Listen and get buy-in
The first thing de la Vega did was issue airline tickets to Miami to each country’s CEO, where he started by listening to each leader.
“That’s part of the coming together,” he says. “You have to storm to form. That’s what we did. We let each one of them talk about their view of how we address the challenges that we faced.”
Keep your mouth shut during this initial step.
“You have to have patience to hear them out,” he says. “I always like to start with a green-light session where it’s, ‘Let me hear your ideas — I’m not going to say that’s a good one or not,’” he says. “I just want to hear them all.
“You want to create an environment that’s not threatening. Otherwise you’re not going to get somebody’s big idea because they may feel internally that it’s not a good idea but it may be a huge idea if they give it to you.”
Then he started to highlight what he had heard from them and build common ground.
“Well that’s fine, that’s a good view for one country, but how do we win against multinational corporations that are attacking us and not in one country but 11 different countries?” he asked them.
Getting people to agree to a new direction requires two things.
“The key thing is to paint a picture of the future that is going to want to make them sacrifice and do the hard work because there is a better, more promising future for them,” he says.
And the other is to just be honest and realistic.
“It’s confronting the brutal facts and realizing that the course we were on was not sustainable and we needed to change,” de la Vega says. “If you’re upfront with them and don’t pull any punches and you’re honest and eventually you give them time, they will come around.”
Getting people to agree to a new direction requires them to compromise.
“You have to give up something you consider to be a compromise or a sacrifice but you’re doing it for the better good,” de la Vega says.
For example, each country was purchasing its own headsets, but as a result, they weren’t getting the best prices. By agreeing to purchase just four different kinds of headsets for the whole region, everyone would lose some of their individuality and choice, but it would reduce costs, so they ultimately realized it would help them win.
“It’s always trying to paint this vision of the future that makes them want to follow you,” de la Vega says. “That’s what leadership is all about — people wanting to follow what you’re suggesting they do. Otherwise, it’s not leadership.”
