadlines were met without burnout. Communication improved. A year later, both client satisfaction surveys and employee engagement surveys had noticeably improved.

The change was not about working harder.
It was about working wiser.

The Next Level of Engagement

Gallup has long shown that employees who use their strengths daily are six times more likely to be engaged at work. But that insight alone does not create change. Engagement rises only when organizations build systems that recognize and use those strengths consistently.

That means:

• Leaders must model curiosity and reflection, not just performance management.

• Managers must connect individual strengths to team goals.

• Organizations must nurture cultures that make engagement a shared responsibility.

In other words, engagement is a leadership practice.

Taking It Forward

If your organization has already invested in Clifton Strengths, you have already taken the first step toward deeper engagement.

The next step is alignment: using that knowledge to shape how you lead, communicate, and grow.

Ask yourselves:

• How are we engaging with our people, not just measuring their engagement with us?

• Where can we better absorb, legitimize, integrate, grow, and nurture what we have learned from our Strengths results?

When leaders listen this way, engagement stops being a survey score and becomes part of the culture  where clarity, trust, and accountability fuel success.

Because engagement isn’t something we get from people. It’s something we design with them.

#EmployeeEngagement #Leadership Development #CliftonStrengths #WorkWiseStudio

Introducing ALIGN: The studio practiCe

In today's environment, change is not a special project or a temporary interruption; it is the environment we all work in. Organizations are constantly evolving, responding to new information, shifting priorities, and emerging needs.

Over the years, whether I was a staff member, a leader, or now, a consultant, I have learned something from every single person I’ve worked with. Staff and stakeholders offer valuable insights about daily challenges, short-term priorities, long-range possibilities, and the way forward. Yet too often, organizations overlook that wisdom.

Artists work differently. Whether painting, composing, or choreographing, they pay attention to what stirs inside them. They honor it. They give it form. That is how something new takes shape.

I believe organizations can and should do the same. The Studio Practice begins with listening to yourself: your thoughts, reactions, and instincts, and honoring what you notice by giving it words. Our wisdom is the sum of our experience. Each person holds a piece of it, and no one’s perspective is “wrong” when it reflects their lived experience and innate strengths. When organizations create space for people to access and share that wisdom, transformation begins. Because when people are invited to bring their wisdom to life, organizations do not just adapt to change; they thrive in it.

That is why I developed ALIGN: The Studio Practice Framework, a practical approach for bringing wisdom into the center of how leaders and teams work. ALIGN is designed for today’s reality. It is not just a framework for managing change, but a way of leading and operating in motion, where reflection, clarity, and alignment become everyday practices, and strategy, culture, and execution stay connected even as conditions shift.

How ALIGN Works

ALIGN represents five moves that help leaders and teams turn insight into aligned action. We call them moves because alignment is not a one-time process; it is a dynamic practice. Each move represents a deliberate action leaders can take to respond wisely to what the moment requires.

🔹 Absorb: Begin by seeking to understand what is really happening. Instead of rushing into solutions, listen carefully to people, systems, and lived experience.
🔹 Legitimize: Insights gain strength when they are shared and clarified. Turn observations into shared priorities and a roadmap that leadership owns together.
🔹 Integrate: Direction must translate into practice. Embed new approaches into daily operations, planning, and decision-making.
🔹 Grow: Change endures when people grow. Build capacity and confidence so teams can carry progress forward.
🔹 Nurture: Momentum lasts when culture is tended over time. Steward progress, celebrate learning, and adapt as conditions evolve.

Why it matters
Alignment is how vision becomes daily work. With ALIGN, you have a practical way to hear what is true, set what matters, and move together even as conditions shift. When alignment becomes a shared practice, organizations stay clear-headed, connected, and capable of meeting what comes next.

Alignment prompt
What is a small move you can make today that will help to align strategy, culture, and execution?