How can I convince leaders that my strategy will work?

09 February 2012 -

“My management team wants to make some major changes in company strategy to weather the prolonged economic storm. However, more conservative leaders have expressed reluctance. How do we communicate the positives of the plans?”

Greg Park says:

Initiatives will have an optimal chance of success when it is clearly communicated as being part of the organisational vision with which staff are already aligned. It is important that staff feel that they are making a contribution towards its achievement.

During periods of economic instability there is a tendency to focus on the tangible risks when undertaking a new initiative. These will include such matters as intrinsic market, regulatory, finance, systems, production, pricing and operational risk. What frequently slips off the dashboard of innovators and leaders of organisations is what might be termed people risk.

Start by listening. People who see no need to shake the status quo are not interested in hearing all the reasons why change is happening – they simply want to be heard.

Keep the initiative collaborative every step of the way and the natural inclination towards resistence will reside, as long as the need for change is truly in the best interests of the company these stalwarts so fiercely believe in.

To pursue and establish a people-centric mindset, leaders must clearly communicate and reinforce the vision of the organisation and offer clear, specific and detailed direction in respect to its achievement. We become so excited by something new that we focus too much time, energy and focus on its implementation and unknowingly allow the organisation to drift off course.

Greg Park, FCMI is managing director of PCM Consulting, offering guidance to executive teams on how to adapt to leading within the cross-border and global context. Greg has spent 25 years in senior executive roles in financial services, including National Westminster Bank and Lloyds TSB Group, and banks in the Arabian Gulf. He is presently writing a book on Collaborative Leadership