The Art of Alignment: A Practical Guide to Inclusive Leadership

Let me be direct. I hate the term alignment. Too often, it refers to lip service that is made among multiple groups, instead of reflecting a shared, collective commitment to a path.What is clear is that while everyone talks of alignment, few really embrace what it means or what it takes to achieve it.This book addresses that succinctly. By providing clear and tangible actions and guides, the author removes the mystery from efforts to build consensus or, even better, concordance. It takes work, but the a structured approach can have a big impact.Most businesses today understand the value of collaboration, but too few really provide guides on how to collaborate effectively. We assume people are experts in collaboration. We assume experienced leaders and workers are good decision makers. The unfortunate reality is that those are dangerous assumptions.If you are willing to let down your guard and accept that you can be better at things that many take for granted, grab this book. It will have an impact for you, your co-workers, and your business.

Patty Beach has crafted a guide to moving a team of any size from disarray and competing interests that never collaborate, to respectful, integrated action and results. Replete with principles, steps, tools, and how-tos that any busy leader or manager will welcome, this book offers real life examples of how alignment and misalignment play out in the real world of teams and organizations.As someone who advocates for more human workplaces, I found particular resonance with her SHUVA principles which are the foundation of trust upon which all the other elements rest. Patty is wise, frank, and warm in her instruction and storytelling as she gives you the tools and practices you need to align and flourish!

I don't care if you're managing a business, a department, a household, or a classroom. This book is for everyone! The principles are easy to understand and the book is written in a digestible, relatable format so it's a rather quick read. I imagine it'll take longer to implement since it is crammed full of ideas. Pick one concept, master it, move onto the next. These are things that have taken me years to figure out. What a marvelous tool for your toolbox! A must read (and re-read). I bought copies for the rest of my management team after reading just half of the book.

Concise book that gets to the point. There a few chapters that can be skipped over but the book gets to the point and presents a framework for managing commitments.

As a former space program engineer, and a current leadership coach, I appreciate succintness and effectiveness when dealing with complex matters involving many moving pieces. Towards that end, Patty offers a great compliment of original constructs, such as SHUVA, powerful reminders of the importance of masculine and feminine skillsets/energies in our modern world, and a practical 4.steps process to align all of the various pieces into a holistically powerful blend. You will find the book to be a great combination of accessible and thought-stretching, and will likely return to reference The Art of Alignment for years to come.Brian "Coach B" Bertrand

Patty knows what she is talking about, having coached C-suite executives and their teams for years, and has unlocked some really clear tools and ideas on why great ideas, and great leaders, still fail- and the answer is that not everyone was aligned to the same vision. If everyone is going in even slightly different directions, the harder they all work the further away they'll end up, even if the started in the same place. Making sure they define, and stay on, the path together is the absolute #1 thing successful teams have in common. This is a great book!

This book is solidly grounded and practical counsel for anyone wanting to make a difference--whether as a boss, a coach or a team member. What makes it most appealing is that its written by a practitioner for practitioners. Patty Beach blends her experience with solid theory (without ever being theoretical) and does so with a droll sense of humor.The book contains processes that will be helpful to leaders striving to raise performance levels in a way which honors inclusion and spawns innovation.

Patty's book delivers, and should have a place on the desktop, virtual or real, of every leader. Continuing, reflective, strategic alignment is key to an organizations success, and she gives us the doable keys for creating engagement with ownership. Pragmatic, and practical as the cover promises, but never boring. Before finishing the whole book, I confess to jumping ahead to read the section on Dealing with Disruptors, and I am still smiling as I think about future applications to my own work.

Helpful for anyone wanting to inspire and facilitate alignment and collaboration.

Honestly I have taken alignment in business petty much for granted. Of course I saw many examples where “the wheels weren’t aligned” but just placed the blame on leadership or lack of it. This book breaks down what alignment is and how you can achieve it whether your team is large or small. An easy read but had me stopping often to reflect on the many situations I’ve found myself in over the years. I’ve never annotated a Kindle book before but I did with this one. Glad it is in my App now always with me.