Business

Stakeholder Relationships: How Good Are Yours?

Issue 104

As you're reading this, we'll be a month into a new government with a new Prime Minister. Many of us have been in a similar position in the past. Not as Prime Minister, but as the leader who has been working long and hard towards a new role. And then it happens - we get the job! Now we have to show we can do it.

We’ve seen the Prime Minster appointing the right people to job roles; setting expectations of his cabinet, kicking off projects at pace and assessing the situation he is inheriting. These behaviours and actions are all expected for leaders taking on a new role. He’s also been spending time with other leaders and stakeholders. This has happened at pace, as he recognises he needs them on side.

None of us work in a vacuum, so influencing is core to our leadership skill arsenal. However, it isn’t one I always see leaders addressing so purposefully, yet they should. Stakeholders are the people who give us our mandate, experience our services and support our priorities. Building our influence with them is crucial, so how can we approach this successfully?

Identify Key Players

First, we need to identify key parties internally & externally so we can engage. Who are our supporters, our blockers, our advocates and those who we’re not sure about, but we need to find out more. Make this a list of individuals. We can rarely influence a function or team without a key point of contact in that team. Once we know who they are, we should discover what we mean to them, and how much work we have to do.

Identify Priorities

Next identify and share priorities between both parties. It staggers me how rarely this happens. We try to assume what others want or need, or keep things secret. Why make our lives so hard? Why not be up front, and honest, and simply ask them what’s important to them currently? What outcome are they looking for? How do they feel you link to this? Then share your priorities and begin to find common ground. Starting with alignment is always easier than with differences.

Build the Strength of your Relationships

How well do you know this person and do they know you? What type of conversations do you have? Are they always about facts and data?

Do you know their opinions and beliefs about what you’re working on? Do they reach out to you for advice, guidance, input – or do they rarely speak to you.? If you’re answering no to many of these – then you need to get to know them better. Until you do, you haven’t a hope of influencing unless, by fluke, you both want the same thing.

Never underestimate the strength of relationship in influencing. Thought leader Robert Cialdini cites ‘liking’ and ‘reciprocity’ as 2 of his 6 key influencing techniques. Both of these require us to get on well with our stakeholders and have a strong relationship.

Agree Expectations

I’ve talked about this a lot in these columns. I believe it’s essential with all our stakeholders and team members, and people don’t do this enough. So start with the basics:

What do we need to achieve together, and what do we need from each other to do this?

When will we meet, for how long, when, about what, and in what format?

How will we feedback to each other? In a meeting, email, call, text/instant message?

We’d do this with service providers, so also should do this with stakeholders. It removes assumption and lessons conflict, because we are meeting each others’ needs.

Maintain Regular Contact

Finally, agree your frequency of meeting. Some will be weekly people, others monthly, some quarterly. Remember, without regular contact, you won’t build the strength of relationship, which is so important.

If you’re doing these things already – superb! Maybe check in with the other person that everything is still working well.

If not – then start scheduling calls into your diaries now, there is work to do!

Annabel is an Executive and Team Coach, Leadership Facilitator and Coach Supervisor. She runs workshops on communication and influencing alongside other leadership subjects. Contact Annabel via LinkedIn, annabel@successfultraining.co.uk, or visit www.successfultraining.co.uk

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