How do you orchestrate buy-in. Gain alignment of thought to action in others.
I am seeking your story on how you orchestrate buy-in. Or the story of how you were included in a buy-in orchestrated by someone else. Buy-in meaning gaining the full attention and commitment of an individual or group of individuals toward a common goal. The alignment of thought to action.
Good Answers (8)
Octavio B.
Global Thinker ★ Corporate Strategist with focus in 2.0 Technologies
Best Answers in: Organizational Development (168), Career Management (92), Change Management (85), Staffing and Recruiting (84), Using LinkedIn (72), Professional Networking (46), Mentoring (40), Personnel Policies (38), Corporate Governance (29), Planning (26), Business Analytics (25), Starting Up (24), Small Business (22), Business Development (20), Labor Relations (20), Job Search (17), Project Management (16), Communication and Public Speaking (16), Compensation and Benefits (15), Branding (14), Customer Service (12), Education and Schools (9), Ethics (9), Occupational Training (8), Freelancing and Contracting (7), Quality Management and Standards (6), Public Relations (5), Enterprise Software (5), Regulation and Compliance (4), Resume Writing (4), Sales Techniques (4), Positioning (4), Internationalization and Localization (3), Advertising (3), Internet Marketing (3), Professional Organizations (3), Web Development (3), Customer Relationship Management (2), Manufacturing (2), Market Research and Definition (2), Professional Books and Resources (2), Business Plans (2), Blogging (2), Car and Train Travel (1), Certification and Licenses (1), Conference Planning (1), Accounting (1), Auditing (1), Venture Capital and Private Equity (1), Economics (1), Financial Regulation (1), Mergers and Acquisitions (1), Risk Management (1), Government Policy (1), Work-life Balance (1), Viral Marketing (1), Lead Generation (1), Search Marketing (1), Currency Markets (1), Hedge Funds (1), Nonprofit Management (1), Packaging and Labeling (1), Product Design (1), E-Commerce (1), Computers and Software (1), Telecommunications (1)
Hi Jack,
My advice based on my professional experience:
1. Believe in an inspiring vision to be shared enthusiastically with the integrants of your team with the intention of creating a strong feeling of purpose that may be helpful in propelling to your team to fulfill satisfactorily the goals scheduled for the project even in hard work schedules and in uncertain times.
2. Show a passionate, emotional and inspiring style of leadership in a way that your enthusiasm can be propagated, multiplied and utilized to encourage to your team in exceeding consistently all the goals that have been envisioned for the project.
3. Assuming a supportive attitude and being appreciative with the integrants of your team to encourage a better climate in the workplace that may be helpful in fostering cohesiveness in your team and thereby, in the improvement of the overall productivity.
4. Be communicative with the integrants of your team by providing meaningful guidelines, helpful advice and opportune feedback about the progress of the project and share enthusiastically what should be the next steps that should be observed in the pathway to succeed.
5. Recognize and reward excellent outcomes and extraordinary performance of your team as a tactic valid and effective to motivate, encourage and support to your team in the achievement of the productivity’s goals envisioned for the integrants of the team.
6. Share with your team the corporate big picture by communicating those aspects of the strategic plan that are relevant to the project that you are managing. Providing clear elements of strategic interrelation with the project you are creating a foundation where your subordinates will find easily an exciting mission to be accomplished and a clear sense of purpose.
7. Take advantage from any failure of your team to encourage effective learning and propitiate in them a sincere and pragmatic process of analysis that signifies a real solution and an opportunity to succeed for the next future.
8. Share the goals that are being fulfilled during project execution with Senior Management and communicate these insights to your subordinates to create cohesiveness in your team, improve its morale and encourage in them a passionate and engaged attitude.
9. Celebrate enthusiastically with your team any meaningful goal or milestone successfully reached during project execution.
10. Being an attentive listener to gain insight and anticipate properly any doubt, uncertainty or fear that the integrants of your team could feel when unexpected constraints happen could potentially affect successful project execution.
Collateral to this theme I include the links to 3 questions I have posted in Linkedin that may help in widening the analysis of this theme:
1. When has the passion turned into indifference, which has been the flaw?
2. How do you use non-verbal communication to your professional advantage?
3. How would you find strategic misalignment of a corporate project?
I hope this helps you.
Octavio
Links:
Dean S.
Enterprise Agile Coach at LeadingAgile
Best Answers in: Change Management (2), Project Management (1), Quality Management and Standards (1)
Check out Re-Think by Ric Merrifield. We have used the Re-Think approach to promote strategic alignment in multiple engagements. This approach was also featured in "The Next Revolution in Productivity" (Harvard Business Review, June 2008).
Peter Senge has some thoughts around this in the Fifth Discipline. Buy in implies selling that leads to compliance. A person in genuine compliance "see's the benefit and follows the letter of the law." A person in grudging compliance "does enough to keep his job."
What we really want is commitment. A person with commitment "Wants it, will make it happen, will create whatever structure is needed." To get there, management must be committed to true dialog (among other things). Dialog is a learning conversation. Dialog is a team sport. "All participants must suspend their assumptions. All participants must regard one another as colleagues. There must be a facilitator who holds the context of the dialog."
A Re-Think engagement with management committed to dialog leads to strategically focused action by all involved. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
Tripp B.
Columnist, blogger, and speaker newsystemsthinking.com
Best Answers in: Risk Management (1), Change Management (1)
Jack,
This question gets asked quite a bit. There is something seriously wrong when we have to get buy-in. John Seddon refers to this as command and control management. Decisions made top-down, separated from the work are never good for profits or workers. Technology companies sell to executives and projects follow or executives make decisions of reports and anecdotal evidence and projects follow. All push and almost always disasters.
A better solution is to understand the "what and why" of current performance. Understanding customer demand, flow and value as true costs are in economies of flow, not scale. If you want to profound improvement this works better than the traditional command and control style that leads to waste and sub-optimization.
Regards, Tripp
Links:
Bill J.
CEO of We Engage LLC and Independent Management Consulting Contractor
Best Answers in: Economics (22), Government Policy (12), Change Management (5), Equity Markets (4), Using LinkedIn (4), Financial Regulation (3), Corporate Governance (3), Bond Markets (3), Manufacturing (3), Quality Management and Standards (3), Budgeting (2), Business Analytics (2), Currency Markets (2), Supply Chain Management (2), Business Insurance (1), Venture Capital and Private Equity (1), Risk Management (1), Exporting/Importing (1), Internationalization and Localization (1), Offshoring and Outsourcing (1), Derivatives Markets (1), Futures Markets (1), Inventory Management (1), Personal Investing (1), Ethics (1), Professional Networking (1)
Jack,
Don't get me wrong...I think the work you do is very interesting. I have to ask you however...is it always possible to 'orchestrate buy in'?
Surely sometimes people just won't submit to 'orchestration'...because change isn't in their interests (and they know their interests). Sometimes its impossible to make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
Aren't there situations in which there is nothing positive coming out of a proposal for change to 'sell' to anyone? In a classic exchange of value, there is always value (real or perceived) in both directions.
People first have to establish..."what's in it for me"? Sometimes finding the value in change for everyone isn't that easy. Change may presents nothing of value value and no basis for committment.
Am I wrong?
Philip S.
Business Coach at Minutecoach Business Coaching | PAYG business coaching
Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (8), Computers and Software (6), Starting Up (5), Business Development (4), Web Development (4), Internet Marketing (3), Project Management (3), Small Business (3), Blogging (3), E-Commerce (3), Occupational Training (2), Graphic Design (2), Organizational Development (2), Planning (2), Enterprise Software (2), Facilities Management (1), Certification and Licenses (1), Freelancing and Contracting (1), Personnel Policies (1), Work-life Balance (1), Events Marketing (1), Customer Relationship Management (1), Sales Techniques (1), Search Marketing (1), Writing and Editing (1), Nonprofit Management (1), Branding (1), Positioning (1), Career Management (1), Ethics (1), Computer Networking (1), Telecommunications (1), Software Development (1)
I've been instrumental(sic) in recovering situations where orchestration has happened behind closed doors, where the arrangement is set and the whole orchestra is not required.
The positive sentiment in your question is masking the generally truer feeling of mild panic when engaging in a buy-in exercise, where 'common goal' tends by necessity to be a decided, averaged yet aspiring goal or by urgency a decided, specific, survival goal.
I've found in both situation types that truth and respect are the best tools, the techniques to use are timing and tone, and the art is in articulation of benefits.
But you need to do those in the exact reverse order:
1) Articulate the true benefits
2) Decide on a consistent voice and tone
3) Put a plan in place that covers the complete audience
4) Check every single piece of communication is respectful of its audience
5) Correct untruths quickly, especially if benefiting from obvious misunderstandings
If the orchestration sets out a smaller sound you don't pump, puff or parade a common goal to those who will no longer have much in common with others after leaving a project, initiative or employment. Just help them leave the pit with their heads held high; that will be more than most think to do, and it works better than asking them to fall on their sword for the common good.
Philip
Jack:
I've seen impressive results using ad agency Creative Briefs (see link for a sample).
Since I joined an agency nearly two years ago, I've seen the power of the Creative Brief to bring together and focus the efforts of left-brained and right-brained people, from strategic leaders to tactical doers.
You can state any problem or goal in terms of a brief. What makes it so powerful is that it is indeed brief and it addresses both logical and sensual features. It states "here's what we're doing and why," and "here's how it should make people feel when we're done."
Ad agencies are always in a hurry, so they've gotten this "orchestrated buy-in" process down pat. A strategic planner will write the first draft of the Creative Brief, then at the team's project kick-off it's discussed and modified to arrive at a final brief. That becomes the guiding document for the outcome of whatever action you're planning. (The client, by the way, signs off on it.)
There are two keys I've observed: 1. Keep it brief (if you can't say it in two pages or less, you probably aren't clear about what you're trying to do anyway), and 2. The kick-off meeting, in which everyone gets a chance to ask questions and speak.
Perhaps this offers you a kind of cross-pollinating alternative perspective on your question. I hope so.
Good luck!
Jeff Posey
Links:
Keith W.
President at Webber International University
Best Answers in: Education and Schools (2), Career Management (1)
An awful lot of it, I think, is in the relationship.
It’s certainly easy when people can see the payoff. But, sometimes the end result is nebulous, difficult to ascertain, or far in the distance, especially compared to the effort which is more likely to be much better quantified and much more immediate. What then?
Then, to a large extent, it comes down to trust. I honestly believe that if I told a room full of folks who work with me that we needed to jump out a second story window, they’d do so. But they’d do based upon a considerable history of my making decisions, collaboratively when possible, that are in their best interest. They’d be pretty sure that if I asked them to do such a thing that, dangerous and unappealing as it was, it was better than the alternative (and that I’d be jumping right behind them).
Certainly, understanding and communicating the benefits is very important. Beyond that though, it takes, to some extent, a track record of being right and doing right. To paraphrase Karl Albrecht and Ron Zemke (not sure which book it’s in or where it is, so cannot quote exactly): people have built in BS meters. They are not going to be conned or duped into accepting a bad decision. And, of course, people are naturally, and often rightly, skeptical. The alignment, of course, has to be as real as you portray it to be.
Links:
Mr. Jack Howe:
Thanks for the question. I would be quick to respond that there may be at least two different concepts at work here, or rather two different questions to answer. (1) How do managers motivate employees towards completing tasks with high proficiency? and (2) How do leaders move the entire body of employees towards long-term satisfaction of the corporate vision?
Answering the first question can draw upon many of the fundamentals of proven management techniques. Goal development, communication, and reward systems can all foster commitment by employees to follow managerial direction.
However, answering the second question requires a broader look at the organization's systems employed to engage employments long-term. In order to raise commitment levels, reduce turnover, and shape the organizational culture towards the end of fulfilling strategy, leaders must consider how to engage employees over the long-haul.
At our firm, we call this "employee engagement," and our focus in particular is on shaping those factors that drive the engagement of high potential employees. We believe that you should treat your high performing and most talented employees differently, in a way that engages their interest and commitment for the long-term, as in the end these employees will contribute most to the success of the firm. Research shows that one characteristic of high-potential employees is learning agility, or the ability to apply past learning to novel situations.
I have provided several links below to resources I have found in exploring the topic of orchestrating buy-in.
Thanks again.
Kevin J. Mlodzik, Research
Korn/Ferry International (Lominger)
www.kornferry.com
www.lominger.com
Links:
More Answers (3)
Trevor L.
Seasoned project & change manager : software implementations, NPOs & NGOs.Salesforce & Liquidplanner devotee.
Best Answers in: Nonprofit Management (6), Planning (3), Project Management (3), Mentoring (2), Change Management (2), Accounting (1), Budgeting (1), Staffing and Recruiting (1), Business Analytics (1), Organizational Development (1), Career Management (1), Enterprise Software (1)
There is only one issue with buy in - "whats in it for me ?" As soon as stakeholders grasp the answer to this question you will get the buy in and alignment you are looking for.
Les D.
Software Quality Assurance Lead
Best Answers in: Government Policy (27), Using LinkedIn (16), Energy and Development (14), Change Management (13), Education and Schools (11), Career Management (11), Economics (10), Organizational Development (10), Business Development (9), Web Development (9), Equity Markets (8), Computers and Software (8), Ethics (7), Manufacturing (6), Starting Up (6), Biotech (6), Staffing and Recruiting (5), Environmental Health (5), Internationalization and Localization (5), Personal Investing (5), Market Research and Definition (5), Product Design (5), Computer Networking (5), Health Care (4), International Law (4), Nonprofit Management (4), Quality Management and Standards (4), Engineering (4), Green Business (4), Green Products (4), Job Search (3), Writing and Editing (3), Business Analytics (3), Packaging and Labeling (3), Project Management (3), Supply Chain Management (3), Positioning (3), Professional Networking (3), Small Business (3), Software Development (3), Certification and Licenses (2), Occupational Training (2), Accounting (2), Personnel Policies (2), Public Health and Safety (2), Treaties, Agreements and Organizations (2), Intellectual Property (2), Graphic Design (2), Labor Relations (2), Planning (2), Currency Markets (2), Wealth Management (2), Professional Books and Resources (2), Business Plans (2), E-Commerce (2), Enterprise Software (2), Information Storage (2), Telecommunications (2), Wireless (2), Facilities Management (1), Regulation and Compliance (1), Travel Tools (1), Freelancing and Contracting (1), Mentoring (1), Conference Venues (1), Foreign Investment (1), Venture Capital and Private Equity (1), Financial Regulation (1), Government Services (1), Compensation and Benefits (1), Work-life Balance (1), Exporting/Importing (1), Offshoring and Outsourcing (1), Customs, Tariffs and Taxes (1), Contracts (1), Corporate Law (1), Advertising (1), Guerrilla Marketing (1), Internet Marketing (1), Mobile Marketing (1), Lead Generation (1), Search Marketing (1), Corporate Governance (1), Bond Markets (1), Derivatives Markets (1), Hedge Funds (1), Philanthropy (1), Individual Insurance (1), Personal Taxes (1), Personal Debt Management (1), Personal Real Estate (1), Branding (1), Distribution (1), Industrial Design (1), Communication and Public Speaking (1), Professional Organizations (1), Blogging (1), Information Security (1)
I know this is a serious question about an important topic, but my first response to the header; fire up the mind control lasers!!
Getting to a more serious point, hire and assign those self committed, "True Believers" if you will. Select and discriminate on existing alignments rather than attempting to cut new paths. Make very sure actions are ethical and rewarded in the context of the individuals expectations. I think if you think about this, it is the approach to a lot of management and military recruiting.
After that, consider the drawbacks of self selection and mission mad selection on the strategic picture.
Hamish T.
Global Strategic Business Development
Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (46), Organizational Development (11), Personnel Policies (9), Career Management (9), Sales Techniques (7), Supply Chain Management (6), Professional Networking (6), Staffing and Recruiting (5), Business Development (5), Change Management (5), Mentoring (4), Employment and Labor Law (4), Business Analytics (4), Manufacturing (4), Communication and Public Speaking (4), Government Policy (3), Work-life Balance (3), Advertising (3), Commercial Real Estate (2), Education and Schools (2), Job Search (2), Occupational Training (2), Conference Planning (2), Internationalization and Localization (2), Intellectual Property (2), Customer Relationship Management (2), Lead Generation (2), Planning (2), Equity Markets (2), Nonprofit Fundraising (2), Project Management (2), Market Research and Definition (2), Ethics (2), Business Plans (2), Small Business (2), Blogging (2), E-Commerce (2), Customer Service (1), Facilities Management (1), Purchasing (1), Business Dining and Entertainment (1), Event Marketing and Promotions (1), Accounting (1), Auditing (1), Budgeting (1), Compensation and Benefits (1), Health Care (1), Public Health and Safety (1), Exporting/Importing (1), Offshoring and Outsourcing (1), Criminal Law (1), Contracts (1), Tax Law (1), Direct Marketing (1), Internet Marketing (1), Public Relations (1), Writing and Editing (1), Corporate Governance (1), Labor Relations (1), Hedge Funds (1), Social Enterpreneurship (1), Packaging and Labeling (1), Quality Management and Standards (1), Personal Real Estate (1), Starting Up (1), Energy and Development (1), Biotech (1), Enterprise Software (1), Computers and Software (1), Computer Networking (1), Information Security (1), Web Development (1)
We follow a pretty simple model with our clients - it involves plenty of listening and the use of appropriate questions to generate interaction from the outset. Our experience has shown that if people know that they will be listened to and what they say matters, then they will buy-in much more readily to organisation-wide initiatives.
You can see what I mean at the link below.
Regards
Hamish.
