- What if someone sees the document?
- What if so and so found out we labeled them as "not supportive"?
- How do we even know for sure they aren't supportive?
- Why would you NOT want anyone to be 'strongly supportive' anyway?
And we'd usually spend several minutes of class time addressing the concerns for which I really didn't have a good answer. After a while, I tired of trying to defend the tool, so I abandoned the traditional stakeholder analysis tool for good and developed a different, more useful (I think) approach. Instead of labeling, I wanted to empathize. Instead of analyzing, I wanted to understand. I wanted to empathize with the stakeholder and understand why they would or would not support the change effort.
The approach? Have a conversation with them or with someone who really understands them. The questions?
- IMPACT: How will they be affected or impacted? How is the stakeholder involved in the change effort? What will they need to do differently?
- BENEFIT: What will be a gain or benefit to the stakeholder? What would they consider a real win?
- CONCERN: What concerns might the stakeholder have about the change? What would they consider a losing proposition? What issues do they see related to the change?
Maximize the benefits + Minimize the concerns = Support
That's it! No fancy Os and Xs, no psychoanalysis, no labels, no risk. Just plain old fashion communication that gets to the real reasons for why stakeholders decide to support or not support the change. Sure, it may not look as nice as an Os and Xs chart. However, this approach has several benefits:
- It provides much more and richer information through real discussion.
- It uncovers and challenges assumptions.
- It is non-judgmental, no need to label people.
- Best of all, after the dialogue, you'll have a very good idea about how to influence someone who might not be excited about the change.
Give it a try next time you need to influence people to 'buy into' a change that is not their idea. You might be surprised how well it works. I'd love to hear your comments and your experience.
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