You’ve been asked to work on a project that will impact another function in your company (or more than one function).
You could go at it alone but you know that those impacted will resent your lack of cooperation after you launch your project.
A better approach is to ask them for feedback before you launch. The problem with this approach is that it may be difficult and costly for you to make necessary changes at the tail end.
Better yet is to involve the other functions from the start. Announce your nascent project by email and invite all interested functions to nominate a representative to work with you. Set some gates along the way to ensure that everyone is aligned. Assign key tasks to the functions most impacted by those tasks. These additional steps might appear to slow you down but remember: slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. By involving the right people, you significantly reduce the risk of failure. More importantly, you make allies.
Nothing of significance is ever achieved by a single person.
Writing as “The Ethical Leader,” Yan Tougas draws on 15 years of experience as a compliance & ethics officer at a Fortune 500 company, sharing insights, wisdom and lessons learned. This post originally appeared on “The Ethical Leader” and is reprinted here with permission. Views expressed are that of the author. Visit him at YanTougas.com, connect with him on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter.
Yan Tougas, Global Ethics & Compliance Officer, Raytheon Technologies Corporation
Yan Tougas oversees Raytheon’s global ethics programs, supporting a network of nearly 300 Ethics & Compliance Officers, managing the company’s Ombuds program, and ensuring that best practices are adopted across Raytheon’s business units. Ethical culture and leadership is the focus of all activities under his responsibility.
Yan joined Raytheon in 2000 and held positions of increasing responsibility at several of its business units. He took his current position at the Corporate Office in 2012.
Yan holds a LL.B from the University of Sherbrooke School of Law (Quebec) and a LL.M. from University of Connecticut School of Law. He sits on the Board of the Ethics & Compliance Initiative and on the Advisory Board of the Hoffman Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University. Yan currently lives in Connecticut with his wife and three children. 
