What 'real' leadership buy-in & influence looks like

“What do you need to make this happen?” asked the Director of Strategic Communications.

“I’ve been given 30 days to achieve this, so it’s essential that when I contact people, they make it a priority to get back to me with what I need quickly, otherwise we run the risk of the contact centre not going live by the time the Winter Works begin”. That morning I had already sent her a courtesy email and handed her a hard copy of my action plan, as well as the list of key stakeholder groups and leaders (internal and external) I needed to contact asap, to make this happen.

Although this was my second assignment for this department, it was my first meeting with everyone in her team, and second one with this Director. People were still settling in while she was quietly grilling me about my plan. Finally, the last of the team members enter the room, and the meeting begins.

Ten minutes in, the Director says, “as you know the Winter Works starts late June, it will be one of the biggest transport projects this city’s ever seen. We will be shutting down three train stations and managing the movement of 120,000 people daily during the middle of a Melbourne winter. This will require all hands-on deck. Please welcome Mary Todorov, who will be responsible for coordinating the delivery of our new 24/7 contact centre to handle all public enquiries in time for the 37 days Winter Works. So when she contacts you for something, I want you to drop your sh*t and give her what she needs. Is that clear?”

I was speechless, firstly because I thought I was one of the few females to swear, secondly, I have never been introduced to a bunch of strangers like that before. People were either nodding yes, giving the thumbs up, while the rest were staring back at me wondering who the hell are you.  

Straight after the meeting, the Director also sent out a company email introducing me and forwarding my requirements. She made it clear that I would be in touch with absolutely every decision-maker from the top down.

There is nothing so reassuring than working for a leader who is clear in their communications and who knows how to influence. Even better, someone who’s supportive of their organisation’s holistic needs not just their own agenda.

“Major change is often said to be impossible unless the head of the organisation is an active supporter,” John Kotter.

Although I was a contractor, she treated me like a permanent staffer and provided me authority for signing off financials for efficiencies sake (not the usual thing for a contractor). She also made my job easier when project blockers, like precious high maintenance staff or laggards who stalled important tasks, she would address this with a curt email or a phone call personally if I was under the pump.

The Director was not the only one with the ‘leadership wow factor’ in this project. There were other project leaders that also rolled up their sleeves and complemented my efforts during those 30-days. Focusing on ‘must haves’, they supported my initiatives that ensured the right people were in the room at critical meetings; they advocated my small experiments to ensure new systems and processes were embraced and user friendly; prioritised staff training for a CRM platform; and collaborated with me to secure the necessary leadership commitment from strategic partners in ‘real time’, about new service level agreements, communication and enquiry protocols, and emergency rapid responses from multiple locations, it was a feat!

When the time came for me to get critical information or sign off from the CEO, he too would drop everything to assist me. Regardless, if I was contacting people 7am or 9pm, people answered the call because they understood why they needed to.

Did I deliver in 30 days? Absolutely, I worked my ass off. Did I do this alone? No way. I had a great team of contributors, informal and formal influencers and decision-makers helping me. 

John Kotter’s 8 Step Process for Leading Change, suggests when you have the top two steps 1. creating a sense of urgency and 2. building a guiding coalition is supported by leadership, you can effectively influence others for change (and action). Thus, the only reason why I was communicating with influence is because of the posturing driven by the leaders of this project. They lived and breathed their ethos, instilled a culture of giving and empowering others, including their contractors. By milking their story ‘we need this contact centre for the good of all’, I was able to leverage their leadership credibility, foster a trusting coalition and small army of doers and followers quickly (from front line staff to the CEO), which enabled me to meet the tight 30-day schedule.

Of course not all projects work this way, but it proves that when you have leadership support from the top, who also drive the sense of urgency you need, you can you get the necessary sh*t done for your project!

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