Peter Germann, Executive Coach

Alignment with the organizational vision, values, purpose, principles, and strategies is a key role of a leader. That means, as a leader, alignment starts with you.

Leadership is hard. There are a lot of moving parts in an organization, and those moving parts are almost all competing for attention. There are expectations that come with pressure, constant input, and demands from others. As a leader, you’re expected to respond to all of those moving pieces and make decisions in an aligned way. 

You have your quiet compass to guide you. Listen to it. 

What determines how aligned a leader is how attuned they are to their Quiet Compass. It’s shaped by their purpose, values, and principles. The tricky thing about the compass is that it will never try to compete with the noise around it; it is quiet. You will only be able to hear it when you slow down and listen. 

When a leader isn’t grounded and attuned to their compass, they can become reactive and make decisions that feel good in the moment but may not make sense later, or they can become easily swayed by the loudest voice in the room. This creates inconsistency, thus creating misalignment. 

There’s no question that input is valuable. But it can also pull a leader in many different directions, often causing them to stray from their original vision or the things that keep them grounded.

That’s why it’s so important to create space to listen. Strong leaders step back from the noise, reconnect to what they believe, and allow their Quiet Compass to guide their choices, especially when the path is not obvious, to make the best decisions that are in alignment with the organization.

When a leader is aligned internally and makes a habit of listening to their quiet compass, their decisions, actions, and communication become clearer and more consistent with who they truly are as a leader, resulting in more aligned decisions for the organization. 

Before moving forward, a leader might remind themselves: 

Listen to my quiet compass. Follow my Quiet Compass.

When leaders consistently align with their Quiet Compass, their leadership becomes more grounded, more consistent, and more trusted in the organization.