Here’s something that’s worked for me—and honestly, writing this down is a good reminder to do it more often. When pitching a new strategy, I don’t just dive into the details. I set the stage first. I’ll say, ‘Here’s what’s happening around us. Here’s what our clients are asking for. Here’s what’s changing in the market.’ Because when people see the ‘why’ loud and clear, they’re a lot more open to the ‘how.’ It’s not about selling the strategy; it’s about framing the problem so well that the strategy feels like the natural solution.

Most of the times, teams will be hesitant to engage in something new, due to of lack of communication and alignment The famous Japanese Principle of 'Nemawashi' (Building consensus) can be followed to create trust and alignment of the team members before starting strategic direction. Nemawashi involves explaining the steps involved and potential benefits clearly to all the stakeholders and align on the roles and responsibilities of each member clearly. Once the team understand the reason "why are we doing this?" , it becomes much easier for the leadership to steer team involvement towards success of the new strategic initiatives!

In my experience, hesitation for a strategic direction is rooted in a disconnect with its creation. Plenty of times in my career, I've been given a strategy and told "make it work." When it fails, poor execution is always blamed. You may not choose the strategy, but you do control your response. The best way to convince a team is craft the tactics together. Start with distilling guiding principles from the strategic direction, if they aren't clear. Next, find ways to say "yes" to these principles. It's easy (and lazy) to say no or drag feet. Instead, come up with ways to 10x customer success. Last, talk about how near-term measures will change. There will be an effect. Do this and the team will feel ownership, rather than resentment.

Getting on the same page as your team or colleagues is it two-way process. It’s not just about me explaining ‘why’ to them, it’s also about them explaining ‘why not’ to me. When I understand their hesitations, either I can take them on board, because they’re valid, or I am way better positioned to address them. I would always treat these as conversations rather than a directive. I once heard a great quote from someone in product-land. (Sorry for the lack of attribution.) “Advocate like you’re right but listen like you’re wrong.”That sums it up for me.