I'm your host, Amy Dardis. And today we're continuing our seven-part series on creating alignment with your people. This episode is part six of seven. And so far we've unpacked the first dimension of alignment, which is culture. And that included four components: values, which is what we believe as an organization, work style, which is how we operate, traits, which are the personality and character traits of the people who will thrive in our organization, and then our non-negotiables, which is what we won't tolerate. It is defining the dark side of what threatens our business. Those episodes are in the show notes. And now we're moving into the second dimension of alignment, which is capacity. So if culture alignment is all about fit and whether or not a person will thrive in this company, then capacity alignment is about ability and whether or not they will thrive in their specific role. So capacity is about having what it takes internally and externally to execute something effectively. And it's not just about willingness, it's about having the margin and the means to do it well and to excel. And I want to really make this point here right now about capacity. So capacity is not competence. So to me, competence is doing a job satisfactory. You are meeting the bar, you are meeting the standard, but it's not exceptional. You're not thriving, you're not bringing a lot of extra value, you're just kind of meeting the bare minimum, doing what needs to be done, but there's not a whole lot of extra above that. Being excellent is when you are outstanding, you are surpassing those standards. And within that gap where you do go above and beyond, you are bringing so much value and so much contribution to not only the role you're in, the organization you're in, but into your life as well. And good is the enemy of great. And it's so easy to get stuck and to stay comfortable in roles where we're competent, but we're not excellent. We're not thriving, we're not growing, we're not evolving. And because of that, we're missing out on contribution. We're missing out on value, we're missing out on meaning, we're missing out on purpose-driven work, which is going to be our next episode when we talk about contribution, and that will wrap up our final episode in this series. But I have been stuck in competent roles. I have been stuck in comfort. I have been stuck being in roles where I did what I was good at, but I completely missed out on what I was great at. So I've shared a little bit about my story before of being in these roles of finance and admin. And I spent a good 10 years of my career in these types of roles, not only at work, but also in serving and in volunteering, because that's what I knew. And I was good and I was competent. I could manage a project. I could organize lists and teams and people, and I could take notes and be good at data entry. And I understood spreadsheet. Well, let me say that with a little bit of grace here. Like I had a basic understanding of a spreadsheet. And I thought that I was good at it. It wasn't until a little bit later in my life that I realized how how horrible I was at a spreadsheet. But, anyways, I was in these roles where I was good. And when I was in these roles of being good, I felt just like I was going through the motions. I just felt like there had to be more to life than this. I had to have been made for more. I didn't know what at the time. I had no idea, but I knew that what I was doing wasn't enough. It was just like it was meeting the bar. But in my life, I wanted more than that. In my life, I wanted to be excited and I wanted to be great at something. And I think we all want to be great at something. And I think that desire is valid because we were designed to be great at something. There is a purpose and a plan to be great at something. We were not made for average, we were not made for mediocre. And sometimes it's our own choices of comfort, it's our own choices of choosing to stay with what we know that keeps us stuck. And we miss out on excellence and we miss out on value and contribution. But since we're talking about capacity, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here. So when we're looking at capacity, we're we are talking about excellence. We are talking about thriving. So what makes up whether or not someone aligns with a specific role in an organization? Well, there's really three things that we're looking at, and that is ability, potential, and bandwidth. So within ability, we are talking about the ability to thrive in a role. We are looking at someone's skills, talents, strengths, and personality. So outside of already establishing that they are a culture fit, that they share our values, that they are going to thrive within our specific working style, we know that they have the traits, the character traits, and the personality traits that we're looking for. And they we have not found any red flags that would indicate that what they believe violates what we believe. So now we're looking at specifically what is the role that we're hiring them for? Are we hiring them for a sales role, a marketing role, an operations role, an admin role? What role are we putting them into? And what are the responsibilities and the skill sets required in order to excel within this role? And so we are looking at someone's natural talents, their natural skill sets, their natural strengths. These are the things that are ingrained within them. And to me, this is not work experience. And this is the trap that a lot of us get caught up in, is because we think that if someone has work experience in this, in these areas, if they've been in sales for 10 years, that must mean that they're good at it. That must mean that they have the capacity for it. That must mean that they thrive in it. That's not necessarily the case. Because just like in my own story, I had 10 years of work experience in admin roles. Now, if you look at those 10 years, none of those roles lasted very long because there was always something missing. There was always something that prompted me to leave for one reason or another. And it was be part of that part of the story is because I was in a role where I didn't thrive. That people are naturally excellent at things in their life. And if we are not putting them in roles, what they are naturally excellent at those things, we are denying them their contribution. We are denying them value and meaningful work. And they're doing it to themselves as well. It's a two-way street, but we're not benefiting them. And so natural ability, when I paint the picture like this, I when we talk about numbers or spreadsheets, I can look at a spreadsheet. I can hear somebody talk about a math problem or variables or components. And I have no idea what those words mean. And if you show me a spreadsheet that had a has a bunch of numbers on it, I remember I actually I served on the board for a nonprofit organization for like a local chamber that I was a part of. And every month we would meet, and every month the the president would share the organization's financials and you know what came in, what came out, and the profit and the loss, and there were it was like this full spreadsheet, and it had all these categories and it had all these columns. And I served on this board for three years, and for three years, I had no idea what that spreadsheet said. No idea. And it was not for a lack of trying. Like it was not for a lack of trying to like pay attention and listen as he was explaining it, but there was no connection happening, there was no gears turning. It was like completely dear in the headlights. I I under, I'm trying to understand, but I'm not understanding. And I recognize that this is just not my skill set. This is not something I am good at. Whereas there were some other people in the room who could look at the spreadsheet and it was just, it would just click for them. They would just know what it meant and it would tell a story, the numbers and the data. They would see the patterns and they would understand the information that was being communicated because that's how their brain worked. That was unique to them. Whereas for me, I was far more inclined to listen to someone's life story and see the patterns and be able to make connections and understand what was being communicated and even be able to pull things together that they themselves hadn't been able to pull together. So when I stepped into a role where I did get to work with people and I did get to tell stories, and I did get to help communicate, I thrived. Like not only was I really good at it, but I also grew in that area. And the business grew because I was in a role that matched my unique gifting. And that was a journey to find what that was, to find what it was that I brought to the table. And that honestly set up a just a passion in me to help individuals find what they're really good at and be in roles where they are operating in their strengths, where however their brain works, that's what they're doing. I have two kids. I have a son and a daughter. And my son is very analytical, very mathematical. He can see pieces and is amazing at putting things together. Like when we have like bought furniture before, you know, and they come with the directions to be able to build it, like if you're building something from IKEA or something. I have literally just gone in in the room with him, handed him the directions, had a cup of coffee, and sat down and just supervised while he read through these directions and just knew exactly what to do. It it made sense to him and he was able to put the furniture together quickly, efficiently, competently, excellently. Like he thrived doing that. And so he has, we've given him Legos and he's built designs, and he's so interested in how components and pieces work together. So even as a child, he has already natural gifting and strengths developing for being an engineer, for being a builder, for being an architect, like that has been evident in his life since he's been a toddler. And then I have a daughter who just has a natural capacity, a natural ability to actually be really amazing in the kitchen. So she has been baking from a very young age. She's currently 10. She can make birthday cakes and treats and frosting and all of these things from scratch. She can cook gluten-free and dairy-free, and she understands texture and consistency and bake time and the way flavors go together or complement or don't. She's not afraid to look at a recipe and make some of her own adjustments. And she's 10. One time she added some pumpkin spice to some like sugar cookies, and it was like phenomenal. And I was like, How did you how did you think of that? And she was like, I don't know. I just thought it would, I just thought it would taste good. And I was like, wow, you just are far surpassing me in the kitchen at a very, very young age. So those are the differences between someone's natural ability and what excellence looks like. And the goal is to align someone who is going to thrive in that role, whether it's regardless of what the role is. So then we have potential to thrive in the role. So first we have ability, and now we have potential. So with potential, this is not only what they bring to the table, but it's it's two parts really. It is their ability to learn quickly. It's because their mind processes information in a specific way, their ability to comprehend and learn and grow and understand this role helps them to continue to grow and learn and develop within the role, not for just what you envision for it, but for all that it can become. Like they will take this role and they will grow the role and they will grow the responsibilities because of what they're able to do with just this untapped potential. So there are so many industries now where there's like, especially in the trades, the experienced workforce is limited. Like there are not enough trained expert people to hire into positions. And so there are so many like green, like brand new people that we are having to like hire and train on the job, like train within it, knowing that you don't have the experience or the background. However, they have the potential to learn quickly and grow and thrive because their brain is able to like understand it, comprehend it, and then take it for further and then be creative with it, and then come up with more. So this is what I mean, potential is amazing because it opens up potential for your business. This is where your business starts to grow because of what they bring to the table, because they're working in their natural strengths, because they have the ability to do the role, because it aligns with their unique God-given gifting. Now the potential for growth is amazing. It's it's limitless. And you have these goals and these expectations of what you're trying to get to, but potential is their ability to blow past it. Their potential is your team's ability to break through ceilings and keep going. That is the ultimate goal, really, of when we have alignment with our people in culture as well as in role. This is how we grow. This is how we grow as a business. It's through the the unique giftings and passions of your team. Because they are what drive processes, they are what drive creativity and innovation and customer service and marketing. Like it is people's brilliance that shape a business, that change lives, that come up with new ideas. And that's so exciting. So when we're looking at alignment with a person in a role, we're looking at not only do they have the ability, the inherent skills, talents, and strengths. So it should be evident in their life, not just, we don't need examples of previous work experience. We need examples of how these skills, like leadership skills, those show up in school, those show up in church, those show up in your family, those show up in your group friends. Like you don't need for them to have been a manager. You are looking for consistency of these traits and characteristics throughout their life. And then we're also looking at the potential, which when you're interviewing, this isn't always easy to figure out. But we are looking at, okay, how much how do you learn or what things interested interest you? Like, do you have an analytical mind or do you have like a relational mind? Do you have an intuitiveness or I don't know, there's all kinds of different we could get stuck on this point for a little bit. But how does their mind process information and within your work style, do all of those things match up? And then the third area that we want to look at as far as capacity goes is bandwidth. So their bandwidth to thrive in the role. And this is your biggest variable because even the most skilled, high potential person will struggle if their bandwidth is maxed out. And bandwidth is often determined by outside forces and your season of life. And this is very important to look at. And this is why we need to look at the person as a whole. We cannot just look at what's going on in their life from eight to five Monday through Friday. Because what's happening in their life as an individual, it impacts how they show up at work. So a couple examples of this. So we have someone's mental bandwidth. So this is their abil ability to focus and to be able to make decisions. And they have the space in their mind. So they're not overwhelmed with anxiety, they're not worried about something else going on in their life right now that is taking them away from being able to focus on work. And like I said, this is this is life. This is the life component of alignment. And we won't always know these things when we're interviewing, but you will absolutely know these things and be able to pick up on these things when this person is on your team. And sometimes these are seasons that we love them through and we grow with them through and we guide them through and support them through. And sometimes these are seasons that create a fork in the road. And sometimes there, the there, these are the things that happen in life that can change whether or not a person continues to work for you by their own choice or by yours. So we're looking at mental bandwidth, we're looking at emotional bandwidth, we're looking at spiritual bandwidth, physical bandwidth, and time and resources bandwidth. And these are all pretty self-explanatory. I mean, emotional bandwidth, it's, I mean, maybe, maybe this person is going through a divorce. Maybe this person is dealing with a child at home right now who's going through some really difficult things. And that is taking a lot of their emotional bandwidth, and it is limiting what they are able to give at work. Spiritual, maybe they are battling some faith stuff. Maybe they're battling some inner demons that are kind of eating away at them. Physical, maybe they are not sleeping well, maybe they're not eating well, maybe they're dealing with inflammation or sickness or cancer. I mean, these are just these are things that come up in our life that can totally derail our plan. You know, it's like if if you're great with your skills and you have the potential to thrive and you're completely aligned, but then you get sick or your wife gets sick, and that changes your life because now there's treatments and now there's rest and now there's side effects. Maybe you cannot continue in that role, or in that role to that same capacity, or within that schedule, or those expectations. Like this is just part of life. And then time and resources. So this is just like the infrastructure and the support and the systems that exist in our life that help us show up and be our best self at work. So it can even be something like your kids' school schedule or their sports schedule. Or maybe you did go through a divorce and now you're uh co-parenting, and some weeks you have a lot of responsibility, and some weeks you don't, and you're having a really hard time figuring out the balance or this new transition, or maybe it just doesn't work. There are all of these things that can affect alignment that we have to consider. We have to be aware of, we have to be conscientious of and realistic about because we just cannot separate the human and the life from work and business. It's it's all intertwined, it all affects each other. And a red flag that you could find within a like an interview process, bandwidth having to do with something like let's say they're struggling with addiction, or let's say they're struggling with some unhealthy family boundaries where there's a lot of drama there. And while they're an amazing person and they have all the giftings that you would want, because of their ability to not set healthy boundaries with some family members, you just don't see how they would be able to have the bandwidth to thrive in a role. So there are all of these different dynamics at play. And obviously in an interview process, we can only find out so much. But if we're specific about what we're looking for and we kind of know what the red flags look like, it can just help us prov it can help prevent us from making a decision that just might not work out down the road simply due to a bandwidth issue. So the question really is on that is does that person have the margin and the space in their life and in their mind, their emotions, their relationships to perform at their best? And that's why we do check-ins with employees. That's why we build trust and relationships, that's why we have quarterly conversations and weekly team meetings where there is space, there is intentionality, there is an environment so that we were understanding the people and we're continuing to get to know them as individuals and we're aware of what's going on in their life. And there's an environment that supports that and facilitates that within how we hold each other accountable and how we hold our brand and our culture and our values accountable. So if we have misalignment, some of those signs are gonna be some roles that a person who just does not have the skills or the personality traits just naturally to thrive in that role. Or they're in a role where their strengths aren't being used and the role itself is very draining, it's very stressful, it's very overwhelming. Or they are continuing to like make mistakes and forget things or be easily distracted or procrastinating because their bandwidth is tapped out. Like there's there's just too much on their plate. And sometimes there are things with bandwidth that we can control. Sometimes if we're growing as an organization and we are maxing out their bandwidth because we keep adding responsibility and we keep adding work to their workload and they just can't continue to keep up, then that's a sign of like, oh, maybe this person, maybe we need to hire an additional person. Or maybe we need to automate some things, or maybe we need to reallocate some resources. Those are things where it's like we can actually do something about that within their bandwidth that helps maybe mitigate and minimize those mistakes and that forgetfulness and that frustration or that stress. But sometimes that stress or that frustration or overwhelm is coming from their ability to not go any further. Like they have capped, they have hit their ceiling, they have hit this. Okay, I am competent and this is the best I can do. Like I am doing my best and you want more from me, and I can't give it. And you're coaching me and you're correcting me and you're trying to train me more, and and we're just not getting there because that's the best that they have to give. And you have to be able to recognize that as a leader that this might not be the role for them. And you're missing out, and so are they, because the more we're in a role where we know we're capped, it will eat at us, it will drain us, it will demotivate us, there will be disengagement, we will want to procrastinate, we will be more distracted because we know that we're made for more and we are not living up to that potential. And whether we can put words to that or not doesn't change how it comes to fruition in our life. It doesn't change the fact that it still happens, even if we can't acknowledge it or understand what's happening at the time. So when we have alignment, when you have the right person and they're in a role where they have the capacity to thrive, they have the abilities, they have the potential, they have the bandwidth, your business benefits from that. Like you will see an increase in productivity, consistency, and quality. It will be fun, it will be engaging, it will be exciting. You will see the result of them operating at their highest level. And for them, they get that benefit as well. Not because they are just helping the business grow, but because in their soul, in their heart, in their mind, they know they are being challenged, they are being inspired, they are being motivated, they are growing, they are developing, they feel this purpose and meaning. And that is rewarding, that is fulfilling, that gives us a sense of accomplishment. Like God designed us that way because we're supposed to work and we're supposed to contribute, and we're supposed to get to experience this meaning in our life. And so we can go home at the end of the day and we can be like, I did something today, I contributed in a meaningful way, and it felt good. I felt like I was firing on all cylinders, I felt like I was coming up with all these ideas, I felt like I was catching all these mistakes and and keeping us safe and keeping us on this on the right path. And there's there is life that comes out of that, and that is a ripple effect for them as the individual, for the the people that they are around and that they influence, and then for the business as a whole. And we'll dive more into that contribution aspect in the next episode. But really, when we're looking at capacity, we are looking for ability, potential, and bandwidth. And when people are in roles where they were created and designed to thrive, then everybody wins. So make sure to stay tuned for the next and final episode on this series of creating alignment with your people. We will diving into contribution and impact. You can learn more at Clear Authentic Brands.com. That's all for this episode. See you next time.