Ever feel like the biggest challenges for your commercial or procurement team aren't from outside?🚧

What is holding back your team’s momentum? Nine times out of ten, I reckon it’s the fact that Bob from operations seems to be working against them, Jill in finance is perpetually uninterested and Keith on level one just. doesn't. get. it.

💪 It's the internal conversations that are the hardest.

And that’s no surprise. There is more at stake personally and professionally if a relationship with a colleague sours or you can’t get them on board.

Why does this matter? If a team is struggling to get buy-in from internal stakeholders, it holds them back in multiple ways:

🏷️ Team brand. Unproductive conversations tarnish perceptions. Engaging with the team can be seen as more of a “have to engage” vs “want to engage” type proposition. Instead of being freed up to deliver value, they are still trying to sell the value.

❤️ Team wellbeing. When not going well, the internal conversations generate mountains of stress. I see this time and time again when coaching. The conversations with stakeholders are prone to sap energy, deplete confidence and can - unfortunately - lead to retention issues.

⏩ Team progress. Unproductive conversations tax the work programme. Meetings multiply, milestones are pushed out, and resources are soaked up. The most common casualty is the most strategic work.

I may be going out on a limb here… most teams don’t need more technical skills.

The bottom line: Strengthen the connections within the walls to help your team excel outside them.

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🎯 If you want to build your team’s influence inside and outside the walls, get in touch to learn about the 360° Influence Programme. This is delivered in person or online.

Here is some feedback from an influencing programme earlier this year:👇

“The programme has been one of the most useful and empowering programmes that I have taken part in… it has lifted my ability to influence, increased my confidence and helped me to focus on what really matters” - Carroll

“I would put the [course] up as one of the best courses I have participated in for many years for my ongoing professional and personal improvement.” - Robert

“The course is brilliant. It’s like finding a secret cool café with the best coffee and amazing scones, you want to tell everyone, but you also want to keep it a secret.” - Gary