Article II – Permission vs. Buy-in

by Jay C. Gordon, Jr., EVP/CFS

In the world of business strategy, the concept of “effective leadership”, in one form or another, has always been, and will continue to be, a topic of discussion. A simple Google search or walk through at your local book store will turn up vast amounts of information on the subject. You’re likely to run into everything from articles regarding communication and accountability, to books about building rapport and outlining practical objectives. You’ll find tips for “serving the organizational mission”, and advice on the do’s and don’ts regarding “conflict resolution”. All of this information is relevant, in and of itself, but we tend to get blasted with the same things over and over again, it becomes too broad a message.

In my experience as a business strategist, I’ve found that coaching or advising relative to the function of leadership requires narrowing that message. While the needs of each organization, along with the message can vary widely, there are some core responsibilities that apply to leaders of all businesses. Today I’d like to focus on one of the primary leadership responsibilities, the task of making big decisions, and discuss something I see as a potential pitfall.

As leaders we have to make big decisions. Impactful ones, direction changing ones, expensive ones, ones that might change the daily operations of an organization, ones that could very easily change the perception of your business by the buyer in the market place. Sound familiar? Decision making as it applies to initiative conception, to planning, to budget, and finally… the logistics of execution, can span weeks, even months. Critical decision making can be a daunting task for a small business leader, and no less intense for someone in front of a seasoned organization. Leaders are trained to cover the bases, look in the crannies, think of all possible outcomes. But when I speak to some of these people about the decision making process and their approach, I hear something similar time and again from the top dog(s). When asked the question “How does your operational staff feel about the big decision?”, there is a pause in the conversation. It’s not a hard stop, but a “hrmmmm”, and it’s enough for me to realize that for all the diligence, the planning, and all of the ground work laid into the move, something got left out. I don’t mean ignored, nor consciously put to the side, but never put very high up on the “to do” list. Something was never really given priority early in the decision making process. What I see missing is an open line of communication and chance to gain insight from the individuals intended to “really make it happen”. You know, the nuts and bolts staff. The client facing staff, the sales and marketing folks, the operations people, the people who “aren’t really in sales”, but happen to talk to hundreds of people weekly about your firm and the products and services that it offers.

When faced with this “how do they feel” question, most leaders start down a similar path. I tend to get statements like “my role is to make key decisions, my staff’s role is to carry it out”, or, “I don’t have time to run every organizational move across my staff, that’s what they pay me for”. Replies of this nature certainly aren’t unexpected, but I think they’re cause to dig a little deeper. I was wading through some of that vast information referenced in the opening paragraph a long time ago, and stumbled upon a summary of some content that basically said “great leaders seldom ask for permission, but they should constantly be seeking buy-in”. But why? Why is it so important to gain the approval, so to speak, of your work force? The answer is really quite simple, if not always completely clear.

Gaining buy-in is important because it creates a connection, a connection to mission, a connection to organizational need. Good buy-in can make key staff feel involved in the process, involved with their future; and that feeling of involvement ultimately creates a sense of ownership and loyalty among them. Great buy-in can foster feedback, communication, even recommendation. It turns out that buy-in, like it or not, is one of the underlying factors in all of the “basically relevant, broad leadership messaging” we come across. All of that messaging about building trust, nurturing rapport, making your followers feel vested and invested… requires some buy-in. Without this buy-in, the leader can run with an increased amount of risk when making those big decisions. There’s a risk of inconsistent messaging to the market place, and the risk of clouding the company vision. Without the buy-in candid communication can stifle, confusion about “at hand” objectives can set in.

Now certainly, the idea here isn’t to hold organization wide “think tanks” regarding every key decision that the leader is required to make. Nor is it to spend an unreasonable amount of the leader’s time begging for pats on the back from the individuals that he/she manages or reports. The idea is, however, to involve pivotal employees in the process of making critical decisions that will change either the face of the business to the customer, or the primary day to day duties of the employee(s). Gaining opinion and gathering input, be it fully supportive to the end result, or not, can provide immeasurable value. It can alter the leader’s thoughts toward timing, toward budget, toward approach. It can reveal hurdles, speed bumps, and even gaping holes that may have gone unnoticed.

So, my advice is that when faced with the next big decision for your business, remember to look around and maybe stop by the water cooler. Not to get permission to proceed, but perhaps to “see how they’re feeling”. As an effective leader, you’re tasked with “painting vision”, “steering the ship”, and “pulling the trigger”. But if you’re not seeking buy-in, there’s a great chance that your staff doesn’t share in your vision, your direction, or your sense of need.