114 - How to facilitate alignment with Lindsay Uittenbogaard

Alignment would be one of the first words added to the facilitation dictionary, but the concept can sometimes suffer with a reputation as a ‘washy’ or ‘soft’ topic. Lindsay Uittenbogaard is leading the mission to change that perception completely, with a data-focused, scientific interpretation of what it means for teams to be aligned… and misaligned. Join us in this episode as we explore what it means when a team is misaligned, how we can measure and improve alignment, and why – in the end – absolute alignment should never be the goal. Sharpen your skillset by spending an hour with Lindsay – you won’t regret it! Find out about: How data can assess, measure, and predict convergence and divergence Why conversation is not always the best way to discuss alignment Why data is essential to understand alignment, but is not enough on its own How frameworks and systems offer us an entry point for improving alignment The difference between agreement and alignment The idiosyncrasies of misalignment in a remote working world Tips for listeners who are interested in working on team alignment  Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.   Click here to download the free 1-page summary.  Thanks to our sponsor “Dancing with Markers”. Click here to get the workshops work discount for Lauren’s upcoming visual facilitation course.  Questions and Answers [01:09] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? If you don’t, what do you call yourself? [02:15] Is alignment measured in quantitative or qualitative data? [07:22] How do you measure the ‘severity’ of misalignment? [10:15] What makes starting to work on our misalignments so complicated? [13:07] Is there a Catch 22 when it comes to addressing misalignment? [18:46] Can you convince someone to align, even if you can’t convince them to agree? [23:03] What’s an example of a situation in which misalignment is normal and fine to leave as it is? [30:12] Can you ‘overalign’ by going too granular and focused in the work? [33:33] Have pandemic-enforced remote work amplified the issue of misalignment? [36:10] How can we demystify alignment and give people a clearer definition of it? [42:39] What three questions would you advise a team leader ask their team to get an alignment ‘temperature check’? [43:09] What are the risks in trying to align a team when you don’t know how to do so? [44:40] What leads to increased frustration in teams, related to misalignment? [48:05] Do you have a favourite exercise? [49:21] What is the threshold for ‘acceptable’ misalignment and problematic misalignment? [52:48] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode? Links MirrorMirror Alignment Connect to Lindsay: LinkedIn Any thoughts? Share them with us! Support the show ✨✨✨ If you miss the "workshops work" podcast, join us on Substack, where Myriam builds a Podcast Club with monthly gatherings around old episodes: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/