My work with Eric has contributed significantly to the success we have experienced at Castle Contracting.
Involvement Creates Buy-In
A few years ago I participated in a capital campaign to raise funds for an organization’s building improvements. A fundraising consultant was hired to facilitate the campaign. One of his foundational principles was to involve as many of the organization’s members as possible in the fundraising process. People were tapped for both small and large jobs. Some people asked members for pledges. Others hosted informational meetings at their homes or invited people to attend these meetings. Some individuals did nothing more than create invitation lists. But most people were involved in some way in the capital campaign.
Not coincidentally, the campaign received widespread financial support from the organization’s members. The very act of being involved in the campaign created buy-in to the mission and a willingness to give financially.
Performance Principle: Involvement creates buy-in. If you want people to invest themselves in your organization, you must get them to take action in pursuit of your goals. It is the act of working with others toward a goal that causes people to identify with and support an organization. Here are two practical steps you can take to foster involvement that creates buy-in.
First, explain to people HOW the work they already do is important to the larger mission of your organization. Help them to “connect the dots” between their work and the organization’s goals. Many people don’t understand why their work is important. When they do, they take a greater sense of pride and ownership in what they do.
Second, find specific tasks at which individuals excel and ask them to teach and coach others on their approach. One person on your staff creates particularly effective sales presentations. Another does a terrific job diffusing tension with upset customers. A third has a particular knack for calling customers about overdue invoices and (nicely) getting the company paid. Each of these people has something to teach the rest of the organization. And, by involving them in teaching skills to others, you also help them to further buy into the company and its goals.
Questions to Consider:
- Are you creating buy-in by involving people in creating programs and making decisions?
- How can you cultivate greater support for your initiatives by involving people early in the process of creating them?
- How can you be more patient with people and give them time to make your ideas their ideas?
