By Annabel Graham, Successful Training
As I write this, we are in the fall out of the local government elections in the UK and battle within the government for who will be leader.
Across the country, thousands of employees and leaders in local government and associated businesses are going through a massive transition. Their stakeholders have changed overnight!
People who they built close working relationships with for years have gone, and they are left with the prospect of not just one new face around the table but dozens who they need to get to know and influence. It’s daunting!
I’ve been there. Many years ago, when a senior manager, my director and CEO went over a weekend. I worked in a PLC, the results weren’t good enough, the board had spoken and they had to go. It was a shock. The person I’d got to know, work with and trust vanished, and it got worse from there.
I was on holiday, but my first call after hearing, was to call my director and check he was ok. We’re dealing with people – they have feelings! Thankfully he went on to an outstanding career, the company, very sadly, not so much. Like football teams with a revolving door of managers, businesses who do the same with CEOs, suffer.
What we are seeing now in politics is not unusual in any business, you don’t have to be part of local government. A merger, acquisition, restructure can all cause this. And how many of us have seen the back biting, infighting and toxic behaviours when the top team start to fall apart or has a new leader. They think they are hiding it, but they aren’t – it’s plain to see. It’s ripples down through the organisation, causing paralysis whilst people work out which horse to back and protect their own position.
How then can we navigate this, build resilience across teams and organisations in the face of large-scale stakeholder change and build credibility fast?
1. Be very clear on your mandate: As an organisation be clear on your vision, desired outcomes, and key priorities, and make sure all your teams are aligned. Then one message goes out – not a scatter gun effect which breeds uncertainty and lack of trust in others.
2. Understand your stakeholders’ expectations: do your mandates align? If not, what needs to change? Be clear on what they expect of you in focus, output, communication and share your expectations of them. Treat it like a service level agreement: how will you all play together?
3. Identify who is crucial to your success: this may be an individual or team. As a team map those teams internally & externally who are crucial to your success, and who else you need to involve. Then decide who is going to own which stakeholder. No-one has time for you all to talk, so agree your liaison strategy.
4. Align internally across teams: nothing is more unsettling to an external stakeholder than getting mixed messages across the business they work with. It creates uncertainty. We like behaviours and messages to be congruous, so create cross team touch points to share best practice, create shared priorities and align on approach.
5. Remember the 3Cs. Communication, consistency and commitment. Communicate often, be consistent in your message, and keep saying it long after your bored. People need repetition, up to 20 times before they commit to it, so keep repeating what’s important. If you’re facing this situation currently; take a breath, prepare a plan, and be friendly. If your stakeholders meet the person before the job title, it will go a long way!
If you’d like to talk more about how Annabel can support alignment within and across teams, then reach out at annabel@successfultraining.co.uk or www.linkedin.com/in/annabelgraham-coach facilitator