The Art of Gaining Buy-In
A Painful Presentation
I was brand new to the organization and my presentation was beautiful. I was passionate about the topic and new I could make an immediate impact. I was ready to solve problems and assumed I was presenting because everyone had the same passion and interest that I had. There was just one problem.
I created the presentation I needed to prove my point and push my agenda, but I forgot to consider that my presentation needed to meet the needs of my audience.
One slide in, and the temperature of the room went from curious to ice cold. I pressed on because I was the one that called the meeting of these incredibly powerful, busy leaders but it was painful and awkward.
I had visible and pretty immediate evidence (checking their phones, slouched back in their chair, rubbing of the forehead, checking the clock) that I had polite but awkward engagement and zero buy-in.
I made a lot of assumptions, starting with assuming that because everyone accepted my meeting request that those in the room were ready to green light my idea.
My buttoned-up presentation was exposed for what it was - a naive attempt to quickly gain credibility, with no real understanding that I didn’t know the first thing about gaining buy-in.
Fast forward a couple of decades and I’ve developed a deep respect for the art of ensuring that my efforts to be collaborative and inclusive are genuine, informed and in sync with what matters to those who are critical to making progres.
Some opportunities to gain buy-in are in formal presentations, and some are drive-by conversations, unexpected connections or email exchanges.
So, what’s the trick to gaining buy-in? Every situation is different, but there are some strategies that can help you engage your audience, build trust, encourage curiosity and yes, even get people to be open to or opt-in to your ideas and initiatives.
But first let’s tackle some of the beliefs and behaviors that create barriers to gaining buy-in, and almost guarantee that you will be frustrated and exhausted trying to get things done when it matters most - to you, and your organization.
“Gaining buy-in is a process of inquiry, discovery, environmental scanning, collaboration, political savvy and coaching - sprinkled with a little bit of humility.”
Barriers to Gaining Buy-In
There are some predictable beliefs and behaviors that create barriers to gaining buy-in, and will in fact break trust, build resistance to sharing ideas and and shut down input that may be critical to helping you make progress.
Barrier #1 - Focusing on tasks without defining the purpose, scope, milestones, potential barriers and measurable outcomes of your effort. I’ve facilitated countless strategy sessions only to realize that one or more Key Stakeholders was out of the loop or confused. The results included solving the wrong problems, wasting critical resources (budget, talent, time) and stalling team and/or organizational progress.
Barrier #2 - Telling people what to do/believe because you’re the boss/subject matter expert with no opportunity to ask questions, or co-create. There are times when your title alone can get people to say yes to your ideas. Unless you’re in a crisis and damage control or imminent danger requires decisive action, demanding people do what you say is dominance-driven blind obedience, which will discourage diversity of thought/experience, a speak-up culture, stifle creativity and create blind spots. There are times when pulling rank may be necessary when processes are broken, clients have been negatively impacted or some crisis is bearing down on you. Otherwise, look for opportunities to (genuinely) engage those you need buy-in from by welcoming feedback, acknowledging and validating input (even if it doesn’t agree with your perspective) and engaging team members throughout your process. Co-creating encourages shared responsibility and honors the contributions of your team members.
Barrier #3 - Expressing indignation with or shutting down opposing feedback from those who seem hesitant. If you hear something you don’t agree with or don’t like, check your ego (and your facial expressions/words). Penalizing differing opinions can shut down a team members’ desire to share what you may be missing. Acknowledge and thank your team member for their feedback and be sure to schedule time immediately afterwards to learn more, clarify concerns, check for understanding and then - follow up. If the feedback you received helped you make a better decision, etc. tell them! If you didn’t use the feedback, share your perspective and decision-making/planning process. This is a collaborative and respectful approach to leading, and signals that you were listening to the feedback you received.
Barrier #4. Relying on your own perspective to design a Project Plan. Any project that’s multiple stakeholders/functions are required for the project to succeed, we highly recommend creating a Project Plan. Even if you don’t distribute it widely, you or those who will be held accountable for the outcomes will benefit. Ask for input from others on which people and/or functions should be identified as Key Stakeholders, clarify roles and responsibilities for all involved, then map out any direct or indirect impacts their work/function has to the work you’re leading. Develop a list of questions to elicit thoughtful input on direct (and potentially indirect) impacts to your project. And this one is one of the biggest misses we see in projects of all sizes - identify Owners. Identifying roles and responsibilities isn’t enough. Identifying and validating who owns what in terms of the outcomes and deliverables leaves nothing to chance, empowers team members and also creates a way for everyone involved to have a sense of contribution and accountability.
Barrier #5 - Rushing through gaining buy-in. For initiatives that involve large stakeholder groups, remember that you may have to develop interest/engagement over time. I call this “Seed Planting”. If you’re in a crisis, you may have to engage people quickly to deal with the issues at hand, just be sure to circle back and find time for pulse checks to validate what you think you know and to explore what you may really need to know.
Barrier #6 - Neglecting vision-casting and storytelling. The why behind the what is Developing your ability to coach (vs. just managing) will help you empower, enlighten and equip team members to care about what you care about. Vision-casting and storytelling can help to establish common ground - shared connections around things that can inspire everyone involved.
Barrier #7 Focusing only on solving, and neglecting the opportunity to identify options. Creating opportunities to identify options, isn’t just about laying out Plan B’s. It’s also about offering multiple paths - for those who a ready to buy-in, and for those who may be hesitant.
“...gaining buy-in is a process of inquiry, discovery, relationship building, political savvy, coaching and follow-up, sprinkled with a little bit of humility.”
GAIN BUY-IN AND ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE
Here are some practical strategies to help you gain-buy in and increase engagement in your next presentation:
Pre-Meeting
Schedule a pre-meeting or two to get a pulse on what your audience cares about (and doesn’t).
Prior to your presentation, share bullets or examples from your presentation and ask for feedback.
Consider the roles, responsibilities and work styles of your audience. Build a Whole Brain presentation to account for the diverse thinking styles in your audience.
Use your presentation as a way to take your audience from where they are to where they could be.
Remember, if you’re an expert in everything you will stifle creativity, knowledge-sharing and potentially useful insight.
In Meeting
Present compelling, relevant high-level insights and be ready to go deeper if needed/requested (vs. starting with details that may not be of interest for everyone in the room).
Use elements of storytelling to help your audience care about your topic, from their perspective
Engage your audience early. Ask a question. Share a “Did you know” fact/figure. Don’t be afraid to check-in with your audience to ask what they would like to get out of your presentation.
The larger/more diverse the audience, use less technical language and more inclusive language.
Use inquiry (before, during and after) to gather insights to avoid making assumptions about what people want to hear.
Be prepared to respectfully welcome the input/ideas of those who are not as vocal.
Acknowledge what is said/asked (“What I hear you saying is”… “That’s a great point…” “Could you elaborate on that…?”).
Validate the input/questions of your stakeholders (“I can certainly understand how you might feel that way…” “I know your department was heavily impacted so I respect where you’re coming from…”) to build trust and demonstrate that you value the input/experience of your stakeholders.
Co-create solutions wherever possible.
Summarize meeting goals/objectives, and ask for input on whether or not participants feel the meeting promises were met. People are more likely to say yes to future meetings if they have confidence that you value using their time productively.
Post-Meeting
Thank participants, individually if you can, even if they disagreed with you or weren’t engaged. Welcome their input and ideas on what you presented, including their thoughts on what to do more of/less of the next time.
Be willing to learn more, revisit the ideas and continue the conversation if you don’t gain immediate buy-in. Ask doubters/detractors if they’d be willing to continue the conversation. Then follow-up immediately.
Consider engaging doubters/detractors and the disengaged to welcome constructive feedback. Remember the idea is not to relinquish your decision-making, etc. but to learn as much as you can to gain buy-in and engage a diverse set of stakeholders.
Set up milestone check-ins and celebrations. Creating milestones allows you an opportunity to course correct if needed. It also keep stakeholders engaged and energized. All along the way, find at least one thing to celebrate or recognize, especially with longer projects.
“Gaining buy-in is an art, and it can be learned. ”
Gaining buy-in is an art, and it can be learned. It’s one of the secrets to becoming a respected and effective leader.
How can you deploy these strategies into your own approach to gaining buy-in?
What are your best tips for gaining buy-in?
Drop us a note at support@tapexecutivecoaching.com.
About the Author
Karen Hilton is retained executive coach, speaker and organizational strategist , based in the metro-Atlanta (Georgia US) area.
Karen’s passion is to help productive leaders and the organizations that they serve, through three pillars: Get Focused. Connect to Your Purpose. Develop Perspective.
For more information and to contact the T.A.P. Executive Team, visit us at www.tapexecutivecoaching.com or via our social media outlets.
