{"id":1206,"date":"2013-08-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-08-14T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ericaleeconsulting.com\/bringing-people-to-the-party\/"},"modified":"2013-08-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-08-14T04:00:00","slug":"bringing-people-to-the-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onwardbusinessmechanics.com\/staging\/4922\/bringing-people-to-the-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing people to the party"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Recently I worked with a non-profit organization that is navigating a major change. \u00a0They have a 2-5 year ideal end state or vision defined, and they are currently designing a plan to get there, \u00a0including hiring a new executive leader. \u00a0They asked me to help facilitate the process. \u00a0As is the case with many non-profit organizations the leadership team is almost entirely volunteers, and though they have lots of motivation to do the right thing and a great vision for where they want to go, they do not have a lot of experience with defining, planning and leading organization change.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As I contemplated their challenge,\u00a0I found myself thinking about party planning, of all random things. \u00a0I decided to set it up as an analogy to help give them some context to the task at hand. \u00a0This post is what emerged from that train of thought.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Though I had never really thought of it before, as I developed the idea I realized great organizational leadership really is like bringing people to a party. \u00a0What do you think? \u00a0 What do great parties and successful change have in common?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
_______________________________________________________________________________<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
So that future state of everything we want to happen – the vision we laid out last week? \u00a0Let’s say that is a party. \u00a0You (the Leadership team) are the hosts of the\u00a0party. \u00a0It’s happening. \u00a0The\u00a0party\u00a0is ON. \u00a0The definition work we are doing now is\u00a0party\u00a0planning. \u00a0You are now putting in the work of choosing a theme and a venue, activities and talking up the\u00a0party\u00a0to your guests (the members).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Soon you’ll create and send invitations, contact vendors etc. \u00a0You’ll make a\u00a0plan\u00a0and execute on it to make the\u00a0party\u00a0a reality. \u00a0For now, as good hosts you will most certainly consult your guests to see what kind of\u00a0party\u00a0they are interested in attending, and do your best to make sure there is food they’d like to eat there, music they’ll enjoy etc so they will stay. \u00a0You will accommodate their wishes as much as possible, within reason. \u00a0You want the guests of the\u00a0party\u00a0to feel welcome, be really excited to come, to have a great time and to bring friends!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Of course, not all the guests will want the same things. \u00a0Some may not be willing to make the drive. \u00a0Others may hate every music choice you offer, or not want to eat anything! \u00a0Appeasing them with small adjustments is great – provided the\u00a0party\u00a0as a whole is still within what you as hosts have to offer. \u00a0You don’t want to spend all your energy on buying every single thing that every single person wants – or on making sure that the pickiest guests get everything they want at your\u00a0party. \u00a0You want to find out what they really want (beyond the details) and find a way to deliver that. \u00a0Many people that appear extremely picky and demanding need to be listened to – more than they actually need what they are asking for.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
However if they truly don’t like the\u00a0party\u00a0you are wanting to host, they may need to stay home. \u00a0This is a tough truth of leadership, and I know it will may raise some difficult conversations since there are strong bonds of friendship within the group. \u00a0Letting go of those who do not want what you are offering is the cost of moving forward. \u00a0 All organizational leaders face it when they lead people. \u00a0Looking at any case study of successful change, it starts with a strong vision and direction from the top, followed by a voluntary exodus of the people who don’t like that direction.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This leaves your energy free to focus on the guests that *do* love the\u00a0party\u00a0you’re throwing, those who share your vision that you DON’T have to work hard to convince, or run your butt off to accommodate. \u00a0Instead they will be the life of the\u00a0party. \u00a0They will thrive and bring more people like them – people that love what you’re hosting. \u00a0Your job as host will be WAY easier, and your costs – emotional and financial – will be much lower. The atmosphere at the\u00a0party\u00a0will be better. \u00a0That\u00a0party\u00a0will be as you envisioned it, because you had the courage to make it that way rather than trying to please everyone. \u00a0And those who leave the\u00a0party\u00a0will be happier for it, because they will go find something that aligns better with them. \u00a0You can still be friends.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Now, before you say ‘But Erica! \u00a0How can you be so tough and heartless? \u00a0We do have to include and listen to everyone!’ \u00a0Include and listen yes. \u00a0Accommodate not necessarily. \u00a0Trying to please guests who actually want to attend a different\u00a0party\u00a0than the one you’re hosting is a recipe for frustration, conflict and moving in circles. \u00a0 Of course, you can also opt not to\u00a0plan\u00a0a\u00a0party\u00a0at all – but just let things happen. \u00a0We could opt not to lead or make a\u00a0plan\u00a0really. \u00a0Then by definition, everyone will be *kind of* happy, but you definitely won’t get the great results that you dreamed of achieving.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
From the enthusiasm and the energy I felt in the room last week, I don’t think we are willing to let that happen. \u00a0I felt a strong level of resolve and commitment from the Leadership team to make concrete forward progress toward that amazing state we can all see in the future. \u00a0Know that your resolve and energy for this\u00a0party\u00a0planning\u00a0and hosting process may need to be replenished. \u00a0It’s important to recharge on inspiration and energy occasionally. \u00a0Support yourselves and each other. \u00a0Change is almost always really tough. \u00a0That actually means you’re doing it right. \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
But here’s what can make it easier: \u00a0as a savvy\u00a0party\u00a0host, you don’t approach\u00a0party\u00a0planning\u00a0with a “my way or the highway” attitude. \u00a0You listen, you discuss and you rally enthusiasm for what you want to do. \u00a0Put another way, you sell. \u00a0Sell the vision. \u00a0Sell the\u00a0party you want to host. \u00a0You light up when you talk about what you want to accomplish, and how great the\u00a0party\u00a0is going to be, and how much you hope they will be there. \u00a0Rather than trying to capture and accommodate everyone’s preferences, you win them over with your individual enthusiasm.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
You can also impress them with how well-unified the hosts’ ideas are. \u00a0All the hosts are describing the same\u00a0party, and painting such a consistent picture of how awesome that\u00a0party\u00a0will be, they realize that even more than what they thought they wanted, they want to be at YOUR\u00a0party. \u00a0Then when they show up, you make them feel so welcome and special that they feel right at home. \u00a0They become so excited about the\u00a0party\u00a0that they forget it’s not theirs! \u00a0That’s when they start helping out, and start inviting friends. \u00a0That’s when the magic really begins to happen. \u00a0That’s great leadership.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So that future state you want to get to? Let’s say that is a party. You are the host of the party. That point when guests are so excited about the party that they forget it’s not theirs – that’s when the magic really begins to happen. That’s great leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,214],"tags":[122,114,215,209,216,217,218,219,220,221,222,223,130],"class_list":["post-1206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-continuous-improvementworkplace-culture","category-leadership","tag-collaboration","tag-culture","tag-hosting-a-party","tag-leadership","tag-non-profit-leadership","tag-organizational-change","tag-organizational-leadership","tag-party-planning","tag-rallying-others","tag-selling-a-vision","tag-transition","tag-vision","tag-volunteering"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onwardbusinessmechanics.com\/staging\/4922\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onwardbusinessmechanics.com\/staging\/4922\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onwardbusinessmechanics.com\/staging\/4922\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onwardbusinessmechanics.com\/staging\/4922\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onwardbusinessmechanics.com\/staging\/4922\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onwardbusinessmechanics.com\/staging\/4922\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1206\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onwardbusinessmechanics.com\/staging\/4922\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onwardbusinessmechanics.com\/staging\/4922\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onwardbusinessmechanics.com\/staging\/4922\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}