While teaching a group a few weeks ago on “How to develop an eLearning strategy for your organization”, one of the key point I raised was the importance of becoming an eLearning consultant when you want to start talking about developing eLearning strategies.
“You have to be seen as an expert providing value adding solutions to the organization’s problems.”
During a follow up conversation after the webinar, a question came up that I thought would be great to respond to as a blog post.
“How do I get leaders in my organization to take me seriously.”
Here are my thoughts on this question:
1. Engage your stakeholders – Engagement leads to respect. Schedule time with them to connect with your stakeholders to build a relationship. Ask them a lot of questions. Try to find out more about their vision, barriers, areas of concern etc. Push to solve their problems.
It might seem ridiculous but here is a truth that cuts through life. When people see that you care about them and their agenda, they will start to care about you and your agenda.
2. Become a thought leader – Start writing articles around eLearning online. Join webinars and volunteer to teach others in your community or your office. Keep
joining webinars and conferences. Keep reading books around eLearning. Your exposure will improve your confidence and competence. As time goes on, people will see you as a thought leader in this ‘space.’ Becoming a thought leader will improve the chances of being taken seriously by stakeholders in high places.
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3. It is all in the mind – I will end it with this. Your mindset is so crucial in getting people to sit down and listen to you engage as an equal. The definition of consulting ultimately boils down to being a problem solver. You were brought into your organization to solve a problem. See yourself as the KPMG or Prime Target of your organization.
This will help eliminate this barrier.
Have a lovely week ahead!