A Unique Approach for Boosting Employee Buy-In

As leaders, how many of your conversations are around trying to get the proverbial buy-in?

How do we get buy-in?

Do we have buy-in?

I think we lack buy-in?

What will it take to get buy-in?

Telling leaders that it’s their responsibility to get buy-in is another piece of failed conventional wisdom. Not only does it give leaders an impossible burden, bit is assigns a passive role to the person with whom buy-in belongs. Leaders who solicit buy-in allow change-resistant people to hold the organization hostage. These leaders spin their wheels and tap dance frantically, trying to get something that should be nonnegotiable.

When leaders are assigned to get buy-in, what follows is like an episode of Mission Impossible. They can’t manufacture, purchase, assign, or demand buy-in, though lord knows they try. They produce a pitch for the perfect plan, try to impress people with an impeccable idea, or create ways to convince others that the change is compelling. Instead of leading, they become naggers in chief, spending fruitless time arguing or cajoling. It’s another form of coddling.

In business, buy-in is not an option that can be ordered up like leather seats on a car or a playroom in a house. It’s a condition of employment, a core responsibility. It is the way people are supposed to show up. Instead of making it clear that buy-in is a requirement, leaders falsely believe they must work to deserve it, and they exhaust themselves trying to create impossibly perfect circumstances to earn it.

No amount of money allows leaders to purchase buy-in, and they stop trying to do so. Every time they try, they are indulging the ego, building entitlement, and reinforcing victim mind-sets.

I recommend that leaders work with the willing. Buy-in means “I’m willing.” Like accountability and engagement, it’s a choice. It’s a declaration of commitment and the first step toward action. The leader’s role is to discover those who have chosen to buy in and then to work with the willing to create great results.

The role of leaders is to help people get clear on the fact that if they want to play on the team, buy-in is a prerequisite.

Coaching that inspires self-reflection is a great way to be up front and clear about what is being asked of employees.

Instead of trying to manufacture artificial buy-in, leaders can be direct why it’s a condition of employment by having a conversation that inspires self-reflection. Ask: “On a scale of 1 to 10, what is your level of buy-in to this new project/process/strategy/change?”

If the employee mentions reservations, expresses resistance, or indicates a low level of buy-in, follow up with questions like “What is your plan to get bought in?” or “How could you use your expertise to mitigate the concerns you have to ensure buy-in and deliver results?”

If buy-in seems out of reach or too daunting for the employee, turn the questions for self-reflection in a different direction: “It sounds like buy-in isn’t something you’re willing to offer right now. What plans do you have to transition off this assignment or team?”

The question probably will shock an employee who, in all likelihood, wasn’t planning on going anywhere. But if you’re going to get great results there can’t be an option that allows people to stay and sabotage. Why would any organization tolerate an option that allows people to be disengaged? If an employee intends to stick around, the question goes back to “Then what is your plan for buy-in?”

No third option.

To your greater success,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

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