Emotional Buy-In for the Win

Emotional buy-in often precedes strategic buy-in. As leaders, it’s our job to earn strategic buy-in at the executive level. This is how to set our team up for success.

From a relational standpoint, emotional buy-in typically plays out as an advantage for men. ‘Grab a drink with your boss’, and the like, is not straightforward advice for women. 

However 

It is known (and has been shown) that women have enhanced emotional processing and body language interpretation. Suggested reasons for this vary, but the point is there are ways other than happy hour and golf to get emotional buy-in for your ideas. 

#1

Tune in to the emotional signals of critical stakeholders. Some signals are more obvious, some individuals are more effusive. Use these insights to inform which points you emphasize and which you downplay—this nuance will greatly impact how your idea is received. 

Example: The Applaud & Press On Approach

Based on the information that was available at the time, this product successfully fulfilled the company’s needs. Now that we have product-market-fit, it’s time to design specifically for our power users. 

Use when there are sensitivities about the quality and ownership of previous work.

#2

Observe non-verbal communication and use it to inform your meeting talking points. If you see someone visually disagree with a point that you also disagree with, use their department as an example when illustrating how your approach delivers a more promising solution. They are more likely to chime in and support your contribution. 

Example: The Partner & Prosper Approach

If we report on customer feedback once a month, the product development team will spend less time working on features that customers don’t use. 

Use when vying for strategic prioritization. This also provides transferable talking points to motivate the entire product development team to support your POV.

***

Even if you have data to back-up the recommendations you bring to the table, there is an emotional playing field that needs to be navigated in order to bring people along with your vision. Women have been socialized to pay attention and we can turn this into a business advantage.