Stakeholder Map

What it is

People placed by power and interest. Your mentee rates the people around one goal for power and interest, then plots them.

When to send it

Send it when a goal needs others. It helps when the goal depends on people your mentee does not control.

• Asking for a movea new role, team or project
• A stuck decisionwhen someone keeps saying not yet
• A new placethe first months in a new team

Filling it in

Fifteen minutes, one goal. Write the goal, add the people, then plan two moves.

1. Add the people and rate themPower means they can decide; interest means they care.
2. See where each one sitsDrag a dot if its place looks wrong.
3. Plan moves for the top twoSay who, what you will do and by when.

Reading the answers

Look at the top-right corner first. People high on both power and interest decide most, so start with them.

• Key peoplepower and interest both 4 or more
• Powerful opponentswho could block it, and why
• Who is missinga name that should be on the map

Questions to ask

Ask about people, then ask again. People who ask follow-up questions are liked more (Huang and others, 2017).

• Who did you almost leave off the map?then: what would they say about this goal?
• What does the most powerful opponent want?then: what would make it a yes?
• Who could bring a neutral person closer to you?then: how will you ask them?

Why it works

Sorting people by power and interest shows where your time counts most. It is a planning aid; it does not promise results.

Sources

• Mendelow, A. L. (1981). Environmental scanning: The impact of the stakeholder concept. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 1981).

How a tool works on Mentornity

1. 1The mentor picks a tool from the library and sends it with a short message.
2. 2The mentee fills it in step by step; the answers are saved as they go.
3. 3Both see the answers, comment on any part and agree the next steps.
4. 4Only the two of them see the answers, not the program admins.

Guides for both sides

• Stakeholder Map for MentorsFor mentors and coaches: when to send the Stakeholder Map, how to read who holds power and interest, which questions to ask and how to agree two moves.
• Stakeholder Map for MenteesFor mentees and coachees: what the Stakeholder Map is, how to fill it in, where to find it and what your mentor does with it.

More tools: Career and network

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• Support Network Map15 min

  Place the people who support you on three rings and mark the role each one plays. The empty roles show whom to look for.

• Negotiation Prep20 min

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