One of the most challenging questions I receive is about changing an organization. Individuals who want to change the company for the better and just don’t know how to do it. It’s not easy – both creating change or answering questions about creating change. I do know one thing, change gets easier when you create buy-in.
Several years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. John Kotter speak about organizational change at the SHRM Annual Conference. Dr. Kotter is chief innovation officer at Kotter International, which works with organizations looking to undertake major change at a rapid pace. He’s also Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at Harvard Business School.
Little did I know Dr. Kotter has written a whole book on the subject of getting buy-in to create change. Needless to say, I was thrilled when Dr. Kotter agreed to share his thoughts…
From an organizational perspective, why is getting buy-in so important?
Buy-in is critical to making any large organizational change effort happen. Unless you win support for your ideas, from people at all levels of your organization, big ideas never seem to take hold or have the impact you want. Our research has shown that 70% of all organizational change efforts fail, and one reason for this is executives simply don’t get enough buy-in, from enough people, for their initiatives and ideas.
Are there ever circumstances when a person shouldn’t seek buy-in?
In some situations, you face someone I call a ‘NoNo.’ This term is based on a character in my book, Our Iceberg Is Melting, which is a fable about life in a changing and turbulent world, set in a penguin colony. NoNo is one of the main characters, and you can imagine how he reacts to any new idea. He not only shoots them down, but is very effective at convincing others to join his side. If you face a group of NoNos—or even just one—seeking their buy-in just won’t work. They will continually disrupt conversations and delay action, doing everything they can to discredit an idea and derail processes that attempt to create real change.
NoNos are more than skeptics. If there aren’t too many of them, skeptics can actually be helpful: they can keep naïve impulses in check and, once they have been convinced their opinions are wrong, can become an idea’s biggest champions. But NoNos won’t be convinced. The only way to effectively deal with them is to distract them so they cannot create too many problems, push them out of the organization or expose their behavior so natural social forces (i.e. other people who want change to happen) will reduce or stop it. My books A Sense of Urgency and Buy-in have more information on dealing with NoNos.
What do you say to the person who is reluctant to use buy-in because they don’t want to hear criticism or negativity?
I tell them that avoiding attackers doesn’t work, nor does quashing their attempts to block support from others. It’s far better to respectfully engage these adversaries and stand your ground with simple, convincing responses. By ‘inviting in the lions’ to critique your idea, and preparing yourself for what they’ll throw at you, you’ll capture busy people’s attention, and that’s very important. Conflict engages. If people have no opinions, no objections and no emotions, it usually means they don’t care. And you’ll be hard-pressed getting their help when you have to actually implement your idea. But conflict shakes people up and gets them to pay attention in a novel way. This gives you the opportunity to say why your idea really is valuable and explain it in a way that wins over hearts and minds – securing their commitment to implementing the solution.
The next time you’re in a meeting where someone is advocating for an idea, see if some conflict emerges. If it does, watch the group and see how people sit up and the energy level rises. Disagreement may seem like a bad thing — but it grabs people’s attention.
What’s the biggest mistake people make when trying to get buy-in?
There are a few of them. First, they don’t prepare enough. People often misunderstand ‘preparation’ to mean just knowing their own idea forwards and backwards. But rehashing what you already know won’t help you avoid sounding defensive, frustrated or even disrespectful when fielding question after question on your proposal or idea – all things that can derail a conversation and hurt your cause. We often don’t even know we come off this way until someone tells us.
People really need to practice before they attempt to win buy-in from a large group. This means grabbing a colleague to role play, attack the proposal and practice real-life responses. Try testing your ability to defend your proposal live with select people who will be sympathetic, but who can really listen and provide honest feedback.
I think another key mistake is thinking that you can win people over with lots of data, logic and reasons why the attacks on your idea are wrong. Almost all education teaches us to think in this manner, but this approach can kill the crucial attention span I mentioned in my last answer. We’ve all seen eyes glaze over or people surreptitiously typing on their smartphones as meetings drag on and on. You really need to respond to dissenters with simple, clear, common sense answers –this will slowly but steadily win an audience’s minds and their buy-in. And you have to complement this approach by responding in a respectful manner to those who disagree with you, no matter how much you want to fire back with fighting words. Enthusiastic support from large numbers of people is rarely the product of a nasty fight. If you treat the ones who attack your idea with respect, you’ll draw more people emotionally to your side. And emotions – what we often call ‘the heart’ – are essential to changing behavior.
From your experience, what surprises people the most about using buy-in to create organizational change?
I think people are surprised at how well it works. A lot of people who reach senior leadership ranks have been schooled in traditional management training. They recognize a need to change, pick a task force of people (maybe the head of HR, a couple of mid-level managers, a senior VP) to oversee the change effort, assign the team their roles and instruct them to make it happen. They don’t always articulate an opportunity for their organization and then communicate it widely to obtain a broad-based sense of urgency, from employees, to pursue an exciting opportunity, before pressing ahead. When they do, they’re often shocked to see how quickly changes can start happening. In our client work, we’ve found that choice motivates people to be far more committed to driving change than being told they have to do it. It engages people who are passionate about making their organization better, harnesses their enthusiasm and empowers them to drive change. It’s something that seems very simple, but it’s rare for organizations and senior leaders to work this way.
My thanks to Dr. Kotter for sharing his expertise. If you want to read more of his thoughts, check out his blog, Change Leadership. And, while Kotter International typically works with large companies, they have just launched a new contest called Seize Your Big Opportunity, to help organizations of all kinds accelerate change and grow sustainably, even in a difficult economic environment. Be sure to check it out.
P.S. The folks at Kotter International have graciously offered to raffle off a signed copy of the book Buy-In. All you have to do is leave a comment by Friday, November 18 and you’re entered into the raffle. Tell us what’s the hardest part about getting buy-in or just say you want to win the book. Look forward to your comments!
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david k waltz says
Sharlyn,
This is the third time this week I have run across the “people don’t act because of the facts, but because of the emotions” theme. Something must be in the air!
Stephanie says
Buy-in and Influence are two topics that are important to master if you are to successfully implement change. In my organization, it starts well before you have an idea. Effectively networking with influence leaders and building those relationships, is critical before you get to the buy in stage. Having great ideas with no network can be a dead end. I would say the first step in buy in is creating and building a network and relationships in advance. You get a better sense of internal critical needs and broad support.
Ming says
My company had John Kotter speak at one of our annual sales meetings and we all received, Our Iceberg is Melting. Mine is signed. This was done as our organization began to make a change, which helped with buy-in.
I’d love another signed copy of his writing, oh and would enjoy the read too!
Access Employee Database says
This is fantastic! And Wow, a signed copy of a great read! I wish shipping to Asia would be covered! lol
Cheryl says
I wish this article was available last week! On Friday, I rolled out a new program to my team. Getting their buy-in was what concerned me the most. I’m a pretty serious person and my collegues in roll playing wanted my overview speech to be very positive (to me over the top- since I would then be left to answer for the fall out when my project hit a more serious side – employees being accountable). I am happy to read that we did the right things… roll played, asked questions, the right people were involved… I also can see the Nono of this group and I appreciate the permission to view them as they are and the reminder that I can’t change them but can still do something about it.
Becky Morlok says
Matsushita Leadership (by Kotter) has been on my mandatory reading list for students for years…..It is, without doubt, life changing. This is a great piece I will be sharing and using with local businesses and colleagues. Thank you!
Ade Adetukasi says
It must be said that a lot of executives still treat the issue of “getting buy-in” as another fluffy and intangible HR issue.
At times l have had to deal with “buy-in” on two levels: firstly, getting the execs to buy-in to the specific plan/budget for ensuring buy-in (as part managing change) and secondly, rolling out the actual plan to get buy-in from the workforce.
I agree with your opening sentence.
Lisa says
I believe in the power of conflict as well. It is a chance to get all our ideas, suggestions, comments and opinions out in the open. It is effective in providing as awareness on what others have been wanting to say but are just trying to hold them in.
William Chin says
We just completed a face-to-face meeting with our Asia HR team. One of our project presentations was on Change. This is especially relevant in the mobile communication industry and how HR manages people teams.
Maya Townsend says
Yes! It’s critically important for leaders to spend time thinking through people’s anticipated responses to the change, identifying “what’s in it for them,” and, importantly, conducting dry runs so they’re prepped for the launch. It’s also important to think about the network perspective: who are the 5 – 10% of people in the organization disproportionately responsible for change? Those are the critical influencers who leaders must court in order for their change to be a success. Forget about them and it’s an uphill battle.
Michael D. Haberman says
Great read Sharlyn. I will have to check out his work. Getting buy-in is a critical skill in the consulting business.
George Fuller says
For me, the key is to have the discipline not to try to get buy-in on too many projects and thus not overwhelm the group.
Thanks for the opportunity to get this great book!
Bill Corbin says
It’s intriguing, yet frustrating how, in the heat of a project, with it’s usually compressed timelines, how leadership tends to avoid discussion about the hard questions. We’re typically an optimistic culture in the U.S., so it often makes folks cringe when a team member brings up an idea or is questioning of the group’s approach to some facet of the project, one that has the potential of impacting the schedule. It can be so hard, actually a natural inclination, to want to agree with the leader’s idea, even at our own expense. I occasionally hear grumblings after such a meeting about any brave soul who is willing to bring up the tough questions or suggest unusual ideas. How unfortunate for those who become reticent to “rock the boat” when it brings the leader’s silence in response to “out-of-the-box” comments.
Karen Carleton says
In organizational learning and workplace Training & Development, buy-in from C-suite sponsors is critical, along with buy-in from others (employees, partners, customers). Change and learning in organizations needs to welcome grassroots ideas from those doing the work and other stakeholders. Often external consultants are given more credibility due to expertise or perceived objectivity when deciding what sort of learning/traniing or other solution(s) are necessary to improve performance, productivity or quality within the organization.
Randy says
Nosce Te Ipsum
I’ll take a book, please.
John Kotter says
All, thanks for your comments and reflections about using buy-in to create meaningful and lasting change. Gaining buy-in will continue to play an essential role in successful change initiatives, and it is interesting to hear about how others use the skill to achieve great goals. The business landscape is always changing and your experiences reflect the issues leaders are facing and will face in the future. Thanks for your continued interest in my work, and congratulations to the raffle winner of my book Buy-In.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks for the great convo on this subject. The winner of the book is Cheryl. If you’ll email me at cheers@hrbartender.com, we can make arrangements for you to get the book.
Enjoy the holiday weekend!