To Get Buy-In You Must Give Before You Take

When a new leader is appointed into a role to drive transformation they immediately start climbing uphill. Unless there is a crisis creating a burning platform, the leader will have to deal with the inertia of the organization’s current state. The task is to motivate and inspire people to move away from what they are used to.

When I first started working inside large companies, I used to move around with a slide deck trying to convince leaders and teams about the value of innovation. I was a fan of innovation and for me the benefits to the organization were obvious.

I acted a bit like the high priest of change, warning leaders of impending disruption, if they don’t act immediately!

Despite my enthusiasm, it was really difficult to get people to buy-in. Their lack of enthusiasm surprised me. Why didn’t they see the world, in the same way I did?

Over the years, I have learned that moving around with a slide deck is not enough. I needed to first gain people’s respect and trust before they would agree to support the innovation program I was championing.

In other words, I lacked credibility and legitimacy.

These are not things that can be conferred to a person through a job title. They have to be earned by working well with others.

If there is one piece of advice that I would give anyone trying to drive change and transformation within their company, it would be…

Give Before You Take

Before you start asking people to actively participate and contribute to your program, spend time working with them first. Giving can be as simple as meeting with them to understand their needs and showing them how you have included their feedback into your program design.

Another way to give before you take, is to get an early win. The best way to get such a win is to support your leaders with the challenges they are currently facing, before you start pushing your transformative ideas.

Getting an early win is powerful because it shows the value of innovation methods. This is much better than talking about potential value using a powerpoint deck.

Helping leaders with challenges they are currently facing, also builds your reputation as a good member of the team. This makes them more willing to support your transformative ideas in the future.

So when you get an early win, celebrate the success within the organization. Make sure you tell the story of the success in a way that shines a light and celebrates the leaders that you worked with. This will draw other people to your movement.

Getting Buy-In

When we are appointed into a new role, we may be keen to start producing results straight away. But if our goal is to create long lasting change, then we have to get people to buy-in. As the great proverb says:

If you want to go fast go alone,
But if you want to go far, go with others.

Getting buy-in is about getting people to accept the legitimacy of the change and evaluate it positively. We can then leverage this positive momentum by asking people to advocate for the change and actively contribute to its success.

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