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1) Ask questions
2) Listen carefully to the answers
3) Do something useful with what you have learned
4) Tell people what you have done
5) Repeat steps one through four
What are you waiting for? Get on and do it, and be mindful that simple isn’t always easy. That’s the point of step five I guess, repeat, repeat, repeat.
Have fun.
I continue to be impressed by the sum and power of knowledge that staff have and would like to share in organisations. And I continue to be disappointed by the lack of opportunity to share this knowledge both inside and outside organisations. Why do I come up against this mismatch so often?
In part I think it is because the further people advance up the old fashioned hirearchical org chart, the more they seem to be trained to believe the hype. Their hype and the hype of people around and often above them.
So to all you CEOs, FDs, HRDs I would like to say this. Please stop assuming that we all want to hear from you all of the time. You have two job titles. The one on your business card and this one: Chief Listening Officer. Stop broadcasting, start conversing, and be prepared to be amazed at how smart our staff and customers are.
Just for you – we’ve written an in depth study of stakeholder engagement. Well as in depth as anyone needs it to be. So forget your weighty tomes and worthy manuals, this is it folks.
1 – Be aware of who your stakeholders are
2 – Inform stakeholders about what’s going on
3 – Ask stakeholders their opinion
4 – Is that it? Seems to be…that’s where most folks leave it eh? OK – it’s a wrap, lights out, we’re going home. Oh yeah….the bit most folks forget…we nearly forgot.
5 – Act on what your stakeholders tell you. At least sometimes. Go on, it’s good for you, and your stakeholders will love you for it.
6 – Go back to step 1
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