Acting in Alignment
Acting in Alignment is a values workshop of about 85 minutes in which participants name their core values, compare a recent situation where they acted on those values with one where they did not, and commit to concrete actions for situations coming up. It was written by Esther Reefman for the Transition Makers Toolbox at the University of Amsterdam. The sequence runs from a guided imagination of an ideal world, through a personal value map and a mirrored pair conversation, to a short action plan stated aloud in a closing circle.
Facilitation script
- 1
Frame the session in two sentences, ask people to turn their chairs outward and read the guided-imagery script slowly while they jot or draw. Then give five silent minutes to note what they liked about the imagined world and which values sit behind that.
15 min - 2
Hand out the values list and the value map worksheet. Each person selects seven to ten core values, including those that came up in the imagination step.
15 min - 3
Individual reflection on two hard situations from the last three to six months: one handled in line with their values, one not. For each: what happened, what made it hard, what helped.
15 min - 4
Pair up. One speaks, the other listens and then mirrors back what they heard, saw and felt, with no opinion and no advice. Call the swap at the halfway mark.
15 min - 5
Micro planning on the action plan worksheet: one or two upcoming situations where a value will be tested, and at least one concrete action for each.
15 min - 6
Standing circle. Each person states one action in a single sentence. Thank the group and name the date of the follow-up if there is one.
10 min
Tips
Read the imagination script more slowly than feels natural and leave real pauses; the values that come out of it are usually more honest than the ones people pick first from a list.
Demonstrate mirroring with a volunteer before the pair round, because most people slide into advice within a minute.
In the planning step, push for an action tied to a named situation and date, since a value restated as an intention changes nothing.
Common pitfalls
Rushing the imagination step or reading it in a normal speaking pace: people stay in their heads and the value map ends up as a list of socially expected words
Letting the value selection run to fifteen or twenty values: nothing is prioritised and the later reflection has no clear standard to compare behaviour against
Listeners giving advice instead of mirroring: the speaker starts defending the situation they handled badly and stops examining it
Accepting actions such as 'be more honest': without a named situation the commitment cannot be checked at the follow-up and is forgotten within days
Opening the closing circle to discussion: the round doubles in length and the commitments lose their weight
Variations
The original was written for university students; for teams at work, replace study examples with situations such as a difficult client conversation or a decision under deadline pressure. With fewer than 12 people the sequence still works as long as you can form pairs, and the closing circle becomes shorter. Online, run the imagination step with cameras off, use breakout rooms for the pairs and have people type their action into the chat at the same moment for the closing round. In a longer programme, split it: imagination and value map in one session, reflection and planning in the next.
Where it fits
When to use it
A leadership or development programme is starting and participants need a personal reference point for the modules that follow
People in the group can recite their values but struggle to say where those values showed up in their behaviour last month
You have 85 to 90 uninterrupted minutes and a room quiet enough for individual writing
Participants face identifiable hard situations in the coming weeks, so the action plan has something real to attach to
The group is new enough that paired conversations feel safer than plenary disclosure
When not to use it
You only have 30 to 45 minutes: run Explore your Values, which gets people to a short list of values without the reflection and planning steps
The goal is shared team values or norms rather than individual ones: use Working Agreements or a Team Canvas session instead
Trust in the group is low or there is an open conflict between participants who might be paired: the reflection on a situation handled badly needs a safe listener
Participants are sent by their manager and expect their values to be assessed: the exercise only works when nothing is collected or reported
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is Acting in Alignment?▾
Acting in Alignment is a values workshop of about 85 minutes from the Transition Makers Toolbox at the University of Amsterdam, written by Esther Reefman. Participants identify seven to ten core values, compare a recent situation where they acted on them with one where they did not, and write concrete actions for situations ahead. It combines guided imagination, individual writing, a mirrored pair conversation and a short closing circle.
How is Acting in Alignment different from a values-sorting exercise?▾
A sorting exercise ends when people hold a short list of values. Acting in Alignment treats that list as the midpoint: participants then test it against two real situations from the last few months and plan specific behaviour for upcoming ones. The output is an action, not a ranking.
How many people can take part?▾
The source describes it for 12 to 24 participants. The individual and pair steps scale easily; the limit is the closing circle, where every person speaks once. With more than 24, close in two parallel circles.
Which list of values should I use?▾
Any broad list of 50 or more values works, as long as participants may add their own words. The original tool refers to the list from Brené Brown's Dare to Lead, which is third-party material with its own terms, so check those before you print it or use a list you are free to copy.
Does the method need a follow-up session?▾
It is optional but worth planning. A 15-minute check two to four weeks later, in the same pairs, lets people report what happened in the situations they named. Without it, the action plans are rarely looked at again.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Esther Reefman, Transition Makers Toolbox (University of Amsterdam).