Workplace Challenges
The 'buy-in' problemThose who know me well know that the term "buy-in" evokes a reaction. DAN GAYNOR - Special to Sun Media |
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I'm convinced that while intentions are good the buy-in phenomena is behind many of the problems I see in workplaces.
In the history of business leadership buy-in is a fairly new thing. I think it's a reflection on the excessive emphasis we place on personal freedoms today. But being part of a healthy team always means accepting direction, including those situations when we don't agree.
RECIPE FOR CONFLICT
Leaders lead well and employees follow well in healthy productive teams. On these teams, leaders genuinely care for their followers and they put the team first with each decision. Followers are responsive; they accept direction well. When leaders place too much emphasis on buy-in they can confuse people about who is running the show. Buy-in, when we treat it as a requirement, puts the authority in the follower's hands and that's a recipe for conflict.
At an international teleconference on leadership that I attended a few months ago the first three speakers all commented on the need for -- you guessed it -- buy-in. This thinking has become so ubiquitous that I don't believe we even question it anymore. The following day it was refreshing to hear Colin Powell say he needs people who can offer their opinions, trust him to consider them in his decisions and then not take it personally when things don't go their way. I liked what I heard. I suspect Powell knows what would happen if he made buy-in a condition of each mission.
I hope to demonstrate that the alternative -- fostering acceptance -- involves people in a healthier, more productive way. Here lies an important distinction; acceptance is not the same thing as buy-in. With buy-in, subordinates must agree with the leader's decisions; with acceptance, they don't have to. The practical reality is that each time an effective leader faces a choice, a decision must be made and not everyone will agree.
My fundamental problem is that buy-in places the authority in the wrong hands -- it confuses the relationship. It's as if we're saying, "If they don't agree with us then we won't have their support and we can't or shouldn't do it." Both leaders and employees suffer. Leaders get far less productivity and can be paralyzed in their ability to get a mission moving, and employees end up with friction at work.
ACCEPTANCE
People won't always agree with decisions their leaders make and they shouldn't be expected to, so let them off the hook with this -- teach them that acceptance holds the key to productivity and job satisfaction. When people learn to accept decisions and give them their best effort they are much more likely to be appreciated and rewarded; productivity and job satisfaction are natural outcomes.
I'm not advocating autocratic leadership. The best leaders care about and consider the opinions of team members in the process.
When someone resists direction, pride is often the root of the problem. Skilful caring leaders face this head on, helping people see that misplaced pride can create frustration. Trust is also essential. When people trust their leader, acceptance is much easier to achieve.
Let me close by saying that working to build support is good practice, as long as we don't fall into the trap of thinking about buy-in as a prerequisite. Every leader appreciates it when team members agree, but acceptance is the key. When you foster acceptance one employee at a time, you create the conditions for productivity and lasting job satisfaction.
Dan Gaynor is president of Gaynor Consulting, a professional consulting firm dedicated to leadership development and team building in the workplace. Reach
Dan at dan@gaynorconsulting.com.
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