Involving stakeholders

• Many managers feel a need to make decisions themselves.
• When involving others do you just inform them of your decision?
• Is involvement for you merely a matter of explaining why others should adopt your preferred course of action?
• Or are you sufficiently participative to ask people questions to find out their needs before you make your decision?
• This might be going far enough if you only need their acquiescence - not their wholehearted commitment.
• Fuller involvement has the benefit of broader ownership of the decision, but also potentially much better decisions.
• To involve stakeholders fully, ask questions like: ''What solution would you like to see?'' or ''How would you tackle this issue?''
• This approach sets up a genuine dialogue as opposed to a one-way presentation from you.
• Dialogue takes time so use it strategically - when it matters most to spread full ownership and to achieve the best possible solution.
• When you fail to foster genuine dialogue, you are throwing darts in the dark - just hoping that something you say will hit the target.
• This annoys and demeans others wanting a fuller involvement.