Creating connectionNetworking
Who are you in the system: Stakeholder mapping
15 minutes
In the first days and weeks of a new role, you will be focused on building relationships and adapting to the dynamics of your new workplace. Essentially, you will be learning about how people think, what’s important to them, and how they prefer to communicate.
“Stakeholder mapping” is a visual exercise that can help you identify your position in the system, identify who your stakeholders are, and determine where you need to develop relationships.
A stakeholder map is valuable for new employees by quickly pinpointing key relationships, learning the responsibilities of different people, and understanding collaboration dynamics with various teams and on different projects.
You can download our Stakeholder Map and follow the steps below.
Instructions:
1
Conduct a stakeholder analysis
Identify and understand the main stakeholders you need to build a relationship with. List them in the first column of the downloadable template for a structured approach.
2
Outline your relationship strategy
List your approach to build each relationship. For example, a coffee, informal meeting, etc.
3
Map what's important to them
Recognising what's important to someone helps in understanding their perspective. This leads to more empathetic interactions and stronger relationships.
4
Identify their communication style
Knowing how someone communicates allows you to present ideas and arguments in a manner that is more likely to be persuasive and influential to that individual.
5
Plan to maintain the relationship
Relationships are largely based on trust. By maintaining a relationship, you cultivate a sense of trust and reliability. People are more likely to be helpful, supportive and influenced by those they trust.
Tip: Revisiting your map on a regular basis will help you become more effective as work, projects and roles evolve.
Sources
1. Boost Lab Team. (2015, June 1). How to map our you network of influence. Boost Labs. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-boundaries-workplace-10748.html
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