Creating stakeholder alignment is not an obstacle to doing our job. It is our job – Doug Kessler, Creative Director, Velocity Partners.
In the modern-day work life, we are living in an interdependent world. There is matrix management in the workplace where one person is working for one or more managers.
Then there are multiple stakeholders like the clients, partners, investors, suppliers, employees, board of directors of the company.
Besides, a leader has to deal with offshore companies for many business-related requirements.
In such an environment, success is a by-product of collaboration. To have a successful alliance, the relationship with stakeholders must be excellent.
Let us look in detail why it’s significant to have excellent stakeholder relationships:
1. For future growth, 360-degree feedback is considered: When we receive feedback from all the stakeholders, we have clarity about where we as an organization stand. It helps one decide about the future growth path.
We can have good feedback from all stakeholders only if we have good communication with them and have built relationships based on trust and openness where they feel free to give their feedback to us.
2. To get things done – interdependence: Since the job of the senior leaders is to get the work done, they are dependent on stakeholders to accomplish their vision. When there is so much interdependence, having good relationships go a long way in creating desired success and achieving desired results.
3. What goes around comes around: When we take care of our stakeholders, they too take care of us. Be it an employee, investor, supplier, or client, they all need a personal touch. When one has excellent relationships based on genuine care, appreciation, and trust, then one gets support from the stakeholders as well.
4. Increases influencing power: One can only impact those with whom one has an excellent relationship. When a leader has excellent stakeholder relationships, he/she has more influencing ability to realize his/her vision.
5. Your network is your net worth(two things are significant in this world- whom you know and how well you know): There is an old saying that it is not what you know, but whom you know. The fact is that the world of business is complex and interdependent. So, it pays to have good connections. If one wants to be successful, then one’s ability to leverage relationships is of utmost importance. It is through one’s network that a lot of growth opportunities come. Therefore, nurturing excellent relationships with all stakeholders is not a luxury but a necessity for the senior leaders.
What stops us from excellent relationships?
Limiting belief systems: Limiting belief systems are the beliefs that we hold about ourselves, the world, and others that limit us in some way or other. If we have self-limiting beliefs like,
It may prevent us from having excellent relationships with others. However, the good news is that these beliefs are changeable, and if one changes these limiting beliefs, one can have better relationships.
Inward Mindset:
Another thing that stops us from having excellent relationships is an inward mindset. An inward-mindset is when one focuses on:
So, one can see that people with an inward mindset are always focused only on themselves, which means on their challenges, their needs, and their objectives. Their inward-mindset causes them to be unmindful of other’s needs and challenges. It makes others feel undervalued and hurts their relationships.
How Executive coaching helps is relationship improvement?
Executive coaching or leadership coaching helps one shift from an inward mindset to an outward mindset. It brings a person’s focus to
This shift in focus from self to others causes a change in the behavior while dealing with others. So, acting from an outward mindset improves stakeholders’ relationships.
Through executive coaching, leaders learn the art and science of networking, which helps senior leaders achieve their goals effortlessly, and at a much faster pace. By the end of their executive coaching sessions, they experience:
1. Improved communication skills: Effective communication is not just limited to conveying your message, but it is about getting the desired response from others as well. During an executive coaching session, the leaders get to reflect upon various communications that they have with different stakeholders. It allows them to go deeper into the points of friction in those communications.
When they get hold of their thoughts and emotions that are at the root of these strenuous communications, they develop insight into how they can improve it to have better relationships.
2. Better Trust: The more the senior leaders overcome their limiting beliefs, the better they get in trusting others. It helps improve their relationships manifolds because when they begin to trust others, others too start to trust them.
3. Improved partnership: When the trust factor of senior leaders improves, collaboration with the stakeholders also gets better.
So overall, executive coaching helps senior leaders have excellent stakeholder relationships that lead to more success for them.
Coach Kshitij has a 7-step master framework to boost the executive presence of senior leaders that significantly helps them have great relationships with their stakeholders.
If you feel that you or anyone you know can benefit from executive coaching, you may contact Kshitij.
He is passionate about helping senior leaders achieve the desired level of success in their lives with executive coaching in Bangalore and India.
