Tag Archives: Leadership

How to Get Buy-In to Your Decisions

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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.” 

Followership: Embrace the Leader’s Vision

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Part 1 of 3 parts

“Why are you cutting costs in this area?”

“I don’t think we should be opening a new facility at this time.”

“If you would allow us to fill our two open positions, we could achieve our objectives.”

These comments were directed toward the leader (only four months into the role) during a contentious staff meeting.  The new leader was proposing strategic changes.  And, as you might expect, some of the staff members were not buying in.

Followership Rule 1:  understand the leader’s vision.

Effective followers focus on understanding—not attacking—the leader’s vision.  As the saying goes, real leaders ride the horse where they want the horse to go.  Listen and observe.  Remain open.  Strive to fully understand what the leader is trying to accomplish.   

Followership Rule 2:  if the leader’s vision is legal and ethical, get onboard.

It is normal for team members to have opposing ideas about what to do and how to do it.  But continuous whining, arguing and resisting only increases the likelihood of team failure.  Productive followers embrace the leader’s vision; they lean into the leader’s decisions; they operate off the same playbook.  To paraphrase the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, if you cannot be a good follower, you cannot be a good leader.