On a recent workshop with the National Health Service, a director approached me to say how pleased he was to be able to attend – because he had recently discovered my approach to stakeholder mapping and had used it with the board.
Later in the day he confessed that it had not worked as well as he had expected, and now he understood why.
During the workshop we had practiced using the whole Stakeholder Influence Process, including the mapping, and now he understood some of the nuances that he had not understood before trying to use it with his colleagues.
It turns out that he had done little more than pick up the map, read the labels and that was it. He had not read around the topic or watched any of my videos.
Perhaps you are in the same boat. You’ve seen the map, maybe had played with it a little, but do you understand how to use it?
To make sure, check out the resources below – the ones I wish this NHS director had studied, if only for 30 minutes, before presenting to the board.
- The Stakeholder Mapping Guide (requires blog subscription). This is a succinct guide to how to do the mapping, and includes a template you can print and use (download here).
- The Stakeholder Mapping Process. Short video of me presenting the way of doing it to a workshop a few years ago (watch now).
- Stakeholder Mapping Best Practice. A follow-up video that explores some of these nuances (watch now).
And finally, if in doubt, ask!