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The Power of Alignment
- Anne Ward
Robert Dilts, who researches and writes on communication, defines
six levels at which humans operate:
Environment
(where we are)
Behavior
(what we do and say in order to affect the environment in which we
find ourselves)
Capabilities
(our talents and skills that limit the choices of behavior
available to us),
Beliefs & Values
(what’s important to us—why we make the choices we do, what we
believe to be true)
Identity
(our general self-concept and our definition of our role in a
given context)
Spirit
(our concept of the greater whole and our connection to that; our
sense of purpose).
I
want to concentrate on four of the levels: Capabilities, beliefs &
values, identity, and spirit.
Let’s
say that you’ve taken on the responsibility for a project that
involves the efforts of a team. None of your team members report to
you, yet you are the leader charged with succeeding on this project.
You have influence but not control. If you had command of these
people, you could simply tell them what to do (behavior) and they
would need to do what you say or take the consequences.
When
you have influence without control, it can help to communicate at
the higher levels with your partners. For example, you could talk
about the purpose of the project and its importance to the larger
organization or community (Spirit). You could work with the team in
ways that encourage a shared sense of responsibility and success
(Identity). You might share the reason why you took on this project
and ask each person to tell the team why they chose to come on board
(Beliefs and Values). You could share with the entire team the
reason why each person has been chosen for this mission and the
value of those skills and qualities with regard to the task at hand
(Capabilities).
Then,
you might find that you have no need of control in order to get
people to do what needs to get done. The team that is aligned at
purpose, identity, values, and capabilities is one that takes
effective action. If you’ve been fortunate enough to be a member of
a group with a sense of purpose where things just “came together,”
you’ve experienced the power and grace of alignment at all four
levels of communication.
Next
issue: the four C’s: Compliance, Cooperation, Collaboration, and
Creativity
Following that: A Model for Conflict Negotiation |
