How to get Decisionmakers to Buy in to Your Biggest Vision

You're listening to the Nonprofit Power Podcast. In today's episode, we share how to get decision-makers to buy in to your biggest vision. So stay tuned. If you want to have real and powerful influence over the money and policy decisions that impact your organization and the people you serve, then you're in the right place. I'm Kath Patrick, and I've helped dozens of progressive nonprofit leaders take their organizations to new and higher levels of impact and success by building powerful influence with the decision makers that matter. It is possible to get a critical mass of the money and policy decision makers in your world to be as invested in your success as you are, to have them seeking you out as an equal partner, and to have them bringing opportunities and resources to you. This podcast will help you do just that. Welcome to the Nonprofit Power Podcast. Hey there, folks. Welcome to the Nonprofit Power Podcast. I'm your host, Kath Patrick. I'm so glad you're here because if you were drawn to this episode's title, you already have a big vision that you wanna make happen. And I want you to take that big, amazing vision and bring it into being. And to be able to bring along the influential and powerful decision-makers who can help you make it happen. Even the most amazing visionaries, don't bring their vision into reality in the world without involving other people. And for those of us in the nonprofit universe, for the most part, some of the people that we absolutely need to have bought into our vision are those decision-makers that are investors, that can bring resources, influence, reach, and the ability to help make things happen. We gotta have them on board. Unfortunately, as you probably have already experienced, having an amazing vision does not at all automatically translate to having those decision-makers jump on board, be enthusiastic in helping to bring that about and make it happen with you as a partner. That's what we want. But getting that is often a struggle, quite honestly. Today I wanna break down what's in the way that causes it to be a struggle sometimes, and what we can do to clear that out of the way and get on the path to getting the decision makers whose help we need fully on board with the vision and diving in with both hands. First of all, I wanna be clear. This is probably obvious, but I think it bears saying out loud. Not every decision-maker is gonna be your biggest champion for stuff like this. When we're looking to get decision-makers on board and really helping us bring a vision into reality, we're talking about decision-makers who are already aligned in some way. They may be aligned with the work that you do, with the people you serve. But they also might be aligned in the sense that they really care about the problem that you solve. They see that it is a big problem. They feel that it is important and urgent to solve. They may or may not yet know that your great vision is gonna be the very best solution and the absolute answer to their prayers about how they get the thing that they want, which is that problem resolved. It's not gonna be those decision-makers who profoundly disagree with who you help or what you do or the problem that you solve. If they have major issues with that, then they're not your target for this. We're talking about how we get folks who are aligned in some way to be leaping on board with this big vision of yours and helping bring it into reality. So that's your first screen, is are they aligned in some way? And then it's worth taking a look at the vision itself for a minute. Because there are ingredients to a compelling vision. And we wanna make sure that your vision checks all the boxes so that it is inherently compelling. This is a short list, and chances are very good that your vision checks all these boxes. But it's important to do a quick analysis and make sure that it does. Because if it doesn't, you're gonna have a much harder time getting decision-makers to jump on board and be really excited about it. First of all, it has to be bold. It has to be big. People don't get excited and compelled by small ball. They just don't. They may be mildly interested, but what really gets people excited is the possibility of doing something great, something that matters, something transformational. So it needs to be big and bold. It needs to tackle a significant problem. And it needs to lead to a significant transformation that's not happening some other way right now. And it has to be different than what everybody else is already talking about. It's not big and bold if everybody is going, "Well, yeah, we know that. Yeah, yeah. Right. Yeah, that, that would be great. No. When you're talking compelling vision, you're talking something that is transformational. It's big, it's bold, it really is gonna make a huge difference when the thing happens. If it's all those things, first of all, the chances are very good that that is a vision that is compelling you, that you feel called to make this vision happen. If it doesn't, then it's not really much of a vision. If it's not compelling for you, it's not gonna be compelling for anyone else. So check all that first. And then we can start talking about, all right, how do we share that amazing vision, that compelling vision with others so that they feel compelled by it too. Here's where I'm gonna talk about what not to do. Because this is a set of issues that I see unfold all the time with nonprofit leaders who have a massive compelling vision. And they're great at speaking in compelling ways with passion and depth and inspiration as they talk to friends and family and colleagues and anybody else who's already 100% aligned on the idea. But then there's these decision makers. And they're aligned in some way, but they're not your ride or die. They're folks who are gonna need to be brought along. When we're faced with what I'll call an enthusiasm gap, that we're feeling way more compelled than they currently are. And they are a decision-maker who has control over money or policy or some set of decisions that are going to affect the degree to which our vision can become reality. We take this amazing, bold, huge, transformational vision and we start editing it down and make it smaller to make it a little more palatable. What happens is, first of all, we start worrying. We start worrying about whether they're gonna buy this. They might think it's too ambitious, too crazy, too unrealistic. And besides, who am I to say that I have the answer to some big, important problem that others have struggled to solve and come up short? I'm not a big enough name, a big enough expert. I don't have the fancy credentials to be putting myself out there as this visionary leader. Besides, they'll never agree to that. It's too much. And, you know, really with everything going on, now's not the time to be swinging for the fences. We, we should aim for something more realistic. All those stories that keep us playing small, staying in the safe and familiar, those are the things that will come and bite us And the first thing to know is that all of that is BS. All of that is your subconscious trying to keep you safe. It all sounds very rational. It sounds like very reasonable arguments to make with oneself about why we shouldn't go so big, so bold. We shouldn't push so hard. We shouldn't reach so high. That's just the subconscious trying to keep you safe, 'cause all that transformational stuff is big and changey, and and it's very scary for the subconscious. So it will attempt to sabotage you. It'll tell you all those stories And If we believe them, if we buy into that, into those lies of the mind, how on earth are we going to inspire a decision-maker to get on board with our amazing big vision? We're not. So when we find those stories cropping up, we have to stop listening. We have to tell the subconscious to take a backseat on that. Because the only way we get anybody, decision makers in particular, to go all in on our big vision is if we can communicate that big vision with the same passion that we feel for it internally. Other things that will sabotage that and I've seen this happen too. You know, you've got this amazing vision And then you turn it into a slide deck. And it sucks all the power, all the brilliance, all the visionary magnetism right out of your vision. And now it's just another presentation with a bunch of fricking slides, and you deliver it in that nice professional presentation voice. And you get a big yawn and a snore at the end because what's compelling about that? There's nothing compelling there. When you're talking about a big, bold vision, by definition, it is not about business as usual. So our voice can't sound like business as usual. Our voice has to sound like, "This is a big freaking deal. This would be transformational. This has the power to do amazing things." If they can't hear that in our voice, then what they're gonna hear is it's business as usual. And if it's business as usual, well, that ain't a vision. There's nothing visionary about business as usual. So this is about our energy, about our voice, about our communication vehicles. I rarely make absolutist statements, but I think I'm willing to make an absolutist statement that PowerPoint slides have no place in communicating a vision. The only possible exception to that would be if you are an amazing artist and you can create images that represent the transformation, then maybe. Because what effectively you're going to be doing when you communicate your vision is you're going to be painting the picture of the depth of the problem, why it matters so much. The transformation that your vision will cause to happen and what things look like when that transformation has happened. If you can do that in pictures, then maybe slides would work. But no written words on those slides. Because the minute there's written words on the slides, you are communicating, whether you mean to or not, that this is business as usual. And that's not visionary. You are telling the story. You're telling the story of the problem as it is, the depth of its impact on all the different levels, on the individuals experiencing that problem, on the cost of the problem, on the ripple effects of the problem. We talk about this all the time on the podcast, about all the ways you capture that problem in story. And then you talk about the extraordinary transformation that your vision seeks to bring about. That it doesn't just patch up a hole here and there or make things a little better. It's transformational. And you describe the transformation. And then you describe what life looks like on the other side of that. You paint the picture of what it looks like for the people who had the problem, for the costs that were being incurred that are no longer being incurred, those resources can now be devoted to something far more exciting and ambitious. All of it, you bring it all together. It's a vivid painting that you're creating with words. And that is best done with just you and your voice, and some great imagery, and some great storytelling. You can reinforce the imagery with actual pictures if you want. The biggest thing, is to let your passion come through about this vision. Because it's that emotional power that will create connection with the decision-maker's subconscious and their imagination. And will engage their emotions and get them excited about the prospect of this amazing transformation that you're talking about making happen in the world, and that they could be part of that. They could help make that transformation happen. That's a big deal. That can be incredibly compelling. But they will not feel any of that if they don't first hear that in your voice. And they can't hear it in your voice if you're letting those stories run about who am I, or this is too much, this is too ambitious. None of that. Instead, go the other direction. Be too much, be extra. Be all the things you're worried about being. Because I promise you, there's almost no chance that you're gonna be too much. You'll feel like you're being too much because you're so used to reining it in when you're talking to decision-makers. So what feels like you're being insanely dramatic is actually probably just about the right amount of animation in your voice. Be all the things that you're worried about being. Because when we dial it back to not be too much, to try to make them happy, to try to be who we think they want us to be or behave the way we think they want us to behave in order for them to take us seriously or whatever it is. Whenever we do any of that we virtually always get that massively, totally wrong. Because they're not listening for whether you're being what they want you to be. They're listening to find out who the hell you are. Do you actually believe as deeply and passionately in this compelling vision as you say you do? Your voice will tell their subconscious the answer to that question. And if their subconscious hears complete alignment in your voice and the power of the vision, then that opens the door for them to let their emotions be involved too. But if there's not alignment, then their subconscious says, "Uh, no, that person doesn't really believe that. So it really comes down to two main things, maybe three, to getting decision makers on board with your big and bold vision. You have to paint the vivid picture that lets them see as clearly as you do why this vision is so compelling, why the transformation will be so impactful, and how profound a difference it will make on so many levels. If they can see that as clearly and vividly in their mind's eye as you can, then you are more than halfway there. But to get them there, they've got to hear in your voice the power, the excitement of that possibility, of that potential transformation that's so close. That if we can make it happen, it will be so incredible. Because their emotions have to come along for the ride on this. And if at any point they detect even a whiff of business as usual, they're out. They may not be completely out. They may not say, "Oh, that's a stupid idea," and walk away. But they are no longer listening to this as if this is transformative. Now, this is yet another proposal from yet another nonprofit who wants something. It's a proposal. That gets heard really, really differently, and with a whole lot less enthusiasm and excitement. When we're engaging people around a vision, we're a little bit weavers of magic in this. We are creating an imaginary world in which this powerful transformation is not only possible, but it has come to pass, and they can see all of it. They can see that amazing future when the vision becomes reality, and the extraordinary power of the transformations that occur in that process. They can see it, they can feel it, they can stand in it and experience. For us to be able to do that with our words, with our voice, requires us to create a world in their mind and hold them there so that they are standing in the middle of that 3D painting, that hologram of this transformed reality. And they're looking around in amazement at all of the transformation. When we're able to do that and bring them in with us so we're standing there together looking around at all of the extraordinary transformation, that's when they buy into the visionary piece of this. And let go of any notion that this is any way business as usual. Oh, no, this is so much more. But we can only do that if we allow ourselves to be in our full true voice. And we let go of and banish all of those stories that our subconscious is trying to push at us that says, "Nope, dial it back. That's too much. That's too extra. That's too ambitious. That's unrealistic. They're not gonna like that. They're gonna think we're crazy. They're gonna be mad because we're so pushy." All that, nah, no. We can't let any of that interfere. There's plenty of techniques to learn about how to be really skilled at this. But the underlying thing is as simple as I've just laid out. That's the essential message I want you to take away from this conversation today. Is that we have to operate in a way that matches just how big and bold and transformative our vision is. And if we mirror that at every step of the way. If our voice, our emotions, our passion, if it all comes through and it is immediately perceptible, experienceable, if that's a word, by the listener. Then you've got everything you need. You can always go into factual mode if they have technical questions later. No problem. You can do that all day long But if you want them bought in on the vision, that's an emotional journey. And that's the thing I want you to understand most, is that it's not a presentation, it is an emotional journey that you are gonna take them on. And you are gonna hold them in this imaginary future in which the vision has come to pass, and they've been part of it, and they look around and they see the transformation. That's where you wanna take them. That's the journey we have to take them on to get them as excited about that vision, and as invested in it, and as willing to invest in it as we are. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you in the next episode right here on the Nonprofit Power Podcast.