Buy-In First

In order to effectively lead you must first be passionate about the mission. The leader's passion and desire to succeed must also be bought into by the individuals that are going to play a role in achieving success. So how does a leader go about gaining "buy-in" from their team? What about when going into a series of discussions the leader already has a good idea that the individuals on his or her team are going to be reluctant to rally to a leader's cause? My recommendation is to first speak directly to your team leaders individually and then as a group. After gathering all your team leaders' opinions, empower these individuals to act as sounding boards and to play a role in the development of the business plan or strategy to accomplish your goals or the goals of your organization. Another piece of advice is that you do not rush this course of action. Permitting others to participate in the advancement of your cause can take time, and you need to schedule your agenda through proper planning to allow for the "buy-in" process.

Once your team leaders are bought into and have ownership over the cause, the rest of the process comes about quickly. Set a time to meet with your entire team and lay out the framework for accomplishing your task or goals. If you are met with resistance, the leaders on your team will step in to support and defend your position and aid in leading your team to rally around the cause. The other great aspect of this process is that, if one of the team leaders does not quickly jump in on his or her own accord, you can call on the individuals who are on board to share their opinions with the group. Once everyone hears how the leaders within their peer group fully support your efforts, you will quickly gain "buy-in" from the remainder of your team.

This application may seem basic and more of a refresher for many, but all too often leaders try to impose implementation without following this procedure, and that ends up creating problems. Take the time needed to execute the "buy-in" process first so you can properly execute your business strategy. Ultimately this will save you, as the leader, valuable time by not having to continuously to look over your team's shoulders to ensure proper execution.

How have you gone about gaining "buy-in" from your team prior to a new challenge or task? Do you use a different process when it comes to special initiatives as compared to daily activities?