It’s hard to influence stakeholders. Learn three tips that will help you prevent stakeholder rejection in your project and strategy execution process.
2 stakeholder questions. One answer.
A CIO asked me how to get their digital transformation business case approved, after initially being rejected.
A HR manager asked me how to get their leaders to participate in their change initiative, when they’re indifferent.
In both cases, involving your stakeholders early in your project (business case or change initiative) will ensure they have a stake in it and won’t reject or ignore it later. Dr Robert Cialdini, well known psychology academic, describes the influence principle of “consistency”: people seek to be consistent in their actions. If they’ve been involved in developing something, they are most likely to support it later.
Here is an unusual example, a former politician who was recognised last year as a top 100 innovator by The Australian newsletter. See here for an example of how Victor Dominello gets large scale public support for hard-to-implement digital initiatives.
Try these 3 techniques he uses to influence his stakeholders:
- He interests others in his mission by solving a specific pain point for them. People are more likely to pay attention to painkillers (fix an immediate problem), rather than vitamins (less urgent). Find your stakeholder’s pain points and solve for these.
- He gathers a broad community of supporters around him with transparency throughout the change journey.
- He selects bold innovations, and explains them very simply so anyone can understand.
To get MUCH MORE inspiration and ideas to Turbocharge your work, join our growing community here.
PS Turbocharge your strategic influence 😊🌱📈
Join The Turbochargers Hub to use AI in your strategic projects
Email me back to work with me: strategic planning, execution and AI strategies
Subscribe to this weekly email if you received it from a friend
About Lisa Carlin
Lisa Carlin is a Strategy Execution Specialist. She works with business leaders to plan and execute their strategies in tough environments. Her clients love having her expertise and guidance to navigate their workplace culture and use AI to achieve success.
Lisa created The Turbochargers Hub, so leaders can master the art of strategic influence and generate momentum for organizational change.
Lisa is author of the globally acclaimed newsletter, Turbocharge Weekly, read by 8,000 business leaders.
Lisa’s career includes roles at McKinsey and Accenture, then running her own business since 1999. Over this time she has delivered over 50 implementations with a 96% success rate.
See the OD Hive mastermind community – peer mentoring groups for OD and transformation professionals
Written by Lisa Carlin for FutureBuilders: https://www.futurebuildersgroup.com/how-to-avoid-stakeholder-rejection/