Change has become our constant reality at the workplace. New leadership, new strategy, tools and processes, you name it. Stakeholder management stands out as a key success factor.
Everyone leading change has to master the art of engaging those who hold the strings.
But who are these stakeholders, and how do you effectively engage with them? And what do they have to do with a garden party in your house?
Let’s explore together.
Identifying Your Stakeholders
💻 Imagine, you are leading a project to implement a new software at your company. The stakeholders include the IT team, concerned about integration, the finance department worried about costs, and end-users, who just want to have an easy time using it.
🎉 At the same time, you haven’t seen your friends since ages, and you decide to host a garden party for your friends. Your stakeholders are Billie, your vegan buddy; Bonnie, with a nut allergy; and the Lee family, fans of spicy food. You want them to have a great time, so you inform yourself what’s in and what’s not.
Engaging with Stakeholders
💻 Back on the work week, you conduct regular meetings with the IT team, finance department, and end-user. You listen carefully, record their concerns, and bring them into your project team, so that everyone can consider and act.
🎉For the party, you use a WhatsApp group to collect preferences and discuss the menu. You want to make sure to consider everyone's dietary preferences, reflecting the inclusive approach in stakeholder engagement.
Aligning Stakeholders with Your Vision
💻 You align the IT team's tech needs and test extensively. You prepare a detailed cost overview for the the finance department. Certainly, you ask for feedbacks from your test users too, demonstrating the software's benefits for each group.
🎉To accommodate all tastes, you propose a variety of vegan, nut-free and spicy dishes. For the guests without any requirements, you propose your favorite simple dishes. Aligning the varying preferences of your friends, just like you do at work with your co-workers.
Measuring Stakeholder Engagement
💻 After implementing the software, you survey different departments for their feedback, assessing the project's impact and areas for improvement.
🎉Post-party, you ask your friends, if everything was alright to understand what worked well and what could be better next time. The pictures on the WhatsApp group? No doubt on the fun factor!
Review and Repeat
💻 With the feedback in hand, you identify areas for software improvement, plan additional training for end-users, and schedule follow-up meetings for ongoing support. Your co-workers are not anymore strangers to each other – the next project will go so much easier.
🎉 Billie kindly suggests you to skip the honey from the salad dressing. If you just knew it before! You reflect on all the feedback, and you already have great ideas what to cook next time. What’s more, you decide to make it a regular monthly event. You have so much fun and you even discover new hobbies together. Having a community is totally worth the organization efforts!
Ignore stakeholders ➡ steer into the iceberg.
Managing your stakeholders needs rigorous organization and sticking to your KPIs. However, the most important ingredients are the deeply human ones: empathy, communication, and transparency. Both at the workplace and in your private life.
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