The most empowering condition of all is when the entire organization is aligned with its mission, and people’s passions and purpose are in synch with each other. —  Bill George and Peter Sims

What Does it Take to Create Organizational Buy In For Change

Getting your team, peers, and boss to accept the need for change is a process. It’s closely tied to effective leadership.

In fact, you cannot bring about lasting change unless you are an effective leader of others.

And, you can’t be an effective leader of others unless you are also willing to be a catalyst for change (even when it is uncomfortable to be so).

Like the picture below, this means that leadership and change are interconnected:

You cannot do one effectively without the other!

So, to gain the cooperation of others for the change that you need to make (particularly your team members) it’s important for you to revisit the three foundation principles of  effective leadership.

The first foundation to effective leadership is crafting a persuasive leadership vision (telling those who work with you WHY where you want to take them is better than their present situation). A persuasive leadership vision paints a picture of a desirable vision that is a better situation both for your organization and for your organization’s stakeholders.

Telling others of your leadership vision is not enough however!

Having a persuasive leadership vision will get you nowhere if those who you need to make it happen do not first see you as a credible leader.

This is where the everyday actions that you take as a leader add up over time. These actions will affect how your team and others in your organization view your leadership credibility.

When you have a persuasive leadership vision and leadership credibility, you have the ability to influence others to join you in your efforts to make change. It’s at this point that you are ready for the second foundation of effective leadership – developing organizational alignment.

What is Organizational Alignment?

In their publication, the Lean Management Enterprise, the global Management Consulting Firm, McKinsey & Company describe an aligned organization as follows:

Some organizations make all of the links, so that vision, strategy, and goals come together to become meaningful work. In so doing they instill a sense of achievement that, in turn, enables their people to achieve more and more. (The Aligned Organization, P 137)

It’s this coming together or the alignment of an organization’s mission with peoples’ passions that makes change possible.

Put simply, when you develop organizational alignment with your vision you will find the following:

• Your team members and your other organizational partners understand your leadership vision.
• Your team members and your other organizational partners are committed to supporting you to fulfill it.

How to Develop Organizational Alignment

Developing organizational alignment is all about communication.

First, it’s precise communication. This communication explains in simple terms the real world issues that make change necessary. It also explains the positive benefits that the change will bring.

Your communication here is short, simple, and positive. You explain the need for change in headlines.

Here’s some examples:

• We’ll improve peoples’ lives with our service delivery model
• We’ll distinguish our company by delivering first class customer service
• We’ll leverage our technology to gain greater market share
• We’ll improve quality by promoting better working relationships
• We’ll increase productivity by purchasing better equipment

Finally, your communication is repetitive. You’ll want to use multiple methods to get your message out about the necessity of change and you’ll want to communicate your message more than once. Keep reinforcing the need for change.

Second, this communication is a discussion. It’s two-way communication with everyone affected by the change that you want to implement. As a rule, if most of this discussion is you telling others what you want to do, then you are hindering your ability to develop organizational alignment. You’ll find that people are much more likely to support you when you’ve asked for their ideas and feedback AND incorporated them as feasible.

If you’re doing all of the talking, you’re not getting to know the ideas and feedback of those who you need to support your change effort.

Listening to your team and acting positively on their good ideas is a sign to them that you respect them and what they do for you in your organization. It also helps you to get valuable information that you need to make your change effort a success.

With this two way communication, you actively seek the feedback of others. It’s listening extensively to everyone affected by the change that you want to implement. You can then use this information to develop strategic messages that inspire others to want to support your change effort.

Finally, this communication is encouraging. It inspires others to want to support you in your change effort. It’s tailored communication that is specific to the needs of your different organizational stakeholders while also being honest.

With a persuasive leadership vision and organizational alignment (that’s supported by your credibility in your organization), you are ready for the third and final foundation of effective leadership.

I’ll talk about this third foundation of effective leadership in another article.