July 6, 2025
The Fastest Way to Get Decisionmakers to Value, Respect, and Rely on Your Expertise
One of the biggest frustrations that I hear from Nonprofit leaders is that much too often for comfort, decisionmakers fail to recognize or value our expertise. And when that happens, they're not listening to us in the same way. They're less inclined to take our advice and to give real weight to our assessment of what needs to be done differently. And all of that makes our advocacy work so much harder.
One of the questions I get most often is, what can I do to get decisionmakers to regard me as the expert that I know I am? How do I get them to see me as a highly expert resource that they should be relying on?
The good news is there is a way to do this and it doesn't have to take forever.
In this episode, we share:
- The likely reasons decisionmakers aren’t realizing the value of your expertise
- One thing you must do if you want decisionmakers to take notice of your expertise
- Three common mistakes that will cause decisionmakers to overlook your expertise
- The next-level expertise most valued by decisionmakers
- How to demonstrate your expertise in a way that will grab decisionmakers’ attention
- What makes you an essential person to have in the room, from the decisionmaker’s perspective
Help spread the word! If you found value in this episode, I’d be grateful if you would leave a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Your reviews help other nonprofit leaders find the podcast. Thanks!!
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You're listening to the Nonprofit Power Podcast.
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In today's episode, we share the fastest way to get decision makers to value, respect, and rely on your expertise.
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So stay tuned.
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If you wanna 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.
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I.
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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.
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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.
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Bringing opportunities and resources to you.
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This podcast will help you do just that.
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Welcome to the Nonprofit Power Podcast.
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Hey there folks.
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Welcome to another episode of the Nonprofit Power Podcast.
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I'm so glad you're here for today's episode because I wanna tackle one of the biggest frustrations that I hear from Nonprofit leaders.
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Much too often for comfort, decision makers fail to recognize or value our expertise.
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And when that happens, they're not listening to us in the same way.
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They're less inclined to take our advice and to give real weight to our assessment of what needs to be done differently.
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And all of that makes our advocacy work so much harder.
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One of the questions I get most often from Nonprofit leaders is, what can I do to get them to regard me as the expert that I know I am?
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How do I get them to see me as a highly expert resource that they should be relying on?
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The good news is there is a way to do this and it doesn't have to take forever.
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One of the most common mistakes I see Nonprofit leaders making is thinking that it's gonna take years of patient showing up to develop that kind of reputation.
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Where decision makers look to you as the expert and say, well, we wanna know what that person thinks because they're the expert.
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They know this stuff.
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We would be silly not to find out their take on this because they're gonna be really helpful to us.
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Chances are you experience that in at least one arena already.
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And the challenge is how do you get to a place where all the different sets of decision makers that you have to deal with, whether it's elected officials or government agency people, prospective contracting partners, whoever else, whatever decision makers are in your world.
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Before you can make an impact with them you gotta have their respect, right?
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They've gotta believe that you not only know what you're talking about, which is honestly a pretty low bar.
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It's important, but it's the lowest bar.
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What you really need is for them to view you as such a valued expert that they believe that if they're not hearing from you, they're missing out on something important.
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And they know that consulting with you is going to be a good idea and it's gonna help them in the long run.
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It's gonna help them with whatever they're doing.
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So we wanna get you to that as fast as possible.
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And we don't want it to take years.
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You don't have years.
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In most of the settings you're in, you simply don't have the luxury of that much time.
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So what I wanna share with you today is a way to accelerate this process with one key ingredient.
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Because there is a way to get this done a lot faster.
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And let's be honest.
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Wouldn't that be better?
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A couple of caveats to this right out of the gate.
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You can't be shy.
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Don't wait around hoping that if you sit in enough rooms, enough times, people will start to see you as an expert.
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Eventually, your brilliance will shine through and they'll realize that you know more than anybody in the room about X, Y, Z.
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Showing up and talking is not enough.
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Having a command of the issues and the facts is not enough.
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It's very important.
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You absolutely have to have that.
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But that again, that's a low bar.
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It's kind of the lowest common denominator of expertise.
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The next level expertise that's truly valued by decision makers is insight and perspective and the ability to share thoughtful analysis.
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One of the most valuable things you can do for them is to see around the corners that they can't see around, because they don't have the perspective and insights that you have.
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But here's the problem.
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All of us humans, unless we're unusually aware, we have a lot of blind spots.
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And one of our biggest blind spots is not realizing that we are missing a perspective, that we're missing a piece of valuable information that would change how we approach the problem.
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If only we knew that thing.
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But if we're unaware that we don't know the thing, then we go cruising along thinking that we have what we need to make good decisions.
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And it happens to everybody.
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I'm not flagging decision makers as somehow uniquely problematic in that respect.
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They're just being human.
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The difference is that because they're in a powerful decision making role, when they do that, it has outsized consequences.
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When they make decisions, when they don't have all the perspective that would help them make the best decision, they're setting themselves up for a world of problems.
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And unfortunately, they're also setting up the people you serve and/or your organization for a world of problems.
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And actually, truthfully, nobody involved wants that.
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The decision makers don't want that.
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They just don't know that that's what they're about to do.
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So one of the most valuable and powerful things you can ever do for a decision maker is to save them from themselves, to save them from making a mistake.
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When you can do that.
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When you can, number one, save them from making a mistake that's going to be costly in one way or another.
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And on the flip side, when you can help them get to an outcome that they're trying to get to, in the most efficient, least costly way.
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That's when you start adding real value to their world.
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Now you've got all this insight and perspective that's super valuable to them, but they don't know that yet.
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So here's the hitch.
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You gotta tell'em.
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They're not gonna figure it out on their own, and you can't wait to be asked.
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Because again, they don't know.
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They're not aware of what they don't know.
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They're not aware that they're missing a critical perspective.
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T he simplest, easiest, fastest way for you to establish yourself in their eyes as an incredibly valuable expert is to speak up about that.
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Which means probably, you're gonna have to step a little bit outside your comfort zone.
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You have to be willing to speak up when you hear a decision maker or a group of decision makers talking about your issue in a way that shows that they're missing something or that they're failing to anticipate likely consequences.
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Speak up in that moment.
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Don't wait.
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Please never do this.
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I see this happen all the time.
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Folks will sit in a room, listen to decision makers say stuff that they know is a setup for problems, and they'll look wisely at one another across the room and in their minds they're going, oh my goodness.
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I can't believe they just said that.
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They have no clue.
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This is crazy.
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Maybe they're texting back and forth to each other about this.
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But they don't say anything in the meeting.
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And then they go back to their desk and they send an email.
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Dear decision maker, thanks so much for including us in the meeting.
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I wanted to raise a concern about something that was said in the meeting, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
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Their attention is no longer on the thing.
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The most effective way to get their attention and get them to actually pay attention to you is to flag it in the moment.
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And I know that's kind of scary until you get used to doing it.
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Until you do it a few times and realize that bad things are not gonna happen.
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Or the worst that's gonna happen is somebody's gonna be annoyed with you for a minute, which is not fatal.
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The safe thing, the comfortable thing is to send the email after the meeting.
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But the effective thing is to speak up in that moment.
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Literally raise your hand if you have to and say, I wanna flag something that was just said that I think it's very important to call out an additional piece of information that I think will be very important for your conversation.
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And then you say whatever you have to say.
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What you have to say is going to be about the piece of missing information or the piece of missing perspective.
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The thing they're not seeing or understanding that is setting them up to have not the results they want.
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But you've gotta say it in the moment when it's happening.
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If you want them to pay attention to you and to remember you.
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Because remember, part of what you're doing here is you wanna establish yourself.
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You want them to see you as the expert.
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As the one to call.
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As the person where, if we're gonna have this conversation, if we don't have that person in the room, we'll be missing something important.
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We better get them in here.
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You want them thinking about you that way.
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What are the chances of them thinking about you that way, if when you have the chance to raise an issue in the moment when it's the most relevant, you remain silent.
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You don't intervene.
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You let them carry on as if they're totally on the right track.
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in the moment while it's fresh in their mind and their train of thought is clear, they remember what they just said, hopefully.
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They're in the middle of it.
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That's the time to say, Hey, hold up a second.
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I want to raise something that's very important that's missing from this conversation, and then if we don't deal with it, it's going to have X, Y, z consequences.
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And then you say your piece.
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Now, one of the things that's really important in this to be effective at that is to understand that virtually all decision makers, whatever their role is.
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Virtually all of them, their thinking is operating at a systems level.
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They're thinking about how entire systems are designed to function.
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And if we're talking to policy makers, they're thinking about what policy is designed to do, either create a system or make a change in a system, but they're thinking at that level.
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That's their job.
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So you have to be able to speak the language of systems.
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You have to demonstrate that you understand the system design, that you understand the core components of what it's supposed to do, and the results it's supposed to achieve.
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And you have to be fluent in that.
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Being able to speak systems language or policy language tells them that you get them, that you get where their heads are, what they're trying to accomplish, what their focus is.
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And you understand their challenges.
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And when they feel that from you, that's what lowers their barriers to listening to you.
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Because otherwise, here's the risk that is always present.
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You're there because you wanna influence some decision making about whatever it is that's at hand.
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So you are there in the role of an advocate and you undeniably have a vested interest.
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Part of that vested interest is on behalf of your clients, of the people you serve, and part of that vested interest is on behalf of your organization.
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That's inescapable.
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So don't shy away from that.
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But they need to see you as more than that.
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They need to see you as a trusted, valued, problem solving partner.
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And if you can't speak their language, if you only speak the language of direct service.
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And you can't speak systems and policy.
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Then what they hear and what they see is someone who's there to advocate for their own interests and not to help the decision makers make better decisions.
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This is a key device for breaking down that barrier and having them let down their guard and saying, oh, okay, yeah, they're here to advocate, but they're more than that.
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They're not just here in their own interest.
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They're here because they get the policy problem, they get the systems problem.
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And they seem to have a pretty good handle on it.
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Huh.
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All right.
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Good.
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Maybe they have something to share.
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That's the power of speaking their language and the reason for doing it.
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Now, if that sounds like a lot, it probably is not as heavy a lift as you think it might be.
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You've done the hard part.
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You know the extreme detail of how those systems and policies function on the ground.
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And that's the piece they're missing.
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If we're talking policy, you do absolutely have to have a working knowledge of the existing policy or the proposed policy.
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The best way I can suggest doing this if you're not accustomed to doing it, is you read the policy and make notes to yourself about what that would look like when implemented.
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As soon as you start to do that, you start to spot the holes.
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And there are always, always holes in policy.
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Because the people who are drafting it don't have your perspective.
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And if that perspective isn't included in the drafting, then by definition that's a hole.
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The how it's actually gonna work on the ground is always different than what the designers imagine.
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Because they don't know how it actually works in real life.
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They may have talked to a lot of people and studied the subject, but until you've actually done the work on the ground, there's gonna be stuff you miss.
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So if you're smart, what you do is you recruit somebody who speaks both languages.
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You recruit somebody who's fluent in policy and systems language, and who's fluent and knowledgeable in the actual impact on the ground.
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That's the person you want in the room with you.
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And your job is to demonstrate that you are that person.
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Back to the exercise of going through policy, or looking at a system as it's currently designed.
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If you're dealing with an existing system, you already know where the problems are.
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You've bumped into them already.
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And they're probably driving you crazy.
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The next step with that is simply thinking about, okay, well how would the system need to function differently?
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What would need to be changed in the system design for this to work better for everyone involved?
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It needs to not just work better for the end user, the client, it needs to work better for you.
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It needs to work better for the agency in charge of it.
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It needs to work better for all the players.
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So one of the ways you build that reputation as being the expert with the extra perspective, is that you hold the ability to consider all perspectives.
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And that you're not the advocate who comes in and says, well, you need to change this so that it'll work better for my clients.
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And they respond by saying, well, that's all nice and dandy, but if we do that, then it's gonna totally screw up this other thing in this other place.
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So you have to be able to see all of it and bring in your piece that they don't have.
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90% of this is knowledge you already have.
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Especially when we're talking about systems design.
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Because you're interacting with those systems every day.
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If it's existing policy, you're interacting with it every day.
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but you may not have read the authorizing legislation and studied that and any of the regulations that may go with it.
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If you haven't looked through those, that's important.
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When you're dealing with policy, you have to have working knowledge of the policy itself.
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And how the language is structured and where the holes are.
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And ideally, you're able to reference section numbers.
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Now, when you first start doing this, if you're not super familiar with the authorizing legislation.
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When you first start doing it, you'll have a lot of notes and a bunch of highlighter and stuff that says, okay, so here in section 117 sub C, sub one, sub small letter A, blah, blah, blah.
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That's where there's a hole.
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There's a problem there because when you translate that into actual what happens in the real world, here's what's going to happen if it's proposed policy, or here's what's already happening because this is designed wrong.
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And we all know that none of us intended that result.
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The other thing with systems and policy thinking is that in addition to focusing on making it work as well as possible for everyone involved, you're also always focused on the end result.
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And what will become your superpower is your ability to connect the holes that you identify, the problems in the policy or the system that need to be shifted to be fixed in some way.
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To be able to connect that to how it will make the results better at the end.
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Cause if it's just tweaking the system to make it better, that feels abstract.
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If you're able to say to them, you know what?
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Look, here's what your current results are, and they could be X times better if only we fixed this problem.
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There is a huge problem in the middle of this system that I think a lot of folks aren't aware of, but we see it every day in our work, and here's how it manifests.
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Here's what's actually happening on the ground.
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And I know that was no one's intent, but that's what's happening because the policy or the system isn't designed to address that.
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So we need to fix it so that not only is it easier for everyone to do their job in this and to receive the services, but also so that we can get those high level outcomes that everybody wants.
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Your ability to tie that all together is again, what makes you an essential person to have in that room, because no one else in that room has your perspective.
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No one else can, at the level of knowledge that you have, no one else can explain the connection between the system design or the policy design and the end result that is actually occurring.
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And to be able to identify the specific spots within the system or the policy where that problem got created.
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When you can do that, you're golden.
00:19:35.811 --> 00:19:41.301
That's when they start coming to look for you and saying, Hey, what else did we miss?
00:19:41.422 --> 00:19:42.442
What else you got?
00:19:43.335 --> 00:19:44.805
So it's a simple recipe.
00:19:45.305 --> 00:19:55.085
You can go from a person whose name they don't know, to a person they are seeking out in a very short period of time.
00:19:55.085 --> 00:20:00.625
If you train yourself to think in systems and to think in policy and to speak that language.
00:20:01.125 --> 00:20:08.345
And you come prepared to be able to point out where the holes in their systems and policies are, and the consequences that's having.
00:20:08.845 --> 00:20:12.115
And to explain exactly how that's playing out on the ground.
00:20:12.894 --> 00:20:15.894
'Cause it will, I promise you, it will always be a surprise.
00:20:16.394 --> 00:20:23.424
I always have to chuckle when I'm doing this because I'm walking somebody through, and it's like, I know this wasn't the intent.
00:20:23.724 --> 00:20:24.565
I hear you.
00:20:24.625 --> 00:20:25.765
I know what you wanted.
00:20:26.065 --> 00:20:26.634
I agree.
00:20:26.634 --> 00:20:27.625
I want that too.
00:20:27.775 --> 00:20:29.575
But here's what's actually happening.
00:20:30.085 --> 00:20:33.384
What's actually happening is this weird thing is going on over here.
00:20:33.664 --> 00:20:37.625
You might even be nice and say, I understand you couldn't have predicted that.
00:20:37.865 --> 00:20:39.785
It's like, well, actually, you could have, if you'd asked me.
00:20:39.845 --> 00:20:40.744
I could have told you.
00:20:41.494 --> 00:20:42.664
But that's not necessary.
00:20:43.115 --> 00:20:44.184
No, I told you so's.
00:20:44.684 --> 00:20:46.214
You're implying it.
00:20:46.275 --> 00:20:49.934
You're implying that you had this knowledge all along and now you're gonna help'em.
00:20:50.384 --> 00:20:52.515
You're gonna help'em fix the problem they didn't even know they had.
00:20:53.015 --> 00:20:56.134
Or they might know they have a problem with their results, but they don't know why.
00:20:56.134 --> 00:20:57.305
They don't know what's causing it.
00:20:58.099 --> 00:21:06.880
And one of the most powerful things you can do in any setting is to effectively diagnose and treat a problem.
00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:09.900
It's an incredibly valuable contribution.
00:21:10.644 --> 00:21:13.878
So your ability to do that is critical.
00:21:14.378 --> 00:21:18.232
But here's the other piece that I'm just gonna circle back on one more time.
00:21:18.732 --> 00:21:23.835
You could be the best in the world at all that analysis and all that knowledge.
00:21:24.335 --> 00:21:34.785
But if you don't speak up in the moment, if you don't step up when you hear something being misunderstood or you hear that there's a hole in the understanding.
00:21:34.994 --> 00:21:39.964
If you don't raise your hand immediately and say, excuse me, I wanna point something out here.
00:21:40.464 --> 00:21:51.170
Then it will be a much, much longer and questionable path to them seeing you as that expert and that valued, trusted problem solving partner.
00:21:51.670 --> 00:21:55.539
You have to have just the willingness and the courage to stand up and say, Hey, whoop.
00:21:55.690 --> 00:21:56.500
Hold on a second.
00:21:57.396 --> 00:22:02.050
And you don't have to wait for them to say something that's off.
00:22:02.550 --> 00:22:07.080
If you see that something is off, which you do every day, I know you do.
00:22:07.111 --> 00:22:08.371
I know you are frustrated.
00:22:08.580 --> 00:22:25.701
I shouldn't overgeneralize, but I have yet to meet a Nonprofit leader who is not frustrated by at least one piece of policy or systems design that is not done in optimal fashion, that is causing problems for the Nonprofit itself and for the people they serve.
00:22:26.621 --> 00:22:27.760
So you don't have to wait.
00:22:27.760 --> 00:22:36.519
If you're experiencing a frustration with a policy or a system that isn't working as well as it could be, then that's something you can raise on your own.
00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:40.419
You don't have to wait for it to be under discussion in a meeting of decision makers.
00:22:40.419 --> 00:22:46.558
You can say, Hey, I've flagged something that is causing reduced results.
00:22:46.729 --> 00:22:52.747
There is a systems issue or a policy issue that is resulting in diminished outcomes.
00:22:52.836 --> 00:22:57.156
And I'd like to talk to you about that'cause I have some thoughts about how we could improve that.
00:22:57.156 --> 00:23:01.656
How we can make sure that the results are better and that the system works better for everybody.
00:23:02.086 --> 00:23:03.737
That's your opening pitch.
00:23:04.242 --> 00:23:07.161
And you can ask for a meeting based on that.
00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:16.265
If you wanna get a little more bold, you can say, particularly if it's something that's being proposed or is just beginning implementation, it's not rolled out yet.
00:23:16.724 --> 00:23:26.817
You can say, I've spotted a problem, that if it isn't corrected is going to cause a dramatic reduction in possible results.
00:23:27.117 --> 00:23:29.157
And I don't wanna see you make that mistake.
00:23:29.698 --> 00:23:35.123
I think we can fix it before this rolls out or before the policy's finalized or wherever you are in the process.
00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:38.009
if you can flag stuff ahead of time, that's huge.
00:23:38.869 --> 00:23:41.939
Here's the thing not to do when you do that.
00:23:42.628 --> 00:23:46.278
If you're sending an email, probably that's what you're doing to request a meeting.
00:23:46.878 --> 00:23:51.249
However you're communicating that request, raise the fact that you've spotted a problem.
00:23:51.502 --> 00:23:54.712
Raise the impact that problem's going to have if it's unresolved.
00:23:54.923 --> 00:23:56.573
It's going to diminish the results.
00:23:56.692 --> 00:23:58.073
You can even say in what way.
00:23:58.673 --> 00:24:00.262
These outcomes will be compromised.
00:24:00.383 --> 00:24:03.161
They will be substantially less than they could be otherwise.
00:24:03.661 --> 00:24:05.211
Stop there.
00:24:05.902 --> 00:24:14.032
I would like to discuss this with you because I have considerable experience solving exactly this kind of problem, and I think I can help you.
00:24:14.868 --> 00:24:17.179
So first of all, own your greatness on this.
00:24:17.269 --> 00:24:18.999
Be ready to own your expertise.
00:24:19.823 --> 00:24:27.672
If you are downplaying your expertise, how can you expect someone else to value you higher than you value yourself?
00:24:28.259 --> 00:24:30.690
Never downplay your knowledge and expertise.
00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:32.759
If you are an expert, you may say so.
00:24:33.309 --> 00:24:35.740
And that's not bragging, that's simply stating fact.
00:24:35.890 --> 00:24:38.859
And you can say it in a way that doesn't sound like you're being a jerk.
00:24:39.099 --> 00:24:45.415
Just to say, I have a lot of experience with this and I may have a solution that will help everybody involved.
00:24:45.746 --> 00:24:47.125
I'd like to talk with you about it.
00:24:48.086 --> 00:24:54.008
What you don't do is then explain your solution in the email.
00:24:54.508 --> 00:24:57.748
Because what they will do with that is they will say, oh great, thanks for sharing.
00:24:57.958 --> 00:24:58.768
Now I know.
00:24:59.268 --> 00:25:00.798
And then they'll promptly forget.
00:25:01.349 --> 00:25:04.319
They'll file that away somewhere and that'll be the end of it.
00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:07.506
So you don't give them the information that they need.
00:25:07.935 --> 00:25:09.105
You withhold that.
00:25:09.135 --> 00:25:12.316
You only give them that when you are engaging with them face to face.
00:25:13.111 --> 00:25:14.611
Either on a Zoom or in person.
00:25:14.891 --> 00:25:17.111
But you don't give that away in writing.
00:25:17.681 --> 00:25:18.701
Absolutely not.
00:25:19.201 --> 00:25:21.770
Because they stop paying attention.
00:25:22.280 --> 00:25:24.171
You're like, Hey, I found a problem.
00:25:24.171 --> 00:25:25.124
Here's the answer.
00:25:25.124 --> 00:25:26.069
Oh, good.
00:25:26.069 --> 00:25:26.542
Thanks.
00:25:27.016 --> 00:25:28.103
B ut not really.
00:25:28.103 --> 00:25:29.816
They haven't really changed anything.
00:25:29.816 --> 00:25:31.016
They haven't changed their thinking.
00:25:31.165 --> 00:25:32.875
They've already forgotten there was a problem.
00:25:32.875 --> 00:25:34.076
They've already forgotten it all.
00:25:34.076 --> 00:25:34.675
It's gone.
00:25:35.665 --> 00:25:46.726
The only way it's gonna stick is when you walk them through how that problem is either currently manifesting self or is about to, if it's something that hasn't happened yet and you can see it coming.
00:25:46.905 --> 00:25:50.296
That's the seeing around those corners that you can do that they can't.
00:25:50.536 --> 00:25:52.395
'Cause you have perspective that they don't.
00:25:52.455 --> 00:25:56.915
So you look around that corner for them and you see the oncoming train and you go, Hey, you know what?
00:25:56.976 --> 00:25:59.286
There's a train about to knock you flat.
00:25:59.786 --> 00:26:01.885
But you don't have to be hit by the train.
00:26:01.885 --> 00:26:03.115
Let me tell you how to avoid it.
00:26:04.076 --> 00:26:08.125
And then you tell'em what the train is and how to put it on a different track.
00:26:08.625 --> 00:26:14.234
But you do that in the room with them so that they are having to engage and ask you questions.
00:26:14.775 --> 00:26:16.815
You don't go in there and give them a PowerPoint.
00:26:16.815 --> 00:26:20.571
You don't go in there and give them a 10 minute you talking the whole time.
00:26:21.442 --> 00:26:26.182
You pose questions, you pull them through the analysis of the problem.
00:26:26.182 --> 00:26:28.041
You pull them through the awareness.
00:26:28.162 --> 00:26:31.731
You do it piece by piece so that they have to engage.
00:26:32.061 --> 00:26:38.830
Once they do that, it will stick in their brain in a way that it will never do if you just give them the information and leave.
00:26:39.330 --> 00:26:44.570
And I know each escalating level of this is more challenge to the comfort zone.
00:26:44.941 --> 00:26:47.250
It feels much safer to just say your piece and run away.
00:26:47.941 --> 00:26:49.471
But that's not what we're doing here.
00:26:49.681 --> 00:26:56.181
What we're doing here is engaging them and teaching them to respect and value your expertise.
00:26:56.780 --> 00:27:01.580
They have to be taught, but it's a quick learning experience when you save their bacon.
00:27:02.373 --> 00:27:07.532
That is the quickest way, and honestly the easiest way, even if it's not easy.
00:27:07.982 --> 00:27:19.278
But it is definitely the fastest way to turn a decision maker who maybe doesn't even know your name into a decision maker who says, Hey, we need to call so and so.
00:27:19.459 --> 00:27:20.683
They can help us with this.
00:27:22.446 --> 00:27:22.821
That's how you get it done.
00:27:23.755 --> 00:27:28.704
Thanks for listening, and I'll see you in the next episode right here on the Nonprofit Power Podcast.
00:00:00.050 --> 00:00:02.600
You're listening to the Nonprofit Power Podcast.
00:00:02.870 --> 00:00:11.449
In today's episode, we share the fastest way to get decision makers to value, respect, and rely on your expertise.
00:00:11.660 --> 00:00:12.980
So stay tuned.
00:00:19.410 --> 00:00:28.530
If you wanna 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.
00:00:28.530 --> 00:00:28.559
I.
00:00:28.949 --> 00:00:41.939
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.
00:00:42.570 --> 00:00:55.109
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.
00:00:55.170 --> 00:00:57.960
Bringing opportunities and resources to you.
00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:00.659
This podcast will help you do just that.
00:01:01.170 --> 00:01:04.170
Welcome to the Nonprofit Power Podcast.
00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:10.421
Hey there folks.
00:01:10.421 --> 00:01:13.355
Welcome to another episode of the Nonprofit Power Podcast.
00:01:13.745 --> 00:01:21.504
I'm so glad you're here for today's episode because I wanna tackle one of the biggest frustrations that I hear from Nonprofit leaders.
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Much too often for comfort, decision makers fail to recognize or value our expertise.
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And when that happens, they're not listening to us in the same way.
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They're less inclined to take our advice and to give real weight to our assessment of what needs to be done differently.
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And all of that makes our advocacy work so much harder.
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One of the questions I get most often from Nonprofit leaders is, what can I do to get them to regard me as the expert that I know I am?
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How do I get them to see me as a highly expert resource that they should be relying on?
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The good news is there is a way to do this and it doesn't have to take forever.
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One of the most common mistakes I see Nonprofit leaders making is thinking that it's gonna take years of patient showing up to develop that kind of reputation.
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Where decision makers look to you as the expert and say, well, we wanna know what that person thinks because they're the expert.
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They know this stuff.
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We would be silly not to find out their take on this because they're gonna be really helpful to us.
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Chances are you experience that in at least one arena already.
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And the challenge is how do you get to a place where all the different sets of decision makers that you have to deal with, whether it's elected officials or government agency people, prospective contracting partners, whoever else, whatever decision makers are in your world.
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Before you can make an impact with them you gotta have their respect, right?
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They've gotta believe that you not only know what you're talking about, which is honestly a pretty low bar.
00:03:06.580 --> 00:03:08.645
It's important, but it's the lowest bar.
00:03:09.145 --> 00:03:20.796
What you really need is for them to view you as such a valued expert that they believe that if they're not hearing from you, they're missing out on something important.
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And they know that consulting with you is going to be a good idea and it's gonna help them in the long run.
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It's gonna help them with whatever they're doing.
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So we wanna get you to that as fast as possible.
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And we don't want it to take years.
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You don't have years.
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In most of the settings you're in, you simply don't have the luxury of that much time.
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So what I wanna share with you today is a way to accelerate this process with one key ingredient.
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Because there is a way to get this done a lot faster.
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And let's be honest.
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Wouldn't that be better?
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A couple of caveats to this right out of the gate.
00:04:02.294 --> 00:04:03.524
You can't be shy.
00:04:04.024 --> 00:04:11.478
Don't wait around hoping that if you sit in enough rooms, enough times, people will start to see you as an expert.
00:04:11.578 --> 00:04:18.598
Eventually, your brilliance will shine through and they'll realize that you know more than anybody in the room about X, Y, Z.
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Showing up and talking is not enough.
00:04:23.553 --> 00:04:28.204
Having a command of the issues and the facts is not enough.
00:04:28.685 --> 00:04:29.644
It's very important.
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You absolutely have to have that.
00:04:31.894 --> 00:04:33.785
But that again, that's a low bar.
00:04:34.158 --> 00:04:37.608
It's kind of the lowest common denominator of expertise.
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The next level expertise that's truly valued by decision makers is insight and perspective and the ability to share thoughtful analysis.
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One of the most valuable things you can do for them is to see around the corners that they can't see around, because they don't have the perspective and insights that you have.
00:05:01.427 --> 00:05:02.444
But here's the problem.
00:05:03.028 --> 00:05:09.182
All of us humans, unless we're unusually aware, we have a lot of blind spots.
00:05:09.642 --> 00:05:24.314
And one of our biggest blind spots is not realizing that we are missing a perspective, that we're missing a piece of valuable information that would change how we approach the problem.
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If only we knew that thing.
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But if we're unaware that we don't know the thing, then we go cruising along thinking that we have what we need to make good decisions.
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And it happens to everybody.
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I'm not flagging decision makers as somehow uniquely problematic in that respect.
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They're just being human.
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The difference is that because they're in a powerful decision making role, when they do that, it has outsized consequences.
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When they make decisions, when they don't have all the perspective that would help them make the best decision, they're setting themselves up for a world of problems.
00:06:02.093 --> 00:06:10.115
And unfortunately, they're also setting up the people you serve and/or your organization for a world of problems.
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And actually, truthfully, nobody involved wants that.
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The decision makers don't want that.
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They just don't know that that's what they're about to do.
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So one of the most valuable and powerful things you can ever do for a decision maker is to save them from themselves, to save them from making a mistake.
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When you can do that.
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When you can, number one, save them from making a mistake that's going to be costly in one way or another.
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And on the flip side, when you can help them get to an outcome that they're trying to get to, in the most efficient, least costly way.
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That's when you start adding real value to their world.
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Now you've got all this insight and perspective that's super valuable to them, but they don't know that yet.
00:07:00.036 --> 00:07:02.487
So here's the hitch.
00:07:03.086 --> 00:07:04.077
You gotta tell'em.
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They're not gonna figure it out on their own, and you can't wait to be asked.
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Because again, they don't know.
00:07:12.177 --> 00:07:14.595
They're not aware of what they don't know.
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They're not aware that they're missing a critical perspective.
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T he simplest, easiest, fastest way for you to establish yourself in their eyes as an incredibly valuable expert is to speak up about that.
00:07:30.295 --> 00:07:35.636
Which means probably, you're gonna have to step a little bit outside your comfort zone.
00:07:36.136 --> 00:07:50.459
You have to be willing to speak up when you hear a decision maker or a group of decision makers talking about your issue in a way that shows that they're missing something or that they're failing to anticipate likely consequences.
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Speak up in that moment.
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Don't wait.
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Please never do this.
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I see this happen all the time.
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Folks will sit in a room, listen to decision makers say stuff that they know is a setup for problems, and they'll look wisely at one another across the room and in their minds they're going, oh my goodness.
00:08:12.355 --> 00:08:13.826
I can't believe they just said that.
00:08:13.826 --> 00:08:14.725
They have no clue.
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This is crazy.
00:08:16.105 --> 00:08:19.105
Maybe they're texting back and forth to each other about this.
00:08:19.990 --> 00:08:21.641
But they don't say anything in the meeting.
00:08:22.141 --> 00:08:26.228
And then they go back to their desk and they send an email.
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Dear decision maker, thanks so much for including us in the meeting.
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I wanted to raise a concern about something that was said in the meeting, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
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Their attention is no longer on the thing.
00:08:39.548 --> 00:08:47.207
The most effective way to get their attention and get them to actually pay attention to you is to flag it in the moment.
00:08:47.707 --> 00:08:52.508
And I know that's kind of scary until you get used to doing it.
00:08:52.508 --> 00:08:56.524
Until you do it a few times and realize that bad things are not gonna happen.
00:08:56.890 --> 00:09:02.327
Or the worst that's gonna happen is somebody's gonna be annoyed with you for a minute, which is not fatal.
00:09:03.062 --> 00:09:07.802
The safe thing, the comfortable thing is to send the email after the meeting.
00:09:08.302 --> 00:09:12.711
But the effective thing is to speak up in that moment.
00:09:13.211 --> 00:09:26.932
Literally raise your hand if you have to and say, I wanna flag something that was just said that I think it's very important to call out an additional piece of information that I think will be very important for your conversation.
00:09:27.861 --> 00:09:29.481
And then you say whatever you have to say.
00:09:30.331 --> 00:09:39.125
What you have to say is going to be about the piece of missing information or the piece of missing perspective.
00:09:39.514 --> 00:09:48.004
The thing they're not seeing or understanding that is setting them up to have not the results they want.
00:09:48.504 --> 00:09:51.684
But you've gotta say it in the moment when it's happening.
00:09:51.985 --> 00:09:55.174
If you want them to pay attention to you and to remember you.
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Because remember, part of what you're doing here is you wanna establish yourself.
00:09:59.184 --> 00:10:01.404
You want them to see you as the expert.
00:10:02.033 --> 00:10:03.293
As the one to call.
00:10:03.773 --> 00:10:10.164
As the person where, if we're gonna have this conversation, if we don't have that person in the room, we'll be missing something important.
00:10:10.164 --> 00:10:11.394
We better get them in here.
00:10:11.965 --> 00:10:14.065
You want them thinking about you that way.
00:10:14.828 --> 00:10:25.461
What are the chances of them thinking about you that way, if when you have the chance to raise an issue in the moment when it's the most relevant, you remain silent.
00:10:26.192 --> 00:10:27.123
You don't intervene.
00:10:27.764 --> 00:10:30.524
You let them carry on as if they're totally on the right track.
00:10:31.384 --> 00:10:39.115
in the moment while it's fresh in their mind and their train of thought is clear, they remember what they just said, hopefully.
00:10:39.504 --> 00:10:40.644
They're in the middle of it.
00:10:41.144 --> 00:10:43.335
That's the time to say, Hey, hold up a second.
00:10:43.803 --> 00:10:53.048
I want to raise something that's very important that's missing from this conversation, and then if we don't deal with it, it's going to have X, Y, z consequences.
00:10:53.548 --> 00:10:55.048
And then you say your piece.
00:10:55.548 --> 00:11:05.979
Now, one of the things that's really important in this to be effective at that is to understand that virtually all decision makers, whatever their role is.
00:11:06.458 --> 00:11:10.259
Virtually all of them, their thinking is operating at a systems level.
00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:15.288
They're thinking about how entire systems are designed to function.
00:11:15.788 --> 00:11:27.068
And if we're talking to policy makers, they're thinking about what policy is designed to do, either create a system or make a change in a system, but they're thinking at that level.
00:11:27.568 --> 00:11:28.349
That's their job.
00:11:28.849 --> 00:11:33.458
So you have to be able to speak the language of systems.
00:11:34.178 --> 00:11:42.849
You have to demonstrate that you understand the system design, that you understand the core components of what it's supposed to do, and the results it's supposed to achieve.
00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:44.619
And you have to be fluent in that.
00:11:45.369 --> 00:11:58.504
Being able to speak systems language or policy language tells them that you get them, that you get where their heads are, what they're trying to accomplish, what their focus is.
00:11:58.833 --> 00:12:01.443
And you understand their challenges.
00:12:01.943 --> 00:12:09.053
And when they feel that from you, that's what lowers their barriers to listening to you.
00:12:09.837 --> 00:12:12.817
Because otherwise, here's the risk that is always present.
00:12:13.217 --> 00:12:18.138
You're there because you wanna influence some decision making about whatever it is that's at hand.
00:12:18.467 --> 00:12:25.158
So you are there in the role of an advocate and you undeniably have a vested interest.
00:12:25.658 --> 00:12:32.557
Part of that vested interest is on behalf of your clients, of the people you serve, and part of that vested interest is on behalf of your organization.
00:12:32.827 --> 00:12:33.937
That's inescapable.
00:12:34.447 --> 00:12:36.836
So don't shy away from that.
00:12:37.495 --> 00:12:40.015
But they need to see you as more than that.
00:12:40.525 --> 00:12:45.620
They need to see you as a trusted, valued, problem solving partner.
00:12:46.421 --> 00:12:51.980
And if you can't speak their language, if you only speak the language of direct service.
00:12:52.581 --> 00:12:54.921
And you can't speak systems and policy.
00:12:55.311 --> 00:13:05.643
Then what they hear and what they see is someone who's there to advocate for their own interests and not to help the decision makers make better decisions.
00:13:06.312 --> 00:13:16.101
This is a key device for breaking down that barrier and having them let down their guard and saying, oh, okay, yeah, they're here to advocate, but they're more than that.
00:13:16.282 --> 00:13:18.652
They're not just here in their own interest.
00:13:18.652 --> 00:13:22.402
They're here because they get the policy problem, they get the systems problem.
00:13:22.912 --> 00:13:24.861
And they seem to have a pretty good handle on it.
00:13:25.011 --> 00:13:25.432
Huh.
00:13:25.701 --> 00:13:26.361
All right.
00:13:26.692 --> 00:13:27.231
Good.
00:13:27.302 --> 00:13:28.621
Maybe they have something to share.
00:13:29.335 --> 00:13:32.754
That's the power of speaking their language and the reason for doing it.
00:13:33.596 --> 00:13:39.597
Now, if that sounds like a lot, it probably is not as heavy a lift as you think it might be.
00:13:40.145 --> 00:13:41.855
You've done the hard part.
00:13:42.243 --> 00:13:50.076
You know the extreme detail of how those systems and policies function on the ground.
00:13:50.576 --> 00:13:52.256
And that's the piece they're missing.
00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:59.539
If we're talking policy, you do absolutely have to have a working knowledge of the existing policy or the proposed policy.
00:14:00.190 --> 00:14:11.982
The best way I can suggest doing this if you're not accustomed to doing it, is you read the policy and make notes to yourself about what that would look like when implemented.
00:14:12.482 --> 00:14:16.143
As soon as you start to do that, you start to spot the holes.
00:14:16.643 --> 00:14:21.732
And there are always, always holes in policy.
00:14:22.232 --> 00:14:27.494
Because the people who are drafting it don't have your perspective.
00:14:27.994 --> 00:14:33.844
And if that perspective isn't included in the drafting, then by definition that's a hole.
00:14:34.634 --> 00:14:41.173
The how it's actually gonna work on the ground is always different than what the designers imagine.
00:14:41.745 --> 00:14:45.522
Because they don't know how it actually works in real life.
00:14:46.022 --> 00:14:55.779
They may have talked to a lot of people and studied the subject, but until you've actually done the work on the ground, there's gonna be stuff you miss.
00:14:56.440 --> 00:15:02.423
So if you're smart, what you do is you recruit somebody who speaks both languages.
00:15:02.543 --> 00:15:11.783
You recruit somebody who's fluent in policy and systems language, and who's fluent and knowledgeable in the actual impact on the ground.
00:15:12.053 --> 00:15:14.543
That's the person you want in the room with you.
00:15:15.053 --> 00:15:18.264
And your job is to demonstrate that you are that person.
00:15:19.096 --> 00:15:24.601
Back to the exercise of going through policy, or looking at a system as it's currently designed.
00:15:25.533 --> 00:15:28.913
If you're dealing with an existing system, you already know where the problems are.
00:15:28.913 --> 00:15:30.144
You've bumped into them already.
00:15:30.772 --> 00:15:32.572
And they're probably driving you crazy.
00:15:33.461 --> 00:15:38.711
The next step with that is simply thinking about, okay, well how would the system need to function differently?
00:15:38.741 --> 00:15:45.331
What would need to be changed in the system design for this to work better for everyone involved?
00:15:45.831 --> 00:15:50.109
It needs to not just work better for the end user, the client, it needs to work better for you.
00:15:50.318 --> 00:15:53.899
It needs to work better for the agency in charge of it.
00:15:53.899 --> 00:15:56.179
It needs to work better for all the players.
00:15:56.389 --> 00:16:07.910
So one of the ways you build that reputation as being the expert with the extra perspective, is that you hold the ability to consider all perspectives.
00:16:08.181 --> 00:16:13.721
And that you're not the advocate who comes in and says, well, you need to change this so that it'll work better for my clients.
00:16:14.051 --> 00:16:21.341
And they respond by saying, well, that's all nice and dandy, but if we do that, then it's gonna totally screw up this other thing in this other place.
00:16:21.716 --> 00:16:26.640
So you have to be able to see all of it and bring in your piece that they don't have.
00:16:27.530 --> 00:16:30.176
90% of this is knowledge you already have.
00:16:30.696 --> 00:16:32.946
Especially when we're talking about systems design.
00:16:32.946 --> 00:16:35.166
Because you're interacting with those systems every day.
00:16:35.466 --> 00:16:38.615
If it's existing policy, you're interacting with it every day.
00:16:39.245 --> 00:16:45.605
but you may not have read the authorizing legislation and studied that and any of the regulations that may go with it.
00:16:46.553 --> 00:16:49.494
If you haven't looked through those, that's important.
00:16:49.673 --> 00:16:53.573
When you're dealing with policy, you have to have working knowledge of the policy itself.
00:16:54.124 --> 00:16:56.734
And how the language is structured and where the holes are.
00:16:57.124 --> 00:17:00.214
And ideally, you're able to reference section numbers.
00:17:00.714 --> 00:17:06.103
Now, when you first start doing this, if you're not super familiar with the authorizing legislation.
00:17:06.313 --> 00:17:19.688
When you first start doing it, you'll have a lot of notes and a bunch of highlighter and stuff that says, okay, so here in section 117 sub C, sub one, sub small letter A, blah, blah, blah.
00:17:19.867 --> 00:17:21.907
That's where there's a hole.
00:17:21.968 --> 00:17:35.153
There's a problem there because when you translate that into actual what happens in the real world, here's what's going to happen if it's proposed policy, or here's what's already happening because this is designed wrong.
00:17:35.653 --> 00:17:38.325
And we all know that none of us intended that result.
00:17:39.201 --> 00:17:50.678
The other thing with systems and policy thinking is that in addition to focusing on making it work as well as possible for everyone involved, you're also always focused on the end result.
00:17:51.178 --> 00:18:02.857
And what will become your superpower is your ability to connect the holes that you identify, the problems in the policy or the system that need to be shifted to be fixed in some way.
00:18:03.607 --> 00:18:08.617
To be able to connect that to how it will make the results better at the end.
00:18:09.117 --> 00:18:15.250
Cause if it's just tweaking the system to make it better, that feels abstract.
00:18:15.580 --> 00:18:17.320
If you're able to say to them, you know what?
00:18:17.320 --> 00:18:25.519
Look, here's what your current results are, and they could be X times better if only we fixed this problem.
00:18:26.179 --> 00:18:34.999
There is a huge problem in the middle of this system that I think a lot of folks aren't aware of, but we see it every day in our work, and here's how it manifests.
00:18:35.482 --> 00:18:37.522
Here's what's actually happening on the ground.
00:18:37.522 --> 00:18:45.712
And I know that was no one's intent, but that's what's happening because the policy or the system isn't designed to address that.
00:18:46.303 --> 00:18:57.371
So we need to fix it so that not only is it easier for everyone to do their job in this and to receive the services, but also so that we can get those high level outcomes that everybody wants.
00:18:58.221 --> 00:19:10.637
Your ability to tie that all together is again, what makes you an essential person to have in that room, because no one else in that room has your perspective.
00:19:10.877 --> 00:19:24.602
No one else can, at the level of knowledge that you have, no one else can explain the connection between the system design or the policy design and the end result that is actually occurring.
00:19:24.842 --> 00:19:32.705
And to be able to identify the specific spots within the system or the policy where that problem got created.
00:19:33.205 --> 00:19:35.336
When you can do that, you're golden.
00:19:35.811 --> 00:19:41.301
That's when they start coming to look for you and saying, Hey, what else did we miss?
00:19:41.422 --> 00:19:42.442
What else you got?
00:19:43.335 --> 00:19:44.805
So it's a simple recipe.
00:19:45.305 --> 00:19:55.085
You can go from a person whose name they don't know, to a person they are seeking out in a very short period of time.
00:19:55.085 --> 00:20:00.625
If you train yourself to think in systems and to think in policy and to speak that language.
00:20:01.125 --> 00:20:08.345
And you come prepared to be able to point out where the holes in their systems and policies are, and the consequences that's having.
00:20:08.845 --> 00:20:12.115
And to explain exactly how that's playing out on the ground.
00:20:12.894 --> 00:20:15.894
'Cause it will, I promise you, it will always be a surprise.
00:20:16.394 --> 00:20:23.424
I always have to chuckle when I'm doing this because I'm walking somebody through, and it's like, I know this wasn't the intent.
00:20:23.724 --> 00:20:24.565
I hear you.
00:20:24.625 --> 00:20:25.765
I know what you wanted.
00:20:26.065 --> 00:20:26.634
I agree.
00:20:26.634 --> 00:20:27.625
I want that too.
00:20:27.775 --> 00:20:29.575
But here's what's actually happening.
00:20:30.085 --> 00:20:33.384
What's actually happening is this weird thing is going on over here.
00:20:33.664 --> 00:20:37.625
You might even be nice and say, I understand you couldn't have predicted that.
00:20:37.865 --> 00:20:39.785
It's like, well, actually, you could have, if you'd asked me.
00:20:39.845 --> 00:20:40.744
I could have told you.
00:20:41.494 --> 00:20:42.664
But that's not necessary.
00:20:43.115 --> 00:20:44.184
No, I told you so's.
00:20:44.684 --> 00:20:46.214
You're implying it.
00:20:46.275 --> 00:20:49.934
You're implying that you had this knowledge all along and now you're gonna help'em.
00:20:50.384 --> 00:20:52.515
You're gonna help'em fix the problem they didn't even know they had.
00:20:53.015 --> 00:20:56.134
Or they might know they have a problem with their results, but they don't know why.
00:20:56.134 --> 00:20:57.305
They don't know what's causing it.
00:20:58.099 --> 00:21:06.880
And one of the most powerful things you can do in any setting is to effectively diagnose and treat a problem.
00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:09.900
It's an incredibly valuable contribution.
00:21:10.644 --> 00:21:13.878
So your ability to do that is critical.
00:21:14.378 --> 00:21:18.232
But here's the other piece that I'm just gonna circle back on one more time.
00:21:18.732 --> 00:21:23.835
You could be the best in the world at all that analysis and all that knowledge.
00:21:24.335 --> 00:21:34.785
But if you don't speak up in the moment, if you don't step up when you hear something being misunderstood or you hear that there's a hole in the understanding.
00:21:34.994 --> 00:21:39.964
If you don't raise your hand immediately and say, excuse me, I wanna point something out here.
00:21:40.464 --> 00:21:51.170
Then it will be a much, much longer and questionable path to them seeing you as that expert and that valued, trusted problem solving partner.
00:21:51.670 --> 00:21:55.539
You have to have just the willingness and the courage to stand up and say, Hey, whoop.
00:21:55.690 --> 00:21:56.500
Hold on a second.
00:21:57.396 --> 00:22:02.050
And you don't have to wait for them to say something that's off.
00:22:02.550 --> 00:22:07.080
If you see that something is off, which you do every day, I know you do.
00:22:07.111 --> 00:22:08.371
I know you are frustrated.
00:22:08.580 --> 00:22:25.701
I shouldn't overgeneralize, but I have yet to meet a Nonprofit leader who is not frustrated by at least one piece of policy or systems design that is not done in optimal fashion, that is causing problems for the Nonprofit itself and for the people they serve.
00:22:26.621 --> 00:22:27.760
So you don't have to wait.
00:22:27.760 --> 00:22:36.519
If you're experiencing a frustration with a policy or a system that isn't working as well as it could be, then that's something you can raise on your own.
00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:40.419
You don't have to wait for it to be under discussion in a meeting of decision makers.
00:22:40.419 --> 00:22:46.558
You can say, Hey, I've flagged something that is causing reduced results.
00:22:46.729 --> 00:22:52.747
There is a systems issue or a policy issue that is resulting in diminished outcomes.
00:22:52.836 --> 00:22:57.156
And I'd like to talk to you about that'cause I have some thoughts about how we could improve that.
00:22:57.156 --> 00:23:01.656
How we can make sure that the results are better and that the system works better for everybody.
00:23:02.086 --> 00:23:03.737
That's your opening pitch.
00:23:04.242 --> 00:23:07.161
And you can ask for a meeting based on that.
00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:16.265
If you wanna get a little more bold, you can say, particularly if it's something that's being proposed or is just beginning implementation, it's not rolled out yet.
00:23:16.724 --> 00:23:26.817
You can say, I've spotted a problem, that if it isn't corrected is going to cause a dramatic reduction in possible results.
00:23:27.117 --> 00:23:29.157
And I don't wanna see you make that mistake.
00:23:29.698 --> 00:23:35.123
I think we can fix it before this rolls out or before the policy's finalized or wherever you are in the process.
00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:38.009
if you can flag stuff ahead of time, that's huge.
00:23:38.869 --> 00:23:41.939
Here's the thing not to do when you do that.
00:23:42.628 --> 00:23:46.278
If you're sending an email, probably that's what you're doing to request a meeting.
00:23:46.878 --> 00:23:51.249
However you're communicating that request, raise the fact that you've spotted a problem.
00:23:51.502 --> 00:23:54.712
Raise the impact that problem's going to have if it's unresolved.
00:23:54.923 --> 00:23:56.573
It's going to diminish the results.
00:23:56.692 --> 00:23:58.073
You can even say in what way.
00:23:58.673 --> 00:24:00.262
These outcomes will be compromised.
00:24:00.383 --> 00:24:03.161
They will be substantially less than they could be otherwise.
00:24:03.661 --> 00:24:05.211
Stop there.
00:24:05.902 --> 00:24:14.032
I would like to discuss this with you because I have considerable experience solving exactly this kind of problem, and I think I can help you.
00:24:14.868 --> 00:24:17.179
So first of all, own your greatness on this.
00:24:17.269 --> 00:24:18.999
Be ready to own your expertise.
00:24:19.823 --> 00:24:27.672
If you are downplaying your expertise, how can you expect someone else to value you higher than you value yourself?
00:24:28.259 --> 00:24:30.690
Never downplay your knowledge and expertise.
00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:32.759
If you are an expert, you may say so.
00:24:33.309 --> 00:24:35.740
And that's not bragging, that's simply stating fact.
00:24:35.890 --> 00:24:38.859
And you can say it in a way that doesn't sound like you're being a jerk.
00:24:39.099 --> 00:24:45.415
Just to say, I have a lot of experience with this and I may have a solution that will help everybody involved.
00:24:45.746 --> 00:24:47.125
I'd like to talk with you about it.
00:24:48.086 --> 00:24:54.008
What you don't do is then explain your solution in the email.
00:24:54.508 --> 00:24:57.748
Because what they will do with that is they will say, oh great, thanks for sharing.
00:24:57.958 --> 00:24:58.768
Now I know.
00:24:59.268 --> 00:25:00.798
And then they'll promptly forget.
00:25:01.349 --> 00:25:04.319
They'll file that away somewhere and that'll be the end of it.
00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:07.506
So you don't give them the information that they need.
00:25:07.935 --> 00:25:09.105
You withhold that.
00:25:09.135 --> 00:25:12.316
You only give them that when you are engaging with them face to face.
00:25:13.111 --> 00:25:14.611
Either on a Zoom or in person.
00:25:14.891 --> 00:25:17.111
But you don't give that away in writing.
00:25:17.681 --> 00:25:18.701
Absolutely not.
00:25:19.201 --> 00:25:21.770
Because they stop paying attention.
00:25:22.280 --> 00:25:24.171
You're like, Hey, I found a problem.
00:25:24.171 --> 00:25:25.124
Here's the answer.
00:25:25.124 --> 00:25:26.069
Oh, good.
00:25:26.069 --> 00:25:26.542
Thanks.
00:25:27.016 --> 00:25:28.103
B ut not really.
00:25:28.103 --> 00:25:29.816
They haven't really changed anything.
00:25:29.816 --> 00:25:31.016
They haven't changed their thinking.
00:25:31.165 --> 00:25:32.875
They've already forgotten there was a problem.
00:25:32.875 --> 00:25:34.076
They've already forgotten it all.
00:25:34.076 --> 00:25:34.675
It's gone.
00:25:35.665 --> 00:25:46.726
The only way it's gonna stick is when you walk them through how that problem is either currently manifesting self or is about to, if it's something that hasn't happened yet and you can see it coming.
00:25:46.905 --> 00:25:50.296
That's the seeing around those corners that you can do that they can't.
00:25:50.536 --> 00:25:52.395
'Cause you have perspective that they don't.
00:25:52.455 --> 00:25:56.915
So you look around that corner for them and you see the oncoming train and you go, Hey, you know what?
00:25:56.976 --> 00:25:59.286
There's a train about to knock you flat.
00:25:59.786 --> 00:26:01.885
But you don't have to be hit by the train.
00:26:01.885 --> 00:26:03.115
Let me tell you how to avoid it.
00:26:04.076 --> 00:26:08.125
And then you tell'em what the train is and how to put it on a different track.
00:26:08.625 --> 00:26:14.234
But you do that in the room with them so that they are having to engage and ask you questions.
00:26:14.775 --> 00:26:16.815
You don't go in there and give them a PowerPoint.
00:26:16.815 --> 00:26:20.571
You don't go in there and give them a 10 minute you talking the whole time.
00:26:21.442 --> 00:26:26.182
You pose questions, you pull them through the analysis of the problem.
00:26:26.182 --> 00:26:28.041
You pull them through the awareness.
00:26:28.162 --> 00:26:31.731
You do it piece by piece so that they have to engage.
00:26:32.061 --> 00:26:38.830
Once they do that, it will stick in their brain in a way that it will never do if you just give them the information and leave.
00:26:39.330 --> 00:26:44.570
And I know each escalating level of this is more challenge to the comfort zone.
00:26:44.941 --> 00:26:47.250
It feels much safer to just say your piece and run away.
00:26:47.941 --> 00:26:49.471
But that's not what we're doing here.
00:26:49.681 --> 00:26:56.181
What we're doing here is engaging them and teaching them to respect and value your expertise.
00:26:56.780 --> 00:27:01.580
They have to be taught, but it's a quick learning experience when you save their bacon.
00:27:02.373 --> 00:27:07.532
That is the quickest way, and honestly the easiest way, even if it's not easy.
00:27:07.982 --> 00:27:19.278
But it is definitely the fastest way to turn a decision maker who maybe doesn't even know your name into a decision maker who says, Hey, we need to call so and so.
00:27:19.459 --> 00:27:20.683
They can help us with this.
00:27:22.446 --> 00:27:22.821
That's how you get it done.
00:27:23.755 --> 00:27:28.704
Thanks for listening, and I'll see you in the next episode right here on the Nonprofit Power Podcast.
