Kindly note that in order to keep our meet-ups a space of private, intimate and confidential learning we only include my sharings into the replay of our meet-ups.
Summary of Key Points
Topic: How to create buy-in from executives to invest in a cultural shift (towards partnering leadership)?
Many who embrace the concept of Partnering Leadership as a desirable shift often ask me: How can we persuade my senior management to support this cultural transformation? What a great question.
When I founded Human Facts (human-facts.com), I had to learn painfully how difficult it is to convince managers to invest in culture change - not to mention consulting services for it.
Now, looking back on a 15-year journey of invaluable experience, learning, stumbling failures and surprising successes, I've found some more answers and ways to meaningfully discuss and offer cultural change - ironically, by acknowledging certain limitations.
I am happy to share here what have been the major shifts in my thinking that have led me to do things differently than before - without claiming universal validity.
1. I am not selling to fix a problem, I am inspiring to unlock a vision. My mindset when approaching this kind of “pitch situation” is not to sell cultural change as a product or service. Instead, it's about facilitating a meaningful discussion about it. My aim isn't to solve a problem, but to inspire and encourage people to dear a broader vision and dream of what they want to achieve.
2. My aim is not to persuade or convince - my aim is to clarify. Nobody likes to feel that they are being "sold" something or that they are being pressured into a decision. Including myself. That's why my aim is to provide insight and facilitate understanding, rather than trying to convince anyone of a particular point of view. My aim is to shed light on the possibilities of cultural work as an important lever for their vision and what it takes to make this work truly effective. And of course I'll be ready to share some relevant figures, empirical evidence, examples and cases to illustrate the impact of cultural work.
3. I address explicitly limitations. Instead of making promises, whether it's about my own capabilities as a consultant or the challenges inherent in cultural work, I started to point out explicitly and honestly what can realistically be achieved, where boundaries are, and what potential obstacles lie ahead. And quite counterintuively that is where most trust and buy-in is earned.
How do these principles shape my conversations? That’s what I lately shared in our free PLA Community Meet-up Call. Feel free to watch the replay of the essence.
But I'm sure there's more to discover - would anyone else like to share their experiences with how to get buy-in from managers for cultural change here? What worked for you, what didn't? Thank you - your experiences are likely to inspire others here too!
Overview quarterly open PLA Community meet-up 2024 - Register for free here
20 March 2024 | How to create buy-in from executives to invest in a cultural shift (towards a more partnering culture)?
21 June 2024 | How can we guide meetings back into the zone of productive partnering?
27 September 2024 | tbd - You can leave us your wishes for topics here
6 December 2024 | tbd - You can leave us your wishes for topics here