In the second part of this three-part series, we talked about how to communicate successfully among direct colleagues, within one and the same team. In this final part, we look at communication across the entire organization.
Stakeholders and stakeholders of stakeholders
Many tasks and projects require that you collaborate not only with your team members but across departments and disciplines. Because of this, you often get quite a complex stakeholder matrix:
• Stakeholders of the project:
That’s of course everyone participating in the project – but also people who will be affected by its execution and outcome in any way, shape, or form.
• Stakeholders of the stakeholders:
Every stakeholder of the project has his or her own set of stakeholders: people who have specific, and often conflicting, views about the importance, value, and desired outcome of the project and about the role and responsibility of the stakeholder within the project. They can be the stakeholder’s team members, boss, customers, and / or suppliers.
Considering how many people can have a stake in any given project, it is not surprising that internal conflicts in organizations are as common as they are. A good preemptive measure to avoid potential conflicts is to acknowledge the variety of goals and views at the very beginning of a project.
Connecting with different stakeholders
To build trust and establish meaningful connections, it is important to identify the individual needs and goals of each stakeholder.
The following questions can help you do that:
• What interest do they have in the outcome of the project in general and your work in particular?
• What is the nature of their most important needs (e.g. financial, emotional, ideological)?
• How would they benefit from a successful – or even unsuccessful – outcome?
• What is their main motivation?
• What do they expect from you? How do they perceive your role within the project?
• How do they prefer to communicate and to collaborate?
• How do they see you generally – favorably, neutral, or unfavorably?
• Who influences their opinions in general, and who influences their opinion of you? Do some of these influencers therefore become important stakeholders in their own right?
As you can see, you need to understand both, how each stakeholder sees the project and how they see you and your role in it. Once you have a clear picture about this, you can apply everything you learned in the first two articles to successfully communicate with anyone within the company.
Conclusion
In any communication scenario, it is helpful to follow this simple, yet powerful principle: Everybody is right, but nobody completely. Therefore, every person's contribution is important and valuable, but it is the sum of everyone's contributions that leads to a successful outcome.
Accepting this principle requires mutual respect from everyone involved – and it is your job, first and foremost, to hold up your end of the bargain.
Don't miss the first blog article of this three-part series: Your Guide to Successful Communication at Work (Part 1/3)
If you would like to read more about the topic of successful communication at work, then download the Premium eBook Navigating Conversations in the Workplace: A Communication Map by Daniela Rohan.
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