{"id":611,"date":"2016-01-21T00:01:53","date_gmt":"2016-01-21T05:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/facilitativeleadership.wordpress.com\/?p=611"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:37:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:37:16","slug":"facilitate-alignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/facilitate-alignment\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Facilitate Alignment and Confirm Balance"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you facilitate alignment, you help groups identify gaps, omissions, and overkill, and confirm the appropriateness and balance of their action plan.<\/h2>\n
\"How<\/a>

Facilitate Alignment, an Illustration<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Rationale to Facilitate Alignment<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Building consensus<\/a> around alignment can be very challenging, especially if you facilitate exclusively in the narrative<\/a> world (i.e., written words). Therefore, MGRUSH<\/span><\/em>\u00a0suggests the use of icons (see PowerBalls<\/a>) that are both appropriate and powerful to help you facilitate alignment.<\/span><\/div>\n

Method to\u00a0<\/strong>Facilitate Alignment<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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First of all, create a matrix<\/a>\u00a0with your\u00a0options (e.g., actions) and the targets<\/a> (e.g., goals). Common items that may be aligned include the comparison of strategies<\/a> to objectives. To facilitate alignment, consider these\u00a0three\u00a0steps:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. First, complete the matrix with a linear approach, but be careful to always ask the open-ended question<\/a>, \u201cTo what extent does ‘x’ (i.e., option, action, or strategy) support ‘y’ (i.e., target, goal, or objective) ?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Having defined the PowerBalls (preferably with a legend<\/a>\u00a0that is visible\u00a0throughout the activity for your\u00a0participants to\u00a0reference), label each cell<\/a> with either a high, low, or moderate PowerBall symbol, indicating the extent to which the option supports the target.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. While\u00a0completing the matrix, ask the group to confirm completeness. Add anything missing or modify as required (i.e., Create a new option or calibrate an existing option).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Note<\/em>: Since the\u00a0solid balls indicate high and the empty circles indicate low, the half-filled balls indicate moderate. We like to define High as mandatory, “must have at any price.”<\/em> <\/span>We define Low as “would like to have but not willing to pay extra.”<\/em> <\/span>\u00a0The stuff in between is Moderate, the stuff for which we would be willing to “pay a reasonable amount.”<\/em><\/span> \u00a0The equivalent to the MoSCoW<\/a> tool would be: M<\/strong>ust have, S<\/strong>hould have, C<\/strong>ould have, and W<\/strong>on’t have (null).<\/span><\/p>\n

    For seasoned professionals and alumni, consider using the Book-end<\/a> method to equal dispersion after you complete your initial baseline analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"How<\/a>

    Click here to see a recorded demonstration of this method.<\/a><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

    ______<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

    Don\u2019t ruin your career by hosting bad meetings<\/a>. Sign up for a workshop<\/a> or send this to someone who should. MGRUSH<\/span><\/a><\/em> workshops focus on meeting design and practice. Each person practices tools, methods, and activities every day during the week. Therefore, while some call this immersion, we call it the road to building high-value facilitation skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Related videos<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n