Gaining Support for Your Projects

1. Gaining Support for Your Projects Leslie Martinich

2. Gaining Support: Overview • Recognize who the stakeholders are • Build an effective network of support • Understand the stakeholders’ values and priorities • Construct a Communications Plan • Engage your stakeholders Leslie Martinich

3. Building an Effective Network • Who are your stakeholders? • What are their values and priorities? • How do you get things done through others? • When and how do you establish relationships? Leslie Martinich

4. Consider YOUR Project • Who will gain or lose from this project? • ______________________________________ • Whose time or resources are needed? • ______________________________________ • Who has power in the organization? • ______________________________________ • Which employees, customers or suppliers will be affected by this project? • ______________________________________ Leslie Martinich

5. Involving the Stakeholders • Consider the needs of each of the stakeholders you identified • Try to see the project from their point of view • Find the benefit to each stakeholder Leslie Martinich

6. Responsibilities of Engineering Leaders • Building effective communications skills is the most important factor in your success as an engineering manager or project leader. Communication Skills Engineering Skills Time Leslie Martinich

7. Tailoring communications to your audience • What is important to YOU? • What is important to YOUR AUDIENCE? • What’s In it For Me? WIFM Leslie Martinich

8. Tailoring communications • Build on your relationship • Use inclusive language (we, us, our) • Open with a mention of common goals Leslie Martinich

9. Questions for Communications Planning • Change. How does this project represent a change for the person? • Goals.What are this person’s goals and objectives? • Fears.What fears does this project present for this person? • Communication preferences.Does this person prefer big picture, face-to-face meetings? Or lots of data and time to mull it over? Leslie Martinich

10. More Questions • Needs. What are your needs with regard to this person? Do you need cooperation, resources, commitment, or an understanding of how this project fits into this person’s plans for the company? • Shared interests. What areas of common interest do you share with this person? • Format and feedback mode. What format will your communication take and how will you get feedback? Leslie Martinich

11. Communications Plan • Process • Identify stakeholders • Construct Communication Plan • Execute • Put your communications plan into action. • Keep your commitments Leslie Martinich

12. Communications Plan A B C D Leslie Martinich

13. Communications Plan A B C D Leslie Martinich

14. Listening to Understand • Challenge to leaders • Allow people to speak the truth • Be able to hear the truth • Blocks • Arrogance • Indifference • Threat • Emotional attachment to your own ideas Leslie Martinich

15. Gaining Support • Steps • Mobilize support • Find common ground • Negotiate • Make decisions that include • Technical factors • Business factors • People • Deliver intermediate results Leslie Martinich

16. Questions? Leslie Martinich lmartinich@ieee.org leslie@competitivefocus.com THANK YOU! Leslie Martinich