🦋 Win the Meeting Before It Starts

👋 Hello, Changemakers!

I was walking through the streets of Belgrade to a board meeting of the movement I co-founded 13 years ago, bouncing with excitement! We fundraised some unexpected extra funds, and today we were going to decide how to spend them. I had a great idea to invest this money into a project that would boost our sustainability and focus on small donors and grassroots support.

I'd spent several weeks crafting this proposal. I was ready! The meeting started, and within minutes I realized something was off. There had been a pre-meeting before this one – an informal gathering where several board members had already met and agreed on how to spend the money. My idea didn't stand a chance! I presented it anyway, argued passionately, but the pre-meeting coalitions were already in place. The decision was made before I'd even walked into the room. I was furious! Why hadn't I known about this pre-meeting? Then it hit me – I should be upset with myself. I'd gotten so wrapped up in perfecting my idea that I'd disengaged from the board for weeks, forgetting the most important part: bringing others along, playing the necessary politics, and building my coalition before this crucial meeting. Lesson learned the hard way!

Have you ever had a meeting where you realized there was a pre-meeting that didn't include you? To lead change, you need to align with key stakeholders before the main meeting to reduce friction and give your idea a real chance. Today we're continuing our conversation about leading change by focusing on how to prepare meetings so your ideas don't just survive – they thrive 👇

🧭 Prepare the field

Having a great idea is one thing, but convincing others it's brilliant – or even harder, convincing them to devote time and resources to it – requires a completely different toolbox!

The first step is understanding who has decision-making power to make your idea work or kill it. In my case, that was a board of 9 people I was part of. In your case, it might be just one person – your boss. But even your boss listens to some voices more than others.

Here's your roadmap:

• Map out all the actors (who can affect the decision)

• Understand the authority and power dynamics

• Identify potential allies, opposition, and the "movable middle"

• Choose tactics to approach each stakeholder

🗺️ Mapping The Authority & Power Dynamics

The key is mapping who has what kind of power regarding your idea:

Formal Authority: Who has the final say? Sometimes it's one person, sometimes it's a group that votes.

Informal Influence: Who can sway the decision-making process? Who does your boss respect and listen to? Is the decision-maker accountable to a particular constituency whose support you need to win first?

Once you understand the authority/power map, you can focus your energy where it matters most.

🔑 Key Stakeholders & Strategies

There are three main stakeholder groups you need to pay attention to: potential allies, opposition, and movable middle. Let’s discuss each.

Allies: Start with the Low-Hanging Fruit

Who might already be aligned with your idea? Among potential allies, who are the easiest to convince? Your first move should be sharing your idea with people you already have relationships & trust with – but here's the crucial part: offer space for their feedback and incorporate their ideas into yours.

When people help shape an idea, they develop ownership of it. Their support becomes active, not passive. Present your idea, ask for feedback, and ways to improve it. Ask who else they think could be a good ally. Don't work alone! The more you draw others into the idea, the more resources – their time, their relationships – they'll commit.

The magic happens in one-on-one conversations. The more 1-on-1s you have before the meeting, the higher your chances. If I'd had just 3-4 conversations before my meeting, I might have mobilized support or even learned about that pre-meeting.

Opposition: Understand the Threat Your Idea Represents

You have to understand what kind of threat your idea represents to certain stakeholders to know where and why the resistance is coming from. People who oppose your ideas are usually those who have the most to lose if your idea is implemented. Remember, people don't resist change, they resist the loss change might bring.

And don’t take disagreement personally! People rarely oppose you because of who you are, but because of the issue or change you represent. A player chasing another player on a football field isn't chasing the player—they're chasing the ball! 

Once you identify potential opponents, decide whether it's worth talking to them beforehand. Sometimes you must engage with opponents because they'll show you blind spots and help you mitigate their impact. Having a few opponents is manageable, but letting their dissatisfaction turn into a movement against you? That's a strategic error.

Movable middle

Often, the most important players in this equation are those in the middle—people uncommitted to either side who usually prefer the status quo (the devil they know) and can sway the entire outcome in one direction or another.

In my case, 3 board members remained passive about the funding allocation, which I knew beforehand. Had I engaged them, turned them from observers into allies, and incorporated their ideas, my proposal would have become collective—requiring just one more vote for approval.

This is why those pre-meeting conversations matter so much. They don't just give your idea a better chance – they allow it to grow, polish, mature, and become "ours" instead of just "yours."

⚡ 5-Minute Action Step

Think of one idea or change you want to propose in the coming weeks. Grab a piece of paper and quickly map out:

1. Who has final decision authority?

2. Who can influence that person/group?

3. Write down 2-3 potential allies you could talk to this week

4. Identify your biggest likely opponent and why they might resist

5. List the "fence-sitters" who could go either way

Now pick one ally and send them a message asking for 15 minutes to get their thoughts on an idea you're developing.

The next time you have a brilliant idea, remember: the meeting doesn't start when you walk into the room. It starts the moment you begin building the coalition that will make your vision a reality. Your ideas deserve champions, not just slides. Go win before you walk in ✊

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