A Facilitators Guide to Running a Stakeholder Analysis Workshop

This facilitator's guide to running a stakeholder analysis workshop is for people whose success depends on getting other people involved with their objectives.

It contains two exercises, one to work with stakeholder groups, and one to emulate stakeholders where it is not easy to bring them all together. The aim of both is to engage stakeholders in dialogue, brainstorming and decision-making to secure their buy-in to an idea, project, or plan.

There are five key principles underpinning success in both exercises. These are:

1. People are motivated to co-operate when they stand to gain personally from the effort they put in. You will struggle to involve someone if they are not motivated to attain something important to them, i.e. something of personal value. So, look to get an outcome that is a win for all concerned.

2. You can only really understand someone's motivation by spending time in their shoes, i.e. by taking their perspective, not as a commentator but by metaphorically stepping into their shoes, adopting their values, beliefs and experiences, and seeing the world from their perspective.

3. Assume that your own wants and needs are irrelevant to anyone else. If you push for your own ideas to be accepted, against those of other stakeholders, expect to have to keep pushing for a long time. The only solution that will succeed without constant pushing and struggling is one that connects with the personal values of each stakeholder in some way.

4. The only thing that matters is that stakeholders get value from the decision. Suppress your own ego, desires and opinions about the solution ? they will serve to limit the process and produce a solution that only you may be motivated to promote.

5. Be careful when deciding who the stakeholders are. They are not only the people with financial interests. Anyone connected with the idea is a stakeholder in some way, e.g. marketing, IT, admin, shareholders, customers, suppliers, etc.

Exercise 1 and 2 are available at: http://www.quadrant1.co.uk/corporate/stakeholders.php

Quadrant 1 International help individuals excel at their work and with their personal ambitions.

We are business people with many years experience in senior management and entrepreneurial positions. We have trained, coached and developed hundreds of managers and directors to greater success. We are authors of several international best selling books on personal development, and often present at major events around the world.

Sign-up for our free newsletters at http://www.quadrant1.com

In The News:

pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Workplace Security Plan: Does Your Company Have One?

Consultant's Perspective...The threat of violence whether it emanates from a... Read More

Meeting Your Meeting Expectations

"To get something done a meeting should consist of no... Read More

Effective Meetings Begin With a Real Agenda

Everyone knows that an agenda is the key to an... Read More

Keys to Feeling Powerfull In An Uncertain World

Life has always been full of uncertainties. Over the last... Read More

Balancing Power in Outsource Contract Agreements

The practice of outsourcing business processes has long been subject... Read More

Bosses Are Out ? Managers As Coaches Are In

There is a new trend taking hold in business today... Read More

Can Your Corporate Policy Pass the Monkeys, Bananas, and Water-spray Experiment?

Five monkeys were placed in a cage. A banana was... Read More

Ten Secrets of Super Successful Meeting Planners

Whoever said that being a meeting planner was easy, lied!... Read More

Commercial Collections Billing Practices Advice

Swiftness is the key to collecting past due commercial accounts... Read More

13 Comments on Bad Meetings

Bad meetings are a cultural malady that senior executives pass... Read More

Shrinkage Control

What has been your store's shrinkage experience for the last... Read More

Make Change Easy - Get Involved!

There are wild variances in how much involvement organisations are... Read More

Never Punish Yourself or Others for Failures

If you want to find success in various ramifications, be... Read More

Agendas Make Meetings Productive

Having an agenda template that works well for you, week... Read More

Knowledge Management - Creating a Sustainable Yellow Pages System

How can I "know who knows" None of us can... Read More

Virtual Assistance: A Money Saving Opportunity For Employers

What is a Virtual Assistant? A Virtual Assistant is a... Read More

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Competitive, Not Complementary Action

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that... Read More

How to Create an Operations Manual

An operations manual can act as a tool for training... Read More

2 Steps For Increasing Company Profits or Performing Business Turnarounds

1. Eliminate wasteEliminate reports, habits, products, duplicate input, and processes... Read More

Innovation Management ? The Need For Knowledge Managers

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Five Steps to Increase the People Power in Your Business

Take some bold steps and help your employees and business... Read More

10 Ways To Maintain Profits In A Slow Economy

1. Sell more back end products to your existing customer... Read More

When Being A Facilitator DOESNT Help

I talked with a group of internal consultants last week... Read More

One Crazy Cookie

In order to survive, you have to be happier than... Read More

Successful Managing Through Delegation

Managers should avoid the tendency to constantly delegate to the... Read More

Action Learning: Its More Than OJT

For centuries companies have used on-the-job training (OJT). OJT works... Read More

Across The Interview Table!

Job interviews are easier for the interviewer or the interviewee... Read More

Lets Flourish and Prosper!

Some say that in business as in sex: if it... Read More

Behavioral Extensions and Its Implications at Workplaces

The study of Behavioral extension involves investigating the source of... Read More

Communicating In Chaotic Environments

How do you, or would you, communicate in a chaotic... Read More

Does Your Management Style Remind People Of Something They Read In Dilbert?

With thanks to Jeff Foxworthy, the comedian who does the... Read More

DIVERSITY is a BIG word -- With A HUGE Business IMPACT

Second thought! Just in case. YOU or someone you personally... Read More

Why Businesses Need to Start Nurturing Collective Wisdom

COLLECTIVE WISDOM CAN BE AN effective tool for solving the... Read More