Whisper in the General’s Ear
I noticed that a particular manager was always absent from my presentations about the new idea. He had good excuses, but I think he was avoiding the subject. His staff never came to any of my training classes. I stopped by his office and said, “I know you’re too busy to come to my presentations. I understand that, but I’m willing to get together one-on-one, any time, to answer any questions you have.”
He was caught. He fumbled with his calendar. “Hmm, not much time. I do have an open slot but it’s at 7:00 a.m. next Friday. That’s probably too early for you” (he was hoping).
I jotted down the date and said, “Great! Thanks for your time.” I stopped by the day before our meeting and said, “See you tomorrow!” On Friday, we spent a good half hour talking and he seemed relieved that my idea wasn’t just some new technology thing but really did apply to his area. He never became an enthusiastic supporter, but he never spoke up against it and his people started coming to my training classes.
Managers are sometimes hard to convince in a group setting, so meet privately to address any concerns.
You are a Dedicated Champion(129) working to get management support for your new idea. There are troublesome managers who have not been convinced by any presentations you have made.
Managers who are against your new idea have the power to block your progress.
Many managers aren’t that interested in technical details. In a group situation their attention span is much less than it is one-on-one. Managers are overwhelmed by new ideas and are reluctant to head blindly down new paths without some justification. You can’t publicly push a manager in a new direction, but in private you can gently show the benefits of a new way of doing business that will reflect well on those who are successful with the new approach. Many managers need a little extra time to think about a new idea before they’re willing to support it publicly.
Because accountability is always centralized and flows to the top of organizations, executives feel an increasing need to know what is going on, while recognizing that it is harder to get reliable information. That need for information and control drives them to develop elaborate information systems alongside the control systems and to feel increasingly alone in their position atop the hierarchy.
Some high-level executives are “productive narcissists” and are extremely sensitive to criticism or slights. They cannot tolerate dissent. In fact, they can be extremely abrasive with employees who doubt them—with subordinates who are tough enough to fight back. Some are so defensive that they make a virtue of the fact that they don’t listen. As one CEO bluntly put it, “I didn’t get here by listening to people!”
Therefore:
Set up a short one-on-one meeting with a manager to address any concerns with the innovation and the effort to introduce it.
Say exactly what you know and what you can do to help. Don’t exaggerate what your new idea can do. Nothing can hurt your cause more than overselling something. Play the Evangelist(144) role—let your natural enthusiasm show. Encourage the manager to ask questions to understand technical details. This may be embarrassing for him to do in front of others, because it’s human nature to want to save face in front of a group.
Make sure the information is Tailor Made(234) appropriately for the management audience. Be ready to address the costs and benefits of your idea but don’t overwhelm him with data. Tell him Just Enough(180), that is, educate, but don’t talk down or overburden him with too many technical details. When first hearing of a new idea, managers usually want to know the big picture and how it will impact them.
Give the manager ideas, but consider letting him take the credit for them. Find out what he thinks before presenting your views. If you believe he is wrong, show how a different approach would be in his best interest. Take his views seriously. Analyze them, don’t brush them aside—they often reveal sharp intuitions. Disagree only when you can demonstrate how he will benefit from a different point of view.
Always empathize with the manager’s feelings, but don’t expect any empathy back. Understand that behind any display of infallibility, there hides a deep vulnerability. Praise his achievements and reinforce his best impulses, but don’t be shamelessly sympathetic. An intelligent narcissist can see through flatterers and prefers independent people who truly appreciate him. Show that you will protect his image, inside and outside the company.
Persuade, don’t alienate. Stay calm. Back off when he starts to glaze over or push back. Great salespeople will tell you the way to influence others is to understand their needs and communicate on their level, not on yours. The idea is that in the process of talking to him, he will have an “aha” moment; he’s come to this realization on his own, he’ll own the idea and feel comfortable about asking for help with the next steps.
If you are persistent and patient but still have not succeeded in scheduling a meeting with the manager, there is one other tactic you can use in extreme cases. Next time you see the manager heading from his office to the cafeteria, walk along and causally mention some arresting piece of news. Keep a two-minute “elevator speech” in your head at all times. A good salesperson must take advantage of unscheduled opportunities as well as rehearsed and organized ones.
Remember that your goal is to build trust with the manager. This will take time. The manager who needs this kind of special attention may be insecure or may have been burned by false promises. It will take patience and great strength of character on your part to face these obstacles.
Once you have the manager’s support, Stay in Touch(221) so he won’t forget about you.
This pattern builds management support for the new idea. It maintains the manager’s dignity while giving you the chance to get your story heard and achieve your objectives.
Your private meetings with a manager can look like back room dealing to outsiders. Be open and straightforward with others. Let them know you have talked with the manager, but don’t break any confidences by revealing details of the discussion, especially if they might show the manager in a bad light.
David Pottruck, the number-two executive for Charles Schwab Corp., frequently clashed with his boss, Larry Stupski, at top-management meetings. Pottruck made two big mistakes: He failed to recruit others to his cause, and he disagreed in an unpleasant way. Then Pottruck met with his boss and proposed a solution. He would never publicly argue with him again. He might disagree, but he would do so only in private. By questioning his boss only behind closed doors, he got his ideas into the room and kept the power struggle out of it.
Anna had a boss who was hard to convince in a group meeting (darn near impossible!). The boss would move forward on an issue during a meeting only if he had all the information and all his doubts removed beforehand. Anna learned that when an upcoming meeting would have an issue that was important, she would meet with her boss before the meeting and address his questions and concerns one-on-one.