Colin Gautrey

Process Step Stakeholder Management Review

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For this type of review, remind yourself of the steps in the process of Stakeholder Influence Process and choose one step to focus your review on. It could be that you notice one step which is causing you problems in your progress, or could hold strong opportunities for rapid acceleration. If so, focus your review there by reminding yourself of the key points in the relevant chapter, but also considering the points made below specific to the step under review. Here are the other steps in the Stakeholder Influence Process with additional ideas pertinent Read More

How to Manage the Politics

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Politics is an inevitable feature of organisational life when you realise that the various definitions all lead to the behaviours people use when they seek to influence. These definitions are neutral when it comes to intent or agenda, so those with the best interests of the organisation at the core of their being will be political, as well as the more Machiavellian characters. The actual difference in the way it plays out is in the level of deceit and damage caused to those around. So, unless you work in an organisation where nobody is trying to influence people, you’ll need to come to terms with how politics works and how you can engage proactively (and hopefully authentically) so you can protect your Influencing Goal. Time does not permit us to do other than cover the basic principles, but the Resources section will point you to more specific coverage Read More

Choosing Your Stakeholder Engagement Tactics

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There has been a great deal of research done over the last few decades on influence, which has yielded some fascinating insights into how to engage with your stakeholders. Dr. Cecilia Falbe and her colleagues compiled and researched a range of distinct tactics which are commonly used in the workplace. They then set about considering the likelihood of the tactic being successful. The great thing about their work is that it provides a quick checklist of different approaches you could use, so that you can decide which one fits your purpose best. Provided you are aware of the likely consequences, you can Read More

How to Engage with Your Critics

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The great thing about Critics (as we are using the word here) is that you have a good relationship. The only problem is that you don’t agree with each other – but at least you can talk about it. And this lies at the heart of the optimum way of engaging with your Critics – leveraging the relationship to negotiate agreement. From this you can see that they are not against you, they just disagree with what you are trying to do. Part of your preparation to engage could involve thinking about what sort of Critic they are. To help you work out your best approach, here are the main ones I’ve come across over Read More

How to Engage with Your Enemies

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In an earlier chapter, I mentioned that it is often not a good use of your time and energy to engage with Enemies. It does not mean to do nothing, but you probably need to err on the side of indirect action rather than engagement. The reason for this is the combination of a poor relationship and open disagreement.  When you’ve put someone in this box, remember that it is usually a provisional assessment and that the title Enemies is there to provoke your thinking, not label them as horrible people! That said, with anyone here you clearly have some big concerns; and if they are Read More

How to Engage with Your Players

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These are the stakeholders you are never quite sure about. They say one thing (usually they agree with you) and then do another. Their actions don’t quite back up their words. What you need to do is dig a little deeper into why they may be doing this, then you can decide on your best approach to engage with them. Incidentally, Players rank behind Advocates and Critics in terms of general priorities for your time and effort. Enemies usually come last in your task list. So, with one of your Players in mind, take a look at the different types of Player and see where they fit… Game Player: These are the office politicians. They enjoy the game and seem to think it is okay to Read More

How to Engage with Your Advocates

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Advocates are your best friends and wise mentors. So give them the time and respect that position deserves. They will be invaluable in helping you to overcome obstacles and help build your understanding of the political reality around your goals and your work. Although they will probably volunteer to solve problems for you, try to resist this. It can be less effective than you may think, and until you learn to stand on your own feet your career may get stuck. It is on Advocates that you should ideally focus much of your attention. Remember that you cannot be complacent with them. Sure, they are already Read More

Developing Your Personal Brand

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How many millions do companies the world over spend on developing their brand? Why do they spend all this money? Here are just a few reasons:
  • They want to create a clear impression in the minds of their customers and potential customers that separates them from their competitors. This allows them to play to their strengths and position their offering in the minds of those they want to attract and retain.
  • They want the customer to automatically think of them first whenever the customer’s mind wanders near to their value proposition.
  • They want to focus their employees so that they present a consistent customer experience, which reinforces their competitive strategy.
  • They want to make more money by taking a larger share in their market/a higher margin.
Why should you invest time and effort in building your personal brand? Here are Read More

Personal Branding Caveats and Warnings

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Having worked with so many people on developing their personal brand, there are a number of points which I feel I need to stress. Some of them have already been referred to, but I want to use this final opportunity on this development stream to stress them clearly.
  1. This can work fast. Once you have your brand in focus, you may well be surprised how Read More

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