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How to Use ROI to Win the Support Your Need for Your Teams Project
What team leader hasnt had the frightful experience of proposing an important team project to senior management, only to come out of the presentation feeling like the executives hadnt fully understood the importance of the initiative?
Passion for their work is a key element to most successful team leaders and group managers. Therefore, it is usually quite obvious to you that your groups work adds value to the overall organization. The sad truth: it is often not quite so clear to the very people you need to convince to support a proposal for additional resources. While difficult for all group leaders, it is unfortunately even more true for those teams in an organization that spend more in their budget than they make.
Over the past decade, I have worked closely with change leaders in all types of organizations. It is such a common concern among these folks to be able to gain executive support for their projects, so I talked directly with the senior executives of several private and public organizations in order to find out how team leaders and managers can gain that support more readily. The executives agreed that finding out how a proposed initiative will result in a positive return on their investment is a key factor that many team leaders fail to communicate properly.
Frequently, I see team managers fail to assess, describe and explain the ways in which the teams projects positively impact the overall profitability of the organization. And yet, many have no idea why their proposals for additional funding or support are turned down again and again.
Any time you are looking for support (whether is it funding or resources), come up with reasons why the leadership team should invest in your group and not one of the score of others who are competing for that same money. One executive I interviewed advised that to get more money, you need to be able to articulate the benefit you bring and why you deserve the money to be taken from someone else. Be able to explain what return the organization will get from our investment.
Confused over how to show a strong return on investment to senior management? The first step is to brainstorm with you team on the impact that each goal of your group will have on the companys:
Revenue Expenses Errors Production performance Client satisfaction Customer retention Talent recruitment Employee engagement Employee loyalty Brand familiarity Stakeholder support Shareholder confidence Ability to meet government requirements Ability to minimize risks
If you arent able to show a bottom line impact, interview some allies and advocates at executive levels to hear how they would describe the value your group brings. Keep pushing yourself and your team to hear and understand what your executives are looking for and be sure to describe impact in their terms. By focusing on this in your presentations, you will see much more support for your proposals from the executive team.
About the Author Wendy Mack is a professional mentor, educator, and author with an emphasis on leadership and change management. Contact Wendy at, or obtain her free e-book, Transforming Anxiety into Energy at www.WendyMack.com.
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