Upper level management – a world where executive decisions are made often times in ways that the majority of those who you lead will never understand. I’ve learned the hard way more times than one now that in order to succeed as a leader you must posses those sets of skills that allows you to get the “buy in” of those that you manage.
The buy in – a double edged sword. The positive buy in is where you can leverage yourself in an honest transparent way that effortlessly forms the natural basis of people following you, listening to you and doing what you say regardless of the circumstances. This form of buy in is only possible in conditions that favor your agendas, the ability to promise and deliver what is expected of you consistently is a function of an environment that provides you with the ways and means of delivering.
But the buy in can also be used against those who you lead – in an environment that does not provide and deliver that which you are selling to the people who choose to follow you the options are few. More and more you must resort to stretching your promises and exaggerating your agendas on a progressively grander and grander scale. Your success and livelihood depends on your followers – and your followers will only follow what you are able to “sell”, in the end the result is inevitable.. an environment that was working against you from the beginning will ultimately lead to your failure, and the collateral damages are those followers who you fooled.
People are constantly exposed to these ideas everyday – salesmen, retailers, marketers, leaders, politicians and the like rely on one key principle, the buy in. Without the buy in they are unable to function and their rolls in society have no relevance, their ability to sell their agendas, ideas, goals and promises is at the heart of what they do. The buy in is the mask that prevents uneducated and ignorant followers from seeing and understanding risks or opportunities. The buy in leaves complete control in the hands of those who sell their pitch and allows them to benefit from their followers regardless of realities and circumstances.
The buy in is a key tool for most to succeed in life – the worlds best leaders are also the worlds best salesmen. The majority of the world end up as followers, unaware and clueless as to what really lies behind the smoke screens. Sooner or later many end up as collateral damage to those buy ins which are built upon faulty foundations.
On the other hand many end up sharing in the successes and reap the benefits of buying into leaders who stand upon concrete ground.
What kind of leaders do you buy into? Are you one of many greater fools? Or are you one of many poised for success?
My Mind 