Shar ing Vision with Stakeholders

1. SharingVisionwith Stakeholders Joop Remmé

2. issues • Institutions in the healthcareindustry are complex to manage • The most important decisions, in terms of the ambitions of the organisations, are made on the workfloor. • The organisationstypically have a workforce of dedicated professionals • Most stakeholders are found in long term relationships. • The organisations have to live up totheirambitions in a network of relationships. • Are they best managed or facilitated?

3. Stakeholder engagement • A stakeholder is anygroup or person who is affectedbywhat the organisation is doingand/or may affect it. • Stakeholders are met in relationships • Maintainingrelationships is often more valuabletoorganisationsthan making deals

4. Issues with stakeholder management • Understanding the stakes • Finding the right mode of communication • How tobuid trust in engagingwith stakeholders? • Communicating is notonlyabout content, but alsoaboutinvolvingpeople. • Has everyone been heard? validating • Expectation management: is itpossibletohonourallexpectationsfrom stakeholders? choices • Whentoengagewithwhich stakeholder? Prioritization.

5. Creating a shared visionwhy? • Participating in the vision of yourorganisationinvolvesyou in its operations andsuccess • A shared process in creating or activating a vision is richer in content and commitment. • The more the work in anorganisation is characterizedbyrelationships, the more it is valuabletobeclearabout the directions of thoserelationships

6. Creating a shared visionhow? • Workshops • How toorganise • Style of Leadership? • A shared vision is not 100% consensus. • It means tobeclearaboutwhatyouneedtoagreeaboutandto respect at the same time different perspectivesandinterests • A shared vision is the expression of shared commitment. Thiscanbeformalised, but also the subject of ongoingconversation.

7. Issues with shared vision • There does not have tobe a consensus; justenough of a consensus togive the decision at hand the right backing. • Somewill have a more detailedvision in theirmindsthanothers, but allneedtobeheardand get involved. • Whenaskedabouttheirambitions, manywillinitiallygive ‘safe’ answers; findingtrueambitionsrequires attention. • Working on shared visionwillalso impact on otheraspects, such as leadershipstyle, motivationand mode of communication.

8. Case: nursing home in The Netherlands • Allorganisations in The Netherlands have employee representation in decisionmaking • This combines potentiallywith empowerment: allowing the professional to make his owndecisionswithin his ownsphere of responsibility • Empowerment mayallow the professional tofind the right balancebetweenprocess actions and professional actions • Thatbalance has to make sense within the relationships in which the professional works; i.e. it has to make sense in engagingwith stakeholders.

9. Case: nursing home in The Netherlands 2 • Whereresponsibility is shared, clarity on ambitions offers the basis for living up toresponsibility as anorganisation. • The processes in the nursing home are increasinglyimpacted on byrelationships. • Managing the nursing home does notwork well top down. More canbeexpectedfrom managing throughrelationships. • The Board has tothinkaboutwhich management decisionscanworkthroughdirectingprocessesandwhichdecisions go betterbyempowering professionals.

10. exercise • Make a list of the processesandotheractivitiesthat make up yourwork. • Decideforeachwhichrelationships impact on the success or failure of thoseprocessesandactivities. • Specify the stakeholders andtheirrespectiveinterests • Discusswhatyoucame up with in your team.