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ACE Leadership Training: Influence and Buy-in December 10, 2013
Picture it! In an ideal world, what would a successful ACE program at your school look like? Draw it. Be sure to include everyone involved in making it a success.
Session Objectives • Participants will understand the importance of buy-in and influence • Participants will identify key stakeholders • Participants will develop strategies for increasing buy-in and influence
Answer This: Who has a great influence on you as a leader? Why? What characteristics do they exhibit? DESCRIBE WHY IN AS MUCH DEPTH AS POSSIBLE
Influence Change in thoughts, feelings, or behavior as a result of a leader’s personality. Influence is having a vision of the optimum outcome for a situation or organization and then, without using force or coercion, motivating people to work together toward making the vision a reality. NOTE: Influence is not passive!
Build Influence • Influence grows out of well nurtured relationships. It’s the end-result of actions, behaviors, and intentions geared toward building trust, establishing credibility, and adding value. • Persuasion is more of an “in the moment” skill. It’s the combination of charisma, talent, and technique that can get things done without preamble. Ironically, despite its expediency, persuasion is actually best received by people who have faith in the persuader’s degree of influence.
Let’s Strategize! • In groups of 3-4: • How have you built trust? • How have you established credibility? • What is ACE’s value-add? • Get specific. • Question: Why is this important?
Take Action • Identify your stakeholders (Names!) • Choose three. • Action steps • Execute.
Take Action • Identify your stakeholders • Action steps • Select Influence Strategy • Plan it. • Execute.
How to Build Influence • Choosing words and phrases to communicate ideas that strike a responsive chord in a target audience • Socializing ideas to bring all the issues to light and earn buy-in • Giving others a voice in the decision-making process • Learning what keeps a person or group of people up at night • Providing assistance or resources without any expectation of reciprocity • Brokering meaningful relationships between unconnected groups • Using a decision-matrix to steer a conversation through a path of predictable choices • Orchestrating environmental conditions in which to interact with others in order to optimize the likelihood of a desirable outcome • Listening and paraphrasing back what was said • Delivering bad news sooner than later • Giving others credit whenever possible • Maintaining a track record of consistent success in a particular area
Take Action Identify your stakeholders Action steps Execute.
Commit Choose one thing you will do in the next two weeks to build influence.