negotiating your network
We are not alone in the world. Together with other people, we are part of a network. Whether in our private or professional lives, this network is both influencing us or being influenced by us. But what are the more important relationships, what are the more impacting? Which connections support us, which only entangle?
A method to be more aware of these relationships and even working with them for achieving your objectives is “Stakeholder Management”. It’s about improving the communication and relationships with the persons and groups that are substantial for a certain purpose by managing your own time and effort more consciously and effectively.
Since communication and maintaining relationships are two of the three basic processes of the “Value Negotiation” method (the third being to negotiate the content), the concept of stakeholder management is closely aligned with the same, and helps define the boundaries of the network relevant for achieving the given purpose.
Before engaging in stakeholder management, account needs to be taken of what is already going on, and to get a clearer picture of what needs to be changed in the relevant relationships and the respective communication patterns. Some things might have to be abandoned, some emphasised even more.
Using the “Value Negotiation” concept, u:synergy has developed a procedure to support analysis of the existing network for having a sound basis to then discuss the given situation and to plan the appropriate strategy for your stakeholder management. Based on a questionnaire, the stakeholder network can be drawn as a picture for better comprehension.