My guest, Aree Bly, is all about alignment. What do I mean by “alignment?” As she puts it on her LinkedIn profile, “Alignment is about recognizing where you lead at your best, identifying your next learning and growth opportunities, and exploring how to support those around you. It allows you to find success, be an effective leader, and show up authentically as you evolve through your career.” Here’s what her take is on how the pandemic reawakened our alignment…

Maybe this comes back to like a Leonard Cohen quote of “the cracks are where the light comes in.” The pandemic forcing people to break those routines. Raise the awareness of, “oh my gosh, I did not realize that my 50 hour, 60 hour workweeks were violating my desire to connect with people.” Or “I didn’t realize how much conflict I was feeling until I stepped away and went, OK, this is not working and this is why.” And we can start to see and become more aware of what is and isn’t working.

So how often does she think someone can reinvent themselves?

I think you could do it daily, honestly, depending on how big a change. The reinvention can and should be coming regularly, and it should be something that we’re looking at deliberately as we’re kind of saying, “Okay, where do I want to be going and what steps do I take to move in that direction?” And then it also means looking up occasionally and going, “Okay, I was headed on this path. Is it still right?”

Not only is alignment for you personally, but it can be an alignment change for your team. How does she approach this?

Let’s rearrange things to make sure that we’re setting ourselves up for success by recognizing how people operate. And that helped to clarify some of the decisions because some people were saying, “Well, You just like them better. So you’re moving them to this role” and you’re like, “Well, no, there’s a reason to it.” And once you put it all on paper and let everyone see, you know, and talk about it, it’s like, “Oh, you know, I’m really good at this, but I’m really tired of doing that because I’ve been doing it for years. I’d like to learn something new.”

What is the first step that people can do to make a change?

The first step is awareness, and it’s so hard to see the truth. And then from there it’s activating it.

Here she is from a recent Tedx Talk. Her website to find out more. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social, and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home.

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