Performing in Symphony

Organisations that deliver harmony

create synchronised behaviour

Most influencing efforts fail for a simple reason:

• We communicate in the way we like to receive

• Not in the way others are ready to act

In every commercial organisation you will find:

• People who need data before they move

• People who need belief before they commit

• People who need clarity before they act

• People who need to see how it works in the real world

  
  

And when a single influencing style is used for all of them, alignment becomes slow, political and fragile.

The most effective category leaders do something different.

They treat influencing as a system - not a presentation.

Tools like Insights Discovery, MBTI and similar profiling frameworks have transformed how many teams understand themselves.

They help individuals recognise:

• How they prefer to communicate

• How they process information

• What gives them energy

• What creates pressure

  
  

That self-awareness is powerful, but on its own it does not change performance.

Because influencing is not about understanding your own colour, type or preference.

It is about adapting to the person in front of you.

The real step change happens when teams move from:

“This is my style.” to “This is what they need from me.”

That is when:

• Analytical stakeholders are given proof

• Big-picture thinkers are given possibility

• Action-oriented operators are given practical steps

• Relationship-driven partners are given trust and involvement
  

Same story, different access points.

The first act of influencing is not the proposal, it is the creation of a shared world.

For some people that world is built through:

• Numbers

• Performance

• Risk and return

  
  

For others it is built through:

• Shopper reality

• Competitive context

• The future opportunity

  
  

For others it is:

• Execution

• Simplicity

• Feasibility

  
  

This is why the setup in your story matters so much.

When the context reflects the priorities of multiple behavioural preferences, people feel:

“This has been built with me in mind.”

And that is the moment resistance drops.

High-performing influencing never asks everyone to care about the same thing.

It shows how the same destination delivers different forms of success.

This is where profiling tools become commercially powerful.

• Not as labels, but as lenses.

  
  

Because they help us translate the bridge into:

• Return and delivery for finance

• Category growth for the buyer

• Operational ease for the store

• Brand progress for marketing

• Stability and flow for supply

  
  

The destination is shared and the motivation is personal.

This is what turns alignment from compliance into commitment.

Behavioural research consistently shows that people move at different speeds and for different reasons:

• Some want a clear path

• Some want confidence in the outcome

• Some want: Evidence it is already working

• Some want: Time to test and learn

The best influencers design the bridge so that:

• The structured thinker sees milestones

• The visionary sees momentum

• The operator sees practical action

• The collaborator sees who is moving with them

  
  

This is adaptive influencing in practice, not changing the message.

Changing the way the journey is experienced.

Synchronisation happens when people

feel seen and heard

Studies on high-performing teams show that alignment is created when people feel:

• Their perspective is understood

• Their contribution is clear

• Their progress is visible

  
  

Profiling tools help start that conversation.

But rhythm comes from:

• A consistent narrative

• A regular recap

• A visible next step

• Shared measures of progress

  
  

That is when teams stop pulling in different directions, not because they are told to align, but because the story now works for all of them.

A practical score for influencing styles

If you want movement that is fast and sustainable, build it like this:

🎻 1. Score the orchestra before the first rehearsal

(Map decision and communication preferences)

Don’t start with the deck. Start with the cast.

Identify for every key stakeholder:

• What gives them confidence? (data / proof / pilots / precedent)

• What creates belief? (vision / external example / future value)

• What makes it actionable? (clear steps / owners / timing)

• What creates trust? (involvement / co-creation / visibility)

• 
  

Output: a simple stakeholder “readiness map” that shapes how you engage — not just who you engage.

🪞 2. Know your default tempo — then flex it

(Self-awareness → other-awareness in action)

Most leaders overplay their natural style.

Before every interaction ask:

• Am I about to give them what I like…

• …or what they need to move?

• 
  

Practical habit:In your meeting plan, write one line per stakeholder:

“For them to move, they need to see ______.”

🎼 3. Open with a shared score — not your slide 1

(Context built through multiple lenses)

The first 5 minutes determines the pace of the next 5 months.

Frame the situation so each group sees their world:

• Commercial → value & growth

• Customer → category & shopper

• Supply → feasibility & flow

• Finance → return & risk

• Operations → simplicity & execution

When people see their reality in the opening, resistance drops.

🎯 4. One destination. Multiple personal wins.

(Translate the future)

Never sell the same outcome in the same way.

Make the future explicit for each audience:

• “For you this means…”

Now alignment becomes motivated, not mandated.

🥁 5. Give each section a different cue

(Build the bridge in preference-specific ways)

Your plan should contain:

• Milestones → for the structured

• Momentum signals → for the visionary

• Practical next actions → for the operator

• Touchpoints for co-creation → for the relationship-led

• 
  

Same programme. Different entry points.

📊 6. Make progress visible in four formats

(So everyone can hear the music)

Track movement through:

• Numbers → confidence

• Stories → belief

• Customer / store impact → reality

• Delivery against plan → control

• 
  

If progress is only visible in one format, only one group moves.

🔁 7. Conduct the rhythm, not just the meeting

(The recap discipline)

Momentum lives in the cadence.

Every interaction should answer:

• Where are we now?

• What moved since last time?

• What happens next?

Same structure. Every time.

That’s the beat the organisation plays to.

⏭ 8. Always cue the next bar

(Protect the tempo)

Never close a session without:

• the next visible action

• the owner

• the timing

• the success signal

No cue → tempo drops.

The shift that changes performance

When influencing is built around behavioural reality:

• Conversations become shorter and more productive

• Retailers engage earlier

• Internal friction reduces

• Pace increases

  
  

Because people are no longer being asked to think differently.

They are being engaged in the way they already think.