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Posts Tagged ‘change management’

It is becoming more and more important for senior management to support the projects, plans and goals of a group, and it is up to the team leader or department head to gain that support.Therefore, I am not surprised that in my work over the past decade with change managers, gaining executive support continues to stay at the top of the list of concerns these managers have with their work. 

To try to better understand what senior management needs to support a project, I asked a number of vice presidents and executive vice presidents from both the private and public sector for their advice.  Below are two areas I found are often overlooked.  By focusing on them, your chances of gaining executive support will be greatly improved. 

Expecting Immediate Support

According to several executives I interviewed, team leaders and function heads often mistakenly conclude that one brilliant pitch is enough to gain agreement and buy-in.In truth, even when the initial proposal seems like a great idea, the support does not come instantaneously. 

One government agency executive I spoke with mentioned that it has taken three to four years to build enough support to gain an increase in congressional funding.While we hope that all business does not take as long as the government can, the purpose of his telling me that was to highlight the fact that managers and project directors must see their programs with a strategic and long-term focus.  He suggested that managers looking for support should:

1.   Build a case that shows how your idea will benefit the entire organization.

2.Work closely with associates in other areas of the company.Try to find ways to incorporate your goals with the goals of other teams in order to make the best use of company resources.

3.Invite senior management to preview your ideas.  Invite input.Be willing to change your proposal based on their feedback. 

4.Be patient and make your proposal for resources only after you have created a strong enough case and have received informal support from executive management for your ideas.

 Failing to Be Strategic

This is a crucial point when it comes to gaining support.Executives of most organizations have developed strategic goals for achieving the organization’s vision for the future.   You are much more likely to gain support when you show how your team’s plan will help to further the strategic goals.In order to be successful at this, you cannot wait to be told what senior management deems important, but rather proactively analyze their vision for the future and strategic goals to determine what those important items are. 

What does it mean to be strategic?  In my experience, executives want their directors to:

1.Understand the company’s main goals.

2.Give constructive suggestions how their group can help the company meet those objectives.

As Scott Eblin writes in “The Next Level”, you need to spend time with your senior executives up front to ensure that you understand what success means to them.However, at this point it is unlikely that they will provide you with specific goals and constraints that you can input into your project.  Listen for priorities, for key organization-wide metrics, and major barriers or obstacles.Be a sponge in these conversations.Take the information to your managers to talk over some more.  Then come back to your executive with specific plans about what your group or function will do and how you will do it.  Be prepared to make adjustments based on input from your executive team at this point. 

Executive support for a project you feel strongly about may seem as though it is out of your reach, but if you are patient you will be able to build a case that senior management will understand.Your goal is to stay focused on the strategic objectives of the company and to clearly communicate how your project will be important in achieving those goals.Next thing you know, your team could become a critical component to a profitable and successful company!    

Wendy Mack is a professional advisor, trainer, and author with a focus in leading and communicating change. Contact Wendy at, or Download her free e-book, Transforming Anxiety into Energy at www.WendyMack.com

Many people in affiliate programs seem to think that once the sale is made, their work is done. Affiliate Programs are highly dependent upon developing a motivated and knowledgeable downline. Don’t end your involvement with the close of the initial sale but stay involved with your downline, coaching and mentoring them.

People joining affiliate programs tend to have big goals, but sometimes they fail anyway.

Reasons Why People Fail to Become Successful Affiliates:

There are three main reasons why people fail to adapt to change, especially technological change:

1. Lack of Skills
2. Lack of Knowledge
3. Fear

Adopt the “Coach” Role & Mindset:

If you adopt the mindset of a “Coach,” you can dramatically improve your Downline’s performance along all three lines.

When someone joins an affiliate program there is generally a fairly big learning curve to overcome – new product(s) such as the just-released MaxPro System, new technology, and virtual relationships, all of which are especially problematic if your new recruit is a novice in the world of internet marketing (or marketing in general).  There will be a whole new language to learn, new tools and techniques to master, not to mention becoming an expert on the product they will be marketing.

If you ignore your new recruits, they can get very frustrated in a very short time due to information overload.  If you want your bottom line to grow, invest in helping your new recruits overcome the learning curve so they don’t get overly frustrated and just quit.

Your bottom line will be a lot bigger if you invest some time with your new Downline team members, coaching and mentoring them.  Be proactive: actively help your team learn the products, and learn about the technical support and other resources available to them.

Many of your new recruits will need help learning how to marekt your product in the new Web 2 world of internet Blogs and Social Communities, which are new to many people.

Don’t just sit around waiting for your downline to contact you for help, take the initiative and offer them help, especially at the beginning of your relationship with them.  Take the initiative to help your new recruits overcome their fear and buyer’s remorse.

Coaching is easier than you might think – you just need a positive attitude and a desire to build up your team members together with your proactive behavior.  The small investment of your time to coach your team will pay you big dividends.

Agreat place to start for collecting all the rest of the knowledge about internet marketing that they’ll need is to have them sign up for the Online Success for Beginners program.