Stakeholder management is a very tricky thing. It is an art to ensure that all your relevant stakeholders stay happy with you. There are stakeholder management trainings, stakeholder management strategy and a lot of stakeholder management ppts that confuse us all.
But who are stakeholders or what a stakeholder is?
A stakeholder is a person who directly or indirectly impacts your work. It covers everyone within and outside your company who have a stake in how either your income or expenditure performs. For example, if you are in a purchaser of materials whose responsibility is to ensure the vehicle gets all its parts on time, then your direct stakeholders are your suppliers, your boss, your production team, your quality team, your boss’s boss and your indirect stakeholders could be your functional head (or even CEO), sales & marketing teams who need to ensure this vehicle is sold and the customers who buy this vehicle!
Now managing so many people, their emotions, and their expectations is no mean task. Basis my corporate experience, here are a few ways how top performers manage their stakeholders exceedingly well.
Know them well
No one will sit and tell you the names of your stakeholders. You need to figure out these people on your own. So know them well in time, introduce yourself to them and get on an even page with them. None of you have an upper edge; you are both equals in this give & take relationship.
Set expectations clearly
The big troubles start when at the end of the last lap, you figure out you were racing the wrong marathon! Set up expectations clearly, right before you start working on them. What needs to be delivered when, at what time, by who, in what condition, how and where are very important questions for you to ask.
Keep the communication clear
Everything is about the activities and the results. Everyone is happy if what they want is given to them, as per agreed time and commitments. But it is obvious to have hurdles and delays. Point is to keep the communication clear between you and your stakeholder. Whoever needs to be told of the progress, keep them informed.
Be Fair
It’s still easy to cheat an external stakeholder, but an internal stakeholder can easily find out your false promises or unfair treatment. Treat all your stakeholders fairly. If you do a work today for your boss, his counterpart from other function will expect the same work from you. You can’t refuse then. So whatever you do, in whichever way you do, do it for everyone.
It’s all professional
It’s a human trait to develop personal bonds with one’s stakeholders. We may like some and we may hate others. Personal bonding should never determine how one treats or delivers work. You are my friend, and hence I will do this for you. I don’t like you, and hence sorry, please come some other time. It is a professional world and you are a professional first- never forget that. Nobody is required to any favours to anybody. Each one of us has tasks to perform, as long as we do that with sincerity, we are all good.
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