Presented by Robin Yates
Yates Advisory LLC
May 9, 2019
Presented in collaboration with Candid (formerly Foundation Center)
Sponsored by Mutual of America
To make your Strategic Plan most effective, during the plan development stage and as you evaluate your plan throughout the plan term, it is a good idea to complete a Stakeholder Persona exercise to see if the plans you laid out are truly serving their intended audience. Stakeholder Persona work involves working across the organization to see how its actions drive a chosen stakeholder group in what they think, feel, say and do as a result of the interaction with the organization. We look at the organization’s current approach and design a more optimal approach to delight those we work to serve, both internally and externally. Doing such an exercise also has the added benefit of seeing first hand how teams are working together and if there are any management issues to address.
This workshop was designed to show nonprofits how they can design and complete an effective Stakeholder Persona exercise on their own. Participants learned how to identify the right stakeholder target(s), develop the right questions to ask, and plan accordingly so the logistics are in place to ensure an effective session.
The workshop focused on 3 key points:
1) Putting a strategic plan in place, in and of itself, does not guarantee buy-in from the stakeholders you need. Whether you do scenario testing or the Stakeholder Persona work outlined in our session, be sure to test your theories and the effectiveness of your actions throughout the life of the strategic plan cycle.
2) Conducting a Stakeholder Persona session can help kick start the work to be done and to get colleagues working together in a productive fashion. People chose to work at a nonprofit primarily for the connection to the mission. In the “do more with less” world we all live in, it’s easy to lose sight of the how our actions affect those we serve. Such an exercise works well to keep your teams focused on the ultimate good we are striving to do together.
3) Asking the right questions and being sure to design the session for your most pressing one(s) requires commitment. In this session we walked through how to set up your 4x4x2 – Four types of individuals within a given stakeholder group, four ways we interact with these individuals, and two time periods (e.g., before and after an annual gala). Be sure to set aside ample time to think through how you structure the questions at hand to get the most from your session. Where an organization can absolutely complete this exercise on its own, sometimes it is helpful to have an outside party facilitate the work so the whole team can, including management, can participate fully.
Yates Advisory LLC brings best practices from the corporate world to benefit nonprofits and government agencies focused on the arts, healthcare and social justice causes. Our services include: Strategic Planning, Developing Partnerships, Leading Negotiations, Program Design and Implementation, Transition Management, and Executive Coaching. Each engagement helps build the capacity of the organization to identify and overcome challenges while capitalizing on opportunities in a way that includes staff and the Board participation along the way. For more information, please contact Robin Yates at 914.843.5002 or robin@yatesadvisory.com.
