This is a selfish moment. As a result of this moment…
I will be stepping on my soapbox!
Here it goes…
There are a lot of people out there writing articles. Practitioners, employees and consultants preaching the “How To’s:
- How to… talk to the C-Suite
- How to… give your CEO what he wants
- How to… deal with the leadership team
- How to… speak their language
- How to… tie HR to the bottom line of the business
- How to… build a case for the president…
- and so on and so on.
Some of it is good advice and much of it is crap. The bottom line: every executive, leadership and business unit head is different. What they face dependant on industry, employee population and customer can range. There are multiple factors. I understand that if you have no foundational understanding that these articles and this talk may help. But at the very core of these conversations is the idea or belief that you will receive some sort of ‘Silver Bullet’ to know exactly what you need to do in every situation.
My advice before taking any of this advice…
Tread lightly!
Before you take anyone’s advice, first ask yourself or those who write and/or speak about anything related to “How do you get the Executive team or CEO’s buy-in?” this
…”How often do you talk with an Executive team member or the CEO?” or “How often do they speak to you?”
My gamble would be that these individuals do not speak to them often or often enough. What you need to have above all else is ACCESS.
Of course this is just my thought process and also the reason why I will be…
Stepping down from my soap box now!
