Your BRM Capability’s Success Hinges on the Support of Leadership
All too often, executive leaders recognize that a program or initiative is a good idea, but fail to remove roadblocks, provide funding, or carve out time for individuals. Why is this?
Earning leadership support is different from leadership supporting you, and it’s important to distinguish between the two when it comes to articulating the value of BRM in an organization.
Trust comes first.
How can executive leadership support a BRM organization without trust? It sounds like a no-brainer, but trust is a product of results. Without support or trust, a BRM will need to take calculated risks that may not even lead to success. Once a basis of trust is established between BRMs and leadership, the path to a supportive relationship will be clearer.
A critical first step towards earning trust is demonstrating a clear understanding of your business area.
- Listen to the competitors’ earnings releases and know their strategy.
- Understand your company’s pain points, and bring them out in the open.
- Research disruptive technologies that may help solve these pain points and do your part to alleviate them where you can.
- Perform a BRM SWOT.
While this list is by no means extensive, it contains actions the BRM can take to prove their ability to understand and add value to their business partners.
Banish fear.
A BRM cannot fear working directly with executive leadership. Confidence is key when engaging executives; otherwise, your recommendations will be seen are mere opinions—and without that respect, being seen as a strategic partner will be a significant challenge.
Let’s be real, though. It can be intimidating to be in a room with several execs, offering a solution or recommendation for one of those aforementioned pain points. If you’re not a comfortable public speaker, try the following tips:
How can executive leadership support a BRM organization without trust? It sounds like a no-brainer, but trust is a product of results.
- Attend Toastmasters meetings
- Practice with colleagues
- Sign up for public speaking engagements and face your discomfort head-on
- Present a webinar or speak at one of BRM Institute’s BRMConnect conferences
When it comes to speaking to executive leadership, there’s no way around it. You need to move past the fear and exude confidence to be heard.
Put yourself in their head.
Executives think in terms of their own department—their silo. Rather than viewing this as a limitation, think of it as an incentive.
Begin by knowing their personal interests, though it may sound trivial. What are your executives’ hobbies? After all, they’re people too, and there’s nothing like picking up the phone and talking to an executive about last weekend’s football game without even discussing work. This rapport builds your personal influence, which can prove to be exceedingly powerful down the road.
Think of your relationship with each executive as a bank account. Each interaction is an opportunity to make a deposit, and after accumulating enough cash, you will begin to see returns on your investment.
Learn what’s important to your executives professionally, too. What are their key performance indicators? What should you do when you see them walking down the hall? An idea—ask them out to lunch to discuss the latest product your company released. You should have already played around with it, so use this opportunity to offer feedback.
Creating awareness of your knowledge will net dividends in the future. Think of your relationship with each executive as a bank account. Each interaction is an opportunity to make a deposit, and after accumulating enough cash, you will begin to see returns on your investment.
Making a withdrawal from a flush account is much easier than one with a low balance—target your low-balance accounts and strive to invest.
Articulating the value of BRM in an organization without executive support is impossible.
It’s not how well you can do it—the key is how well an executive can explain the value of BRM when you’re not in the room.
How to get there? Stop eating lunch at your desk and spend the time to connect with your most valuable business partners. Build your personal influence and watch it blossom into trust. When you demonstrate your value, ability, and potential, your BRM capability can earn the support of executive leadership, instead of waiting for it to happen.
Jeff Hileman has over 10 years of experience in IT. After building his organization’s BRM capability from the ground up, he is now responsible for leading the BRM team and was successful in positioning IT as a trusted strategic partner to the business. In the past, some other major successes of his include designing and managing a successful global IT service desk, developing a marketable service desk structure and model that grossed over $5 million per year, and reducing IT operating expenses within one company by $200,000 per month. Jeff is an active member of the helpdesk community, HDI and IT Leadership Exchange, and Business Relationship Management Institute.
When he’s not hammering away on a process improvement project or working to launch a new IT service, you can find him running through the trails in Southern California, preparing dinner for his family, or asking the question “Why?” to just about anything.
