Get Your Colleagues on the Same Page

As the saying goes, there’s strength in numbers. As anyone in the corporate world would attest to, it doesn’t hurt to have more people on your side. In the short term, by getting your colleagues to be on the same page as you, you’ll be able to gain traction in whatever you’re pushing for. In the long run, if your team is convinced that you’re shaking up the status quo for the right reasons, you’ll get a leg up in your career.

Target the Key Stakeholders

Let's say you are exploring an idea for a new campaign. In this case, you'd need to make sure you have key stakeholders on board in order to see your ideas through to execution. In my experience, there’s no need to deliberately find out who the key stakeholders in a company are, especially if you’re new. 

This is because these key stakeholders – if sceptical – will be sure to identify themselves by raising their concerns when it comes time to actually implement your ideas. Have individual conversations with these key individuals. Share your goals and show them where you are coming from. Listen actively to their concerns and be sure to address them in subsequent proposals. 

Over time, as you become more familiar with your organisation’s style of working, you’ll inherently know which are the key stakeholders you should be spending your time and effort on. Some ideas may only need to be approved by a major stakeholder, while others may need to go through several loops.

You can’t expect all your colleagues to be on your side when you propose an idea. You may face opposition due to personality differences with your colleagues or competing professional interests. In my experience, these differences are innate and can’t be resolved by just clashing with your co-workers.

An example would be varying working styles. With the rise of start-ups for instance, many companies are trying to become more agile. However, the people in traditional organisations are usually process-driven. They know what their nine-to-five day looks like and that’s how they want it to be. If this sounds like a dilemma that your organisation is facing, you may want to help your more traditional colleagues to gradually adapt to a leaner style of working. Start with assigning them more bite-sized tasks instead of larger projects. Implement more regular feedback loops to give these colleagues feedback on-the-go. 

Cynical Colleagues: Dispel Their Concerns

Cynical colleagues are the colleagues who question everything you do. They may doubt the feasibility of your solution or question how big of a budget you truly need. Don’t ignore them as their doubts may be valid. Instead, compile their questions and engage them in a discussion. Tackle their concerns heads-on. The key here is to be as objective as possible. Back your claims up with hard facts that cannot be disputed. 

Another tip to win these cynics over is by starting with your champions. Excite the people behind you and get them talking about your idea. Once this information reaches the cynical ones, they will be curious, even if they may be reluctant to get involved right away. Engage them in an objective debate thereafter.

Competitive Colleagues: Understand Them

Competitive colleagues are colleagues who tend to be envious of your every success. They may question why they can’t achieve the same sense of credit, or implement competing ideas to undermine your project’s triumph. The best way to deal with their insecurity is to offer them help. Share with them your experience of making progress so that they can also gain traction in their work. More importantly, get to know them on a personal level and invite them to cooperate with you. Make them feel included.

Take a Consultative Approach

I’m an open leader who speaks my mind, which can sometimes end up offending people. Hence, I try my best to listen. If you’re in a meeting where you’re pitching a new idea or suggesting a change to the way things are done, make sure to open the forum up for discussion. Be very intentional about empowering your colleagues to share their thoughts, especially in their specific areas of expertise, and follow this up by taking steps to action on their feedback. 

When you consistently empower those around you, these colleagues will end up being your cheerleaders. Make sure you’re clearly communicating expectations and processes with them. Sometimes, your supporters may want to see a quick turnaround of their suggestions. A failure to deliver may end up ticking them off and you might wind up losing their trust. Instead, communicate clearly on how you aim to incorporate their suggestions, setting realistic expectations and milestones along the way.  

In my experience, a common mistake made by newcomers is to assume that they know everything when they enter an organisation. The desire to leave an impression often sees them proposing big ideas without having a real understanding of the real challenges and processes that exist in the organisation. Sometimes, these newcomers may also disregard feedback they receive from colleagues who are more experienced than they are. Make sure you avoid making this misstep. Consult your colleagues on your ideas, and try to gain a solid understanding of context before driving ideas forth in a new organisation. 

1 Build Personal Rapport

While it’s important to understand your colleagues in a professional setting, get to know them personally as well. Once you get into their comfort zone, you will have a higher chance of winning them over.

2 Keep Detractors in Check

Don’t skirt around detractors’ doubts and assume things will be okay in the end. Address any discrepancies or misunderstandings promptly and secure these cynics’ buy-in early on. 

3 Empower Your Champions

Understand the sentiments on the ground before implementing big changes or new ideas. Always take your colleagues’ feedback into consideration and empower them to be a part of the process.