According to The Economist Intelligence Unit report, Why Good Strategies Fail: Lessons for the C-suite,leadership buy-in and support is consistently identified as the top factor driving the success of strategic initiatives across all industries. Our experience leading large-scale transformations aligns with this insight—without leadership buy-in, even the most well-crafted plans, backed by significant investment and effort, are likely to end up in the “graveyard” of unused PowerPoint decks.

As leaders, we must recognize that great ideas don’t sell themselves. Buy-in isn’t automatic, even for well-conceived strategies. It requires deliberate effort to engage individuals throughout the journey—from initial planning to execution. Fostering alignment and support is not just a best practice, it’s critical to drive success.

Without buy-in, an organization’s strategy faces significant risks. Employees who are not aligned or motivated may show passive resistance, oppose teamwork, or even actively disrupt efforts. Some may quietly pursue their own agenda, diverging from the strategic vision, while others may simply disengage, doing the bare minimum required to get by. This lack of support will hinder progress, dilute the impact of initiatives, and drain morale across teams. It’s not just an obstacle to short-term goals but a fundamental barrier to long-term sustainability and growth.

Since ‘buy-in’ has the power to make or break the success of strategic initiatives, it is imperative to understand how to create, grow, and manage it through strategies in both the planning and activation phases of initiatives.

To illustrate the transformative power of buy-in, let’s compare the spectrum of buy-in stages. In your most important strategic initiatives, what stage are your leaders in? How many of your leaders are Vision Carriers? What gaps do you need to work on for your initiative to succeed?

In the past, a “command and control” approach might have been enough: Leaders set the strategy, employees executed it, and compliance was the primary expectation. Modern workforces seek something deeper: collaboration, authenticity, and a sense of purpose. To truly execute a strategy effectively, organizations must intentionally foster buy-in, a commitment that goes beyond acceptance and generates Vision Carriers who exhibit a contagious engagement and passion.

To foster this level of commitment, organizations should focus on:

Fully leverage the power of buy-in by intentionally planning strategies that will create Vision Carriers. These strategies begin early in the initial learning phases and continue through solution design and activation. Some leaders worry that buy-in takes too much time—but failing to build it early leads to delays, friction, and missed goals. An intentional, structured approach to creating Vision Carriers early supports effective implementation, while a lack of planning increases the risk of challenges later in project implementation.

While it’s important to bring everyone along on the journey, prioritizing leaders with high social influence and high interest in the initiative will help focus on the leaders with the most impact while moving the initiative forward quickly. This can include executive leaders who have high influence, cross-functional teams that need to support the strategy, and frontline team members who will perform newly expected behaviors required for the strategy to be successful.

Select A Trusted Leader:

Every major initiative needs a respected leader who embodies the vision, advocates for it, and ensures it is championed across the organization. In an Economist Intelligence Unit survey of global senior executives, 28% admit that individual projects to implement strategy do not typically obtain the necessary senior-level sponsorship. (Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit; Why good strategies fail: lessons for the C-suite). Often the person who has the most technical skill is chosen for these leadership roles. The most important characteristic of this leader, however, should be how much trust the rest of the organization has in them. A leader who already has trust and influence with leaders across the organization will command buy-in from those who may otherwise be on the fence.

Take A ‘From You, For You’ Approach:

When our team designed a large-scale transformation across a $10B operations function, we began the work by listening to all levels within the organization: shadowing the frontline, interviewing field leaders, understanding cross-functional concerns, meeting with executives, etc. Before developing the solution, we understood the historical challenges with previous efforts, the business challenges that needed to be addressed, and the key elements that would benefit frontline teams. When designing and launching the transformation program, we cited many examples of how this transformation was “From You and For You” with a people focus in mind. That eventually led to creating immense buy-in across the organization and a successful transformation.

Collaboratively Shape The Solution:

Many leaders develop a solution only to face resistance when launching it. One way to reduce resistance is to allow impacted leaders to be a part of shaping the solution. When they have the opportunity to speak into the solution design, they are significantly more likely to support the implementation because they see their fingerprints on the solution, which creates connection and ownership. They can also proactively understand and address pain points versus reacting to the pain points when they arise during implementation. At BrightOrg Services, when we partner with clients to develop solutions, we lead collaborative workshops to ensure that the leadership team owns the success going forward. Spending extra time up front to do this pays off in faster execution and return on your investment.

Communicate An Inspiring Vision:

One of the most important elements of achieving buy-in amongst the organization is crafting inspiring communications that are repeated frequently to embed shared purpose and understanding across stakeholder groups. What is the vision for the project? What is the ‘why’ behind the change? What is the business impact? How will it benefit the teams who execute it? A strong, purpose-driven case for change can transform passive acceptance into passionate support. Communication must be honest, transparent, and continuous. Regular updates and open channels foster a culture of trust, dispelling confusion and building alignment.

Give Leaders A Clear Role:

After leaders understand the vision, provide them with clear expectations of their role and how they can support their teams to perform. Even if the leader agrees with the vision, they still may not exhibit the behaviors that you are looking for, especially if this requires a significant change. They need clear, structured expectations, consistent coaching and following up, and permission to respectfully ‘push back’ when they or their teams become diluted with too many requests. When leaders are Vision Carriers, they are both exhibiting these defined behaviors and inspiring others to do the same.. What do your leaders need to do differently for your initiative to be successful?

The journey from strategy to execution is rarely a straight path. It requires deliberate planning, continuous engagement, and above all, leadership buy-in. As we’ve explored, buy-in isn’t just about agreement—it’s about creating Vision Carriers who bring passion, ownership, and alignment to your initiatives. When leaders embody this commitment, they inspire teams to follow suit, driving transformation and delivering meaningful results.

Organizations that prioritize buy-in, and actively cultivate it, position themselves to overcome resistance, build trust, and align their people around a shared purpose. By understanding the psychological drivers of engagement and implementing strategies to create ownership, leaders can move their teams from passive compliance to active support—and ultimately, to success in achieving your initiative’s vision.

In the end, the success of a strategy isn’t determined by its complexity or ambition but by the commitment of the people who bring it to life. As you reflect on your own organization’s critical initiatives, ask yourself: Where are our leaders on the spectrum of buy-in, and what steps can we take to turn them into Vision Carriers? The answers to these questions will shape the trajectory and success of your initiatives.

Let’s work together to turn vision into reality—because strategies without buy-in are merely ideas, but ideas with buy-in have the power to change your organization.

About The Author

David Floyd is a seasoned strategy consulting leader at BrightOrg Services, specializing in guiding companies from strategic planning to successful execution. With a focus on aligning organizational goals with actionable plans, he has a proven track record of transforming strategies into tangible results.