Building Team Support For Your Ideas
When we are in the planning and developing phases of our idea, there are several people we need to consider first. These people can help us build credibility from the ground up and eventually reach the person in the corner office, at the head of the table.
According to a recent survey, 97% of employees and executives believe lack of alignment within a team impacts the outcome of a task or project. The success of our ideas and projects hinges on the support of our team.
The more people we have in our pyramid of influence, the more likely our idea will be granted, and we will receive the credit.
Below are three ways we can build our pyramid of influence to gain support for our ideas.
1. Industry Experts
The first step in building our pyramid of influence is to determine the industry experts we know who can advise on our idea. These people will often come from different parts of the business. These industry experts will often make up the most significant part of our pyramid of influence.
Consider the following:
- Technical – Technical experts are those with a deep knowledge of the industry. They have specialized knowledge that can help advise us about our idea. For example, if we create a new software system, we can contact other software designers and engineers to see what they think about our idea. Their expertise can help shape and solidify our idea.
- Business – Business experts are those who understand the market. For example, we may have a great idea, but we haven’t considered all the competition in the marketplace. These business experts can help us navigate our idea and how it compares to the current market.
- Colleagues – We need to get the support of our colleagues. These people know us the most and can vouch for us. For example, if we have a great idea about how we can change how our sales team works, and our colleagues agree, then we can have confidence in our idea moving forward.
These industry experts are indeed the foundation of our supporters.
2. Direct Supporters
After we’ve discussed our idea with industry experts, we will want to look for people who need to be bought into our idea. This is where we will reach out to people our idea will directly touch. Their approval and buy-in are critical.
Consider the following:
- Mentor – Mentors want to help us with our professional growth. We can talk to our mentor about our idea and get their professional opinions. Generally, our mentors are further along in their careers than us and can provide great insight on how we can move forward with our idea.
- Advocates – Getting a buy-in from people who advocate for us, can open many doors. Once our advocates buy into our idea, they can make phone calls, and set important meetings for us. This is critical for our idea’s success.
- Previous Managers – Our previous managers know us well. Getting their support can help us as we take our ideas to stakeholders.
These direct supporters want to see our ideas come to life. These people have the capacity and social capital to help our idea become realized.
3. Stakeholders
Once we’ve secured support from industry experts, and direct supporters, we need to reach out to the stakeholders who will approve our idea. At this point, we will appear much more competent and confident as we sell our idea to the stakeholders and top decision-makers.
Consider the following:
- Investors – Investors are the people who can give money, materials, and more to see our idea come to life. Investors want to know who supports our idea and why.
- Managers – Our managers may be the first stakeholder we share our idea with. When speaking with our manager, we want to ensure we can clearly communicate our idea, and why it benefits the company.
- Business Owners – Other business owners may also be interested in our idea. When we showcase the support we have from our colleagues, and previous managers, it can go a long way.
We want the decision-makers and stakeholders to feel confident about our idea based on the significant buy-in from the rest of our supporters.
Building team support for our idea can take time. However, when we are able to showcase a multitude of supporters, we can have confidence in presenting our idea to essential stakeholders.
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