Good salespeople have a saying: “People don’t like to be sold. They like to buy.”
The same wisdom is true when enlisting team members to do the big thing in front of them.
Too often, however, leaders automatically move into sell mode: “We have to do this [big thing] because [insert corporate rationale].” (Worth noting, the top reasons are almost always the same: Grow market share, reduce costs, transform or simplify.)
Saying why the organization needs us to do a big thing is important. (Even this type of communication is often missed in organizations.) When an employee understands how their efforts will serve the greater good, they are more inclined to engage.
But is having your team engaged enough? In most cases, it is not—because the projects and work employees must do today test their hearts.
People buy into plans—and even take ownership of them—when one additional question is asked after they are told why completing a project is important to the organization:
Why is it important to you that we succeed in executing this plan?
There are countless ways to ask the ownership question, including:
- What difference will the work we’re doing today make for our customer tomorrow?
- How will delivering on this initiative strengthen the identity of our team?
- In what ways will the success of this project build your credibility within the organization?
We said it when we published Do Big Things eight years ago, and it’s even more true today: Organizations are in desperate need of leaders who can mobilize the hearts and minds of those they lead.
It’s worth remembering: People do not like to be sold grand plans. Create meaning for the plan in employees by personalizing the effort—and they will own the steps forward.
A version of this blog was originally published in August 2022.