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-------Buy-in-------- |
I asked Ron Kertzner how to go about enrolling the whole organization in your vision and core values. He said, "The way you don't do it is through the edict approach: 'This is the way we are going to be!' That’s a fallback to command-and-control management style. Sue and I saw a president of a large company stand in front of 700 employees at an annual meeting and declare, 'We will be a collaborative organization!' You can't start like that. Start with your vision. Then ask your people for their input, for their comments. Ask them what ideas they have about how to improve the way the company is operating."
Kertzner says to tell your people what your vision and values are for becoming a green company. Ask them:
In the course of that conversation, you’ll find out what their deeper concerns are. Maybe it’s that when they build faster, using familiar conventional methods, they get bigger bonuses. So you think of new ways you could work your bonus system (create new criteria). And that's key: line up the compensation and reward systems with your values. Otherwise people won’t buy in to the values.
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Managing the Difference Between Your Vision and Current Reality |
Getting buy-in requires managing the creative tension that exists between your vision and the company’s current reality. Speak clearly about the vision you want to create, but at the same time, tell the truth about where you are right now.
For instance, how do employees feel about the challenges you face in becoming green? Where is the green market now, versus where you would like it to be? Holding that tension between the current reality and your desired vision creates room in the middle for ideas, possibilities, and solutions, all of which will emerge and move you toward your vision.
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Flexibility and Commitment |
Achieving buy-in from employees demands that you be flexible in how you implement your vision, but at some point you have to draw the line and say, "This is what our company is about." After that, people will choose to buy-in or leave. The very nature of change will push some people out. Those who remain after the line is drawn, however, typically show higher productivity and strong commitment to the green vision.
-------Implementation-------- |
Too many companies stop at the vision stage. It is a mistake to believe that just creating a vision is sufficient to enroll all the staff in a new direction. Implementation requires follow-through, patience, and good listening skills to really hear what your employees are feeling about the change. Change isn’t easy for anyone, especially when wages are on the line. Sue Kertzner says that since fear is inherent in implementing changes, you can do an exercise that addresses these fears. You or a consultant can run a corporate "town meeting." Have your employees brainstorm questions like:
CHANGE PROCESS MODEL |
||
| 1. Clarify your personal vision & core values | ||
| 2. Write draft vision & value statements | ||
| 3. Hold "Town Meetings." Speak your vision & dialogue with employees | ||
| 4. Conduct employee workshops on values | ||
| 5. Hold "Building Commitment" sessions with employees | ||
| 6. Communicate vision & values in varied methods | ||
| 7. Align reward system with vision & values | ||
| 8. Charter core process teams | ||
| 9. Identify measures of success | ||
| Feedback Loop |  |
| On your way to lasting culture change! | ||
Then do the same process with these questions:
Discussing different scenarios alleviates some of the fear because most fears are a fantasy about the future. The key to employee buy-in is to harness the excitement of creating a different kind of future with a different kind of company.
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Credibility of the Leader is Important |
Credibility is essential in implementing change. First, leaders need to take symbolic actions such as changing the smoking policy in the office to show they are really living their green values. Credibility is also developed when leaders are open to the fact that, like all of us, they sometimes don't live up to their values. Being honest about that, but also communicating a continued commitment to those values, can go a long way in building credibility. Leadership in a green company is an internal design component and is as important as what kind of roofing or paint you choose.
Continue to Building Your Company For the Long Run
Would you like to purchase this book?
Building Green in a
Black and White World
by David Robert Johnston
Also See:
I. Creating a Green Company Introduction
III. Design .
IV. Aligning Employees’ Jobs with Green Building
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