Stakeholder mapping

This briefing describes a creative process for stakeholder mapping using mind-mapping visual techniques.

Stakeholder

A party whose interests or standards you represent, or whose ability to achieve its goals is impacted significantly by your performance. 

Could be an individual, team, group or organisation; internal or external to your own organisation.

Map

Enables you to represent visually the nature and quality of your relationships with stakeholders.

Includes objective (‘this is how it is’) and subjective (‘this is how it seems or feels’) components.

Provides opportunity to reflect on strengths, patterns, gaps, priorities etc.

Symbols

Draw a circle at the centre indicating you, your team or organisation.

Draw additional large circles to represent stakeholder groups and small circles to represent specific individuals.  Use initials indicate the group or individual’s identity.

Draw lines between your circle and stakeholder circles others using the following guide:

    Thick lines to represent strong relationships or high levels of contact, thin lines notional relationships or low 
    levels of contact.

    Continuous lines to represent positive relationships currently, dotted lines difficult relationships currently.

    Arrows to indicate the main thrust of the relationship, e.g. directive, service-orientated, mutual/collaborative.

    Written brief comments along the lines to fill in key details, e.g. issues or focus of the relationship.

Use different colour pens to indicate different categories of relationship – it also makes the resulting stakeholder map look far more interesting!

Reflection

What do you notice about what emerges from the stakeholder map, e.g. strong relationships, complex relationships, strained relationships, gaps in relationship?

What is it that makes strong relationships strong, weak relationships weak etc?

Which are the most strategic relationships, e.g. bearing in mind your own goals for the forthcoming period?

Which relationships need to be managed differently, how could they be improved etc?

Action

What priority actions emerge from your observations of the stakeholder map?

What actions do you need to take at organisational, team and individual levels?

What will you do to monitor and evaluate your stakeholder relationships in the future?