Leaders must be mindful of where they want to go, their vision and whose support they will need to get there, i.e key stakeholders. "Agenda Movers" keep their focus and campaign for their ideas, using their political and managerial competence to get things done.
They are leaders who embrace the reality that they can't get there alone.
Agenda movers have the skills to analyse the agendas of others and anticipate arguments of resistance. Failed leaders, on the other hand, focus only on their own ideas.
After figuring out where people are coming from, agenda movers forge ahead to get initial support.
After establishing initial support, effective leaders next need to generate real buy-in.
Successful agenda movers may need to make adjustments, but they don't drop the ball. They are able managers who sustain forward momentum. Maintaining momentum is the key to successful project implementation.
"While there is perpetual discussion deliberating what leadership is all about, this book is predicated on the simple assumption that if you cannot move your agenda, you are not a leader," declares author Samuel B. Bacharach in "The Agenda Mover: When Your Good Idea is Not Enough."
The practical, four-step process:
1. Anticipate,
2. Mobilise,
3. Negotiate,
4. Sustain, and the specific skills that Bacharach introduces in the book will make a significant difference for anyone in a leadership position.
In the final analysis, leadership is about getting things done. It's not simply about your ideas or your personality, it's about your capacity to take your ideas and work them through the maze of resistance, overcome challenges, and put those ideas in place.
Leaders are remembered for their accomplishments, not their promises.
Source: Samuel B. Bacharach:’ The Agenda Mover: When Your Good Idea Is Not Enough’ (The BLG Pragmatic Leadership Series).
