Who Are Our True Stakeholders?

Post 1 of 6 in the Series About My Stakeholders:

Recently, I received some interesting comments.

People told me: “You write a lot about management, but ultimately, who really influences our actions as managers is our manager.” And this made me think… Right! Our manager is one of a group of people and factors that influence us daily, and each of them has their own interests. Maybe our manager is the most influential, but there are others.

So I decided to write a series of posts about all those stakeholders who influence us as managers, and one of the most important among them is truly your manager.

So who are these stakeholders?

A stakeholder is anyone who can be affected by your decisions and actions. This might sound a bit complex at first, but it’s simpler than it seems. Think about it: this includes your manager, your employees, customers, suppliers, competitors, and even regulatory bodies. Each of them has their own goals, and each can impact your success. Correctly identifying all these stakeholders will help you understand what each of them wants or needs, and thus you can manage more intelligently.

So why is this so important?

Because as managers, we don’t operate alone. Every action of ours touches many people around us, and if we don’t understand what each person wants from us, we might miss the point. When we correctly identify stakeholders, we can improve communication, collaborate more effectively, and achieve better results – for ourselves and for them.

In the next post, we’ll talk about your manager – the central stakeholder who influences you and how you can build a good relationship that will help you succeed in your role.