The Do Better Business™ Stages of Development

Our Coaching Process for Sustainable Growth

“You did then what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better.” – Maya Angelou

At Realign Consulting, we believe the best type of growth strategy focuses on sustainability.

Hypergrowth and quarter-over-quarter profits might be the norm, but experience has taught us that sustainability should come before scale for most—especially for small businesses.

However, most of us are not equipped to go it alone when realigning our strategy to focus on sustainability, impact, and values alignment. That’s because this path takes courage and some thinking outside the box.

With a coach’s support, transformation is possible and more enjoyable as you work through the stages of business development.

Sustainable business growth requires an alignment of three key areas: people, strategy, and habits.

Sustainable growth means evolving, changing, and blooming over time without burning people out.

When you choose Realign Consulting as your coaching partner, much of your work will be deeply involved in 5 core business areas:

At the same time, the coaching process is being taught, practiced, and habituated by everyone involved as we work to align people, strategy, and habits.

What makes these three areas so crucial to a company’s success?

Only when these three areas are aligned can we create community, impact, and, of course, profits all at the same time.

A powerful coaching experience can inspire, motivate, and create an accountability paradigm for company leaders and their teams.

The Do Better Business™ Coaching Process

The coaching experience is different for each of our clients. Every individual and the business they represent come to coaching at a different place in their journey. Each person’s journey will evolve according to many factors, including the level of openness, commitment, and willingness to change that they and their team bring to the space.

Therefore, we can not guarantee any one set of results or experiences. Instead, our process aims to create an environment where long-term, sustainable courage and growth are not just possible but probable.

Your coach co-creates a safe and brave environment with you. She holds the container, facilitates conversations, and offers big questions and essential context.

This allows you and your team to reflect on your own journey, learn how to communicate effectively, and peer coach with each other. Together, you will co-create the experience and, therefore, the results.

The Do Better Business™ coaching process incorporates four stages of business development to create that initial alignment. Then, you will consistently work through realignment cycles to sustain your growth.

Stages of Starting: The First Alignment

As we begin a new journey, there is always critical planning and packing (or unpacking, as often happens in coaching) work to be done. At Realign Consulting, we think of this as a four-part process that is typically worked through in a two-day strategy retreat. Those stages are:

Stage 1:

Co-Create a Safer, Braver Environment to Grow Within

Here, we establish the foundation for working bravely together. This step is important for both building trust with your coach and building team trust when working with groups—especially groups with different power structures, such as leadership and production teams.

Group Development in Stage One:	Individual Development in Stage One:
Learn how group dynamics are set and how they evolve	Deepen self-awareness of behaviors within a group
Co-create boundaries, norms of behavior, and confidentiality agreements	Learn how to understand and ask for what you need to feel safe and be brave
Learn about each other’s different styles and how they co-mingle with each other.	Assess your beliefs about other team members and how they are a reflection of yourself
Agree on in and out-of-session boundaries	Practice adhering to the boundaries of others to create kinder working environments.

Stage 2:

Release the Past & Get Clear On Current Realities

Coaching is not therapy, so we don’t spend significant time asking “why” about past traumas and behaviors.

However, we do look at what’s happened in the past through the lens of how it is affecting your ability to succeed in working within a group on sustainable growth strategies.

We make commitments here to leave the past in the past so that we may begin with a new starting point.

Once the past is processed and released, we work together using a combination of tools from social psychology and traditional business strategy to get clear about our current situation.

Group Development in Stage Two:	Individual Development in Stage Two:
Learn the basics of peer-to-peer coaching	Learn to lead with questions instead of being the “answer person.”
Learn how to request change effectively from each other.	Gain awareness of personal agency to manage both yourself and behaviors directed towards you
Work through potential conflicts stemming from past friction points.	Begin to define and grow your capacity for healthy conflict and effective repair in relationships with others
Learn how to assess and agree on the current state within a group with many different perspectives.	Practice finding your place within a group setting and navigating the paradox of conflicting realities.

Stage 3:

Create A Vision for the Future

Now that the foundational elements of space setting, release, and starting point are firmly established, we can build a healthy and sustainable growth strategy for the future.

In this step, your coach will help you and your team find the beautiful alignment point of a mission-focused, values-driven growth plan.

Group Development in Stage Three	Individual Development in Stage Three
Practice consistent support and show investment in each individual’s success	Practice resolving tension points between expectations and actual experiences
Practice providing useful feedback and kind accountability.	Practice using coaching questions and follow-ups to give effective feedback and create trust with others
Further evaluate group processes and ways of working together as needed.	Practice openness with appropriate states of vulnerability with your teammates and your coach
Step out of group comfort zones and learn to break unhealthy group patterns as they arise.	Practice observing yourself as a leader and evaluating your performance and behaviors.

Stage 4:

Agree on Ownership Roles & Accountabilities

The last step in the initial alignment process is agreeing on ownership roles for each area of the strategy and how we will hold accountability for the intentions and results we’re working towards.

Group Development in Stage Four	Individual Development in Stage Four
Experience the give-and-trust of taking ownership and stepping back so others can lead.	Practice discerning where it is appropriate to step up and where you’re less effective and can give someone else the space to do so.
Practice setting realistic goals and creating an accountability path for achieving them.	Practice speaking up for your boundaries and what you need to feel confident in stretching yourself to achieve a goal.
Learn how to create agreements for benchmarking and realigning progress within a team.	Learn how to create agreements for benchmarking and realigning progress for yourself.

At Realign Consulting, we work through these stages of business development at the beginning of a new group formation, whenever beginning with a new coach or facilitator, and annually during Strategic Planning Retreats.

Depending on the team’s experience, coachability, and cohesiveness, this process can take as long as three to six months or as little as a few hours.

Sustainable Cycles, Consistent Realignment

Once a client and/or a team moves through the Stages of Starting to align their new business development path, the growth process looks much more like a wheel. The ongoing cycle of growth can be reflected in four parts:

Gain Perspective - By working on your plan with your team, everyone gains new insights and perspectives that inform adaptations, new cycles, and future opportunities.
Reflect & Assess - During regular coaching sessions and team meetings, you’ll reflect on what’s been happening as you work through your plan and assess your current state in quick pulse checks daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly.

The Do Better Business™ Coaching Process, whether individually or within a group, is a powerful tool for helping us know better so we can do better over time.

The four stages of business development, paired with an ongoing cycle of realignment, create one of the most powerful systems for sustainable business growth your team can participate in.

NEXT STEPS

Is Do Better Business™ Coaching Right for You?

The stages of business development provide a framework that allows you to grow organically in a way that’s best for your business. Learn more below about how to become a Realign Consulting coaching partner, then schedule a time to talk personally with Coach and Business Strategist Renia Carsillo.