On the stakeholder map you need to consider each individual and their position on the map relative to two axis…
Relationship…
- Trust. To what extent do they trust you and do you trust them?
- Openness. How much are they willing to disclose sensitive information?
- Frequency. How often do you engage with them?
Agreement…
- Benefit. How much will they gain (or lose) when you succeed?
- Agreement. The extent to which they agree or disagree with what you aim to achieve.
- Activity. How much are they doing to help or hinder you?
As you are doing this, note that…
- The primary purpose of this process is to provoke action, not precision.
- One map to one goal – the names may be the same but the positions will vary.
- If you are unsure where to put someone, write their name in the grey area between the boxes, as close to where you think it should be as you can. This perhaps highlights an action to investigate this relationship or agreement further.
- Challenge hard for the evidence to back up your estimations.
- You cannot have one individual in a number of different boxes at the same time. If you find yourself wanting to put them into two different boxes, the probability is that you are not yet clear enough about your focus – or they should really be in the grey zone.
- Initial position is often simply your hypothesis. Action needs to test it.
- Don’t leave your paperwork lying around on your desk. However, by all means use it with a stakeholder and show them how you are thinking. You’ll be surprised how positive this can be (although take care showing your map to an enemy!).
- The best maps have just 8-12 people plotted.
- Be consistent about plotting individuals or groups. Try not to mix on one map. If your focus is big, you might want to start by analysing the groups to see where they fall. Then decide which group you want to move and develop that as a separate influencing goal/focus. Then map out the key stakeholders in that group on another map.
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