Previously we have looked at the power interest matrix for helping you map and manage your stakeholders. Now we will turn our attention to an Energy vs. Commitment matrix. Now you plot the individual stakeholders and stakeholder groups against these criteria – their commitment to you change / programme and their natural energy for communicating and acting – which gives us four groups:
Blockers – to watch as their high energy makes them likely to communicate widely and act vigourously. Their low commitment to your change affects what they say and do, which makes them likely to land up standing in your way.
Champions - why do we never seem to have enough of these? The same high energy as your Blockers but committed to your change. Look after these stakeholders when you find them.
Preachers - are committed to your change and also may talk a lot, but their low energy means they are unlikely to take much other action.
Sleepers - well the hint is in the name. They are not really committed to your change and don’t have the energy to do anything about it or talk about it. Unless you know they are because they don’t understand what is coming (and therefore might move to another quadrant when they find out) you don’t need to exert too much time or effort looking after them.
As we often say, the key to using these models is not just doing the analysis, but actually doing something active with the results. When you find Blockers it may be their low commitment is based on misunderstandings or fear and uncertainty. We have found many cases where it’s possible to engage these people and turn them into Champions. If not, it is important to find ways to counteract the communications and actions of these people (particularly if they have positions of power and/or influence).
Stakeholder communication links back effectively to Kotter’s 8 step approach – in particular, step 1 of “creating a sense of urgency” and step 2 “building a powerful guiding coalition”. And don’t forget, the earlier you start these activities the better!
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