Go Deep To Inspire the Workforce to Support Your Project

 

Here's the problem:  Your projects that involve organizational change will meet with some level of resistance, perhaps significant resistance which will affect success. Leadership communications is a key tool to counter that resistance. But how do you inspire enough project workers (or organizational employees) to tip the balance in favor of supporting your project?

Simon Sinek explains in this short presentation that you have to start with the Why. He says sales pitches - remember that you are selling your project - usually only include the What and the How. The What is the deliverable(s) associated with the project and may even include the benefits to the users. The How is everything you say about how you will work with stakeholders and create a high-quality product. And that is usually the end of the message.

Sinek says that great leaders add another element to the message which distinguishes it as inspiring: the Why. The Why is a message that resonates deeper in the brain. It is the rationale for the project in the first place. For example, it may be that the project is a necessary part of the corporation's response to changes in the marketplace, readying it to be able to thrive in the upcoming global economy. Pow! That message has punch! People will tend to follow that lead. Cascading a message from leaders emphasizing the Why through the affected parts of the organization will cool resistance to your project.

Measure of Difficulty...In the world of mass market products, what percentage of potential buyers do you have to convince to purchase your product to "tip the balance" so that it is widely accepted?

a.  8%

b.  18%

c.  28%

d.  38%

Watch the video to learn the answer, or wait for my post next week. Might the percentage be the same for change in an organization?

Let me know...Is this a communication technique you can use in your organization?

For my latest articles and more on workforce management (some of which do not appear on our front page), check out my Workforce Management Department page, and subscribe to the Head's Up Newsletter.