Step 3: Stakeholder Engagement
There is an African Proverb that humbles me on the regular:
"If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together."
Sometimes, though, as shiny and high-performing as you are, there simply is no "going fast" without others choosing to also go with you.
Without that elusive buy-in - that Stakeholder Engagement - you're stuck right where you are, my friend. Ain't no other way around it.
I was incredibly lucky that my very first manager in the industry, David Romick , taught me the importance of Stakeholder Engagement.
He had brought me on as a Materials Expeditor to Identify The Problem with 1600 POs that were hanging open in our system for who-knows-what-reason, then conduct extensive Research & Analysis to determine what it would take to close them out.
But now what? Now that I knew WHAT to do - how was I supposed to actually make it happen, especially when I didn't have the knowledge, access, or authority to execute certain tasks?
**Stakeholder Engagement**
I don't want to say that "Procurement" is a dirty word, but since my goal was not only to close POs but prevent them from happening again - as well as improve efficiencies that reduced Hot Shots & expedited orders - I was hired as an integral part of the Procurement team.
David made sure to give me fair warning that many of the plant guys were highly resistant to our department's efforts and communications and strategies, which could be problematic for me since I would need to build relationships with them in order to help me on my endeavor.
Thankfully, I'm a naturally inquisitive person, and based on the feedback I've received over the years, that insatiable curiosity is what broke down those walls faster than any breaking of bread ever could.
When you are curious about the people you work with, they feel important. And when people feel valued by you, they are more willing to respect you. And when people respect you, they are more willing to listen when you have something to say.
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And when what you say is important and not a waste of their time...well...y'all can move MOUNTAINS - and in a very short timeframe too.
While sure, I could have forced my coworkers to do my bidding by saying, "it's my job to close these POs, so you HAVE to help me," it definitely doesn't give people the warm fuzzies, or want to drop what they're doing right away to help you out.
So instead, I got curious.
I asked questions to better understand the problem, and ensured that it felt like was US vs. the problem, and for the benefit of a long-term solution:
Once my stakeholders started to realize:
...it was amazing how promptly and openly and thoroughly they chose to help me any time I asked.
And together, we kept that warehouse beautifully stocked with materials delivered on time, which reduced stress during unplanned outages, and enabled all of us to breath a little easier in between those back-to-back reactive days.
Last segment of this series kicks out tomorrow. You ready to learn how to Develop a Comprehensive Plan with me?
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2 个月Very informative
Principal at Prelical Solutions, LLC.
2 个月Many on the front lines who experience the day-to-day chronic failures, that do not rise to the level of an RCA, often do not know how to make a business case for eliminating those chronic failures (stakeholder engagement). Fact is, the annual costs of those chronics failures typically far exceed the costs of a singular, triggered event (when calculating lost downtime, labor, and materials/incident). The front lines need to be shown how to make a simple business case to stakeholders (converting performance to $$$) as to why they should do an RCA on certain chronic failures! In my experience, on average, for every $1 spent on an RCA, it returns $6!! That is what the stakeholders will be interested in. They need to see that an effective RCA system…is self-funding????! SHOW ME THE MONEY?? Great post Stella, Merry Christmas??????
Designer @ SEnergy| CAD/CADD Drafting Technology
2 个月Well written! Stakeholder Engagement is most definitely about listening and helping. And when you are talking about clients being part of your stakeholder group, then being willing to work with and adapt to changes within their organizations go a long way too! Part of making them feel valued and heard. I’ve experienced this already multiple times in my relatively short time at my current company.