How to create buy-in to a vision

How to create buy-in to a vision. What do we mean? We have talked about what vision needs to encompass to be compelling, as well as some ideas about increasing a leaders ability to be visionary’.

Our three key ideas are: SCOPE, CLARITY AND BUY-IN

The next step is the heart of the dilemma for many leaders. How to create buy-in to a vision?

The answer that many come up with is: “I’ll let the vision to come from within the team or organisation”.  They don’t want to present vision for fear of alienating the team. I understand and agree with some of the sentiment – people commit to that which they help create’.

Some leaders have a misguided concept or reasoning that they don’t want to unduly influence the team about the future. Yet, leadership is all about influence. There is a big difference between imposing your vision on a team and sharing your ideas about the future and letting the team wrestle with them.

Sometimes the issue isn’t about creating buy-in, it is that the leader hasn’t really got a picture of the future or they are scared of putting it out there. Of course there are various degrees of ability and skill within leaders to think in a visionary and strategic way. This is why the previous post has looked at increasing our visionary capacity to create CLARITY.

Leaders grapple with the classic chicken and egg question – if a leader shares the vision they have, will those around them not really buy-in and therefore the leader isn’t really leading. On the other hand, if the vision and direction comes from the team there is a possibility that it will be too tactical and not broad and ballsy enough. Why did I say the last sentence? My experience is that many people find it very challenging to think creatively, about possibilities and into the future. One of the things that distinguish leaders from followers is the ability to think bold, big and future-orientated.

The Dance of Engaging Staff and Casting Vision

There is a dance that needs to occur. On the one hand, leaders need to lead. They need to have big, bold and innovative thoughts. If all we are doing in maintain the status quo, then we are not really leading.

A leader needs to think, dream and communicate a picture of a preferred future that produces passion in them and in others. They sow seeds of possibility and a picture of the future. They need to explain the possibilities – a shape, a picture, a goal whilst explaining the risks if things stay as they are.

Engaging Staff

There are two core skill that leaders need when building vision with them: listening and asking great open-ended questions.

Listening to Engage

Henry Cloud, world famous author and leadership expert said recently; “People do not move to your position until they feel that you understand them”. To feel understood, we need to feel listened too. A great listening tool to try: Ask, “Is there anything that I don’t understand?”

Listening does not mean that you have to agree with the other person.

There are a number of barriers to listening well some of these are:

• Me first
• Self-referent
• Interruptions
• Negation
• Minimizing

The first step to developing listening shills is to shut up, and then display

To develop our listening skills means to display three skills:

1. Empathy
2. Open-ended questions
3. Full attention

Leaders need to listen to and elicit the dreams, hopes and visions of those in the organisation. An essential action to envision the future is to find a common purpose.

Ask Questions to Engage

Good leaders get people involved in asking, “What’s next?” They encourage people to ask the question, “What legacy do we want to leave?”

Asking good questions and then remaining open in the interest of letting common ideas emerge is critical to creating vision clarity and buy-in

When a leader asks good questions they help others to do three things:

• Challenging assumptions,
• Become curious about other perspectives
• Build imaginative ideas

As leaders engage their staff in productive, reflective dialogue amazing things emerge. The dreams and ideas get generated. Like a jigsaw puzzle coming together, so a vision that has had many people contributing their perspective, a richer picture emerges.

Leaders should rarely conceive and cast vision without engaging with those around them.