Convincing the World

Sometimes I want something to happen at work, but it feels like I need to convince everyone in the world before anything can happen.  Everyone has a stake in the decision and feels they have the right to veto.  How to proceed?  If I go straight to the top of the organization chart, the people in the middle feel blindsided.  And rightly so.  The decision affects them, too.  They need to do a lot of work as a result of the decision.  Will they trust me again in the future?

I'm in this kind of situation right now.  There are two programs I've been pushing for years, sometimes working with my peers, sometimes working at higher levels with mixed results, often getting a "no" which makes it that much harder to escalate to higher levels without risking damage to relationships.

I decided to seek advice from a variety of mentors 1 to 2 levels above me in the company.  This is my interpretation of their combined wisdom and coaching:

• Ask people at the middle levels for input on my proposal.  Don't ask for a decision.
• Talk to the top leadership about my proposal.  
• Still don't ask for a decision.  
• Check for general alignment to make sure I'm on the right track
• Ask for their input on how to enroll the whole organization.  Who do they think I need to convince?  Which individuals?  Which teams?  Which meeting or group can make the final decision?
• Finally, follow leadership's recommendation on how to enroll the organization.

This is the process I'm now following.  It starts to get top leadership aligned early.  It's easy for them to say "yes" when I check for general alignment because I'm not asking for a commitment yet.  Once they start saying "yes", they're more likely to continue saying "yes".  Also, they are experts in who needs to be aligned to the decision in the organization.  From where they sit, they can see this much more clearly than I can.  Finally, if I follow the process they recommend to enroll the organization, it's hard for them to say "no" when I reach the end of that process and ask for a commitment.