Driving real engagement

driving real engagement

Understanding people is one of the hardest things we do, isn’t it?

My sons and I have been discussing a wonderful book on this topic, called The Road Back To You.

Its discussion on Enneagrams has been marvelous.

Here are adults who know each other pretty well, and yet, we are still learning.

So, how do we understand our myriad of stakeholders that we don’t know as intimately?

It’s a big ask!

Frameworks are hugely helpful.

Today I share one to help you think through the different stages of stakeholder engagement.

Before I get there, here are a few quick updates.

  • The Extreme Clarity Workshop is open for registration. I’ve extended it to 3 hours to allow for more practice. Learn more here.
  • My free Pyramid Principle 101 workshop included a great discussion on how to use AI in your communication. Catch the recording here.
  • My conversation on change management communication with Paul Ichilcik has been receiving great feedback. Go to Cutting Through on your favourite player or listen here.

Emotional Stages of Executive Engagement

 

Helping stakeholders understand how new facts are relevant to their situation is essential to engagement.

No surprise there.

But how to do it at different points in a decision-making journey? HOW do we make them relevant?

Understanding the emotional stages along the journey helps. Here are six, along with ideas to support each stage.

1. Spark curiosity so they listen.

    • Introduce a compelling narrative or insight
    • Align with their business priorities
    • Empathise with their challenges

2. Build credibility so they want to go deeper.

    • Show you have thought critically about the issues
    • Invite questions and show openness to critique
    • Share risks and mitigation strategies transparently

 3. Gain consensus so they align.

    • Reinforce how the proposal supports their goals
    • Involve them in shaping the solution
    • Use language like “we” and “our” to foster ownership

 4. Cultivate champions so they support you.

    • Highlight wins or early successes
    • Show how it benefits their teams or reputation
    • Ask for their support in influencing others

 5. Gain commitment so they’ll prioritise the effort.

    • Provide a clear roadmap and next steps
    • Make it easy for them to say “yes”
    • Express appreciation and reinforce partnership

 6. Maintain continuity so you all deliver.

    • Update with progress and wins
    • Celebrate milestones together
    • Resolve issues proactive

I hope that helps. More soon.

Davina

 

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PRESENTED BY DAVINA STANLEY

I love what I do.

I help senior leaders and their teams prepare high-quality papers and presentations in a fraction of the time.

This involves ‘nailing' the message that will quickly engage decision makers in the required outcome.

I leverage 25+ years' experience including

  • learning structured thinking techniques at McKinsey in Hong Kong in the mid 1990s before coaching and training their teams globally as a freelancer for a further 15 years
  • being approved to teach the Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto in 2009
  • helping CEOs, C-suite leaders and their reports deeply understand their stakeholder needs and communicate accordingly
  • seeing leaders cut the number of times they review major papers by ~30% and teams cut the amount of time they take to prepare major papers by ~20%*
  • watching senior meetings focus on substantive discussions and better decisions rather than trying to clarify the issue

My approach helps anyone who needs to engage senior leaders and Boards.

Recent clients include 7Eleven, KPMG, Mercer, Meta, Woolworths.

Learn more at www.clarityfirstprogram.com

 

(*) Numbers are based on 2023 client benchmarking results.