The CEO of a large financial organization asked me to visit each of their sixteen field offices to get input on a plan for expanding into new territories.

Each of the first three managers I visited asked why I was doing this, and I said, “Corporate wants your opinions on how best to expand.”  All three managers sneered in disbelief and said they were sure that the executive team had finalized its plans.

I contacted corporate officials and warned them that the field managers believed the CEO had already approved a plan. To my shock, a member of the executive team said, “We know what we are going to do but we wanted to get their buy-in.” 

You do not get buy-in simply by asking others’ opinions, especially when you already know what you are going to do.  You get buy-in in asking your team to do what they can do, telling them why you are doing it, and ensuring that they have the materials and information they need to do the job.

As Gordon Bethune, former CEO of Continental Airlines, said “You’ve got to call the plays that the team is capable of running.”