Work relationships do not have to be overwhelming. When workers are equipped to meaningfully manage stakeholders in a rapidly changing workplace the impact can be far-reaching.
Managing relationships in the workplace has reached a new level of complexity.
Today's workforce includes up to five generations, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z, each with unique viewpoints and expectations. Remote work and global teams also require coordination across time zones and cultures.
In a recent survey, 46% of leadership identified communication as a top needed skill in their workforce — Springboard 2024
Workers struggle to balance conflicting interests and expectations while responding to diverse and sometimes opposing priorities. It is difficult—sometimes impossible—to satisfy all collaborators while still achieving organisational, departmental, and project goals.
This often leads to stress and overwhelm resulting in negative outcomes. A key gap is workers' ability to manage stakeholders and cultivate healthy work relationships. In a recent survey by Springboard, 46% of leadership identified communication as a top needed skill in their workforce (Springboard).
As the workplace rapidly evolves, workers need to adapt whilst maintaining good relationships with the people who have an influence on your work, and to whom your work matters. Stakeholder management comes to the fore.
Neglecting the stakeholder management skillset in your team can lead to costly risks for your organisation. Have you noticed communication breakdowns, unmet expectations, or a lack of engagement in your projects? These could be symptoms of poor stakeholder management.
Here are some of the losses your organisation can face when key relational skills are neglected:
Disengaged workers
Employee disengagement can severely impact performance and retention. Disengaged workers are undoubtedly less productive, with the quality of work declining as well.
When workers feel overwhelmed and unsupported, their productivity and job satisfaction plummet, leading to higher turnover rates.
Organisational silos
Inadequate communication and collaboration can result in organisational silos.
SIlos hinder the free flow of information and ideas, stifling innovation and problem-solving capabilities.
Lost opportunities for innovation
Innovation thrives on diverse perspectives and collaborative efforts
When teams fail to leverage their collective creativity, organisations miss out on valuable opportunities to solve complex problems and drive growth.
Lagging behind in technological advancements
Overwhelmed workers will resist embracing change
As new technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) are integrated to the workplace, organisations that fail to adapt will find themselves falling behind.
People are the constant factor in this era of change
The workplace continues to evolve rapidly, forced into change by events like the recent pandemic, and the advancements in artificial intelligence.
Leaders often wish to predict what the next big change is and how it will impact their organisation. But as Jeff Bezos famously said, “What’s not going to change?” is the more important question.
The workplace is still primarily about people, and will be for a long time. The people in your team, the stakeholders in your business, are what matter. With all the ways AI is becoming more useful, people are still the ones going to operate AI tools, apply critical thinking to their adoption, review and edit their output.
"As AI ramps down the relative importance of technical skill, interpersonal skills become even more important. The work left for humans to do is more human, and people want to be treated as humans." (McKinsey & Company, 2024)
Stakeholder management is not an outdated concept that technology has made irrelevant. Rather, it is a growing and more critical skill as AI takes over ‘less-human’ aspects of our work.
Emotional intelligence is the foundation of stakeholder management
Emotional Intelligence is foundational to many critical skills, such as communication and social skills, which are core to Stakeholder Management
The basics of workplace relational skills are indispensable. Emotional Intelligence covers these key competencies that are critical for building employee engagement, especially in a tech-enabled work environment.
According to "Emotional Intelligence 2.0" by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, Emotional Intelligence (EI) is divided into four areas:
Self-Awareness
Workers who are aware of their emotions, strengths, weaknesses, and values can better manage their reactions and interactions, which makes them more understanding of others and easier to work with in any scenario, whether in person or remote, and across a diverse range of people.
Self-Management
When leaders and team members can regulate their emotions and behaviors, they are able to maintain focus and resilience in the face of challenges. These are people who are adaptable and solution-oriented, even under pressure, which empowers the organisation to handle tough situations successfully.
Social Awareness
Empathy and understanding of others’ perspectives are crucial for building strong relationships and fostering collaboration. Socially aware employees can navigate diverse teams and communicate effectively across the different work styles, workplaces (remote or onsite), and cultural backgrounds in the workplace today.
Relationship Management
Building and maintaining positive relationships with stakeholders is key to achieving organisational goals and helping give workers a sense of belonging and value. Effective stakeholder management involves clear communication, conflict resolution, and the ability to inspire and influence others. For the GenAI workforce, this is needed more than ever.
These skills are the foundation to many of the skills that are increasingly critical for people to flourish today – conflict resolution, decision-making, time management, communication, stress tolerance, presentation skills, social skills, customer service, anger management, and building trust.
An EI-equipped workforce is resilient and highly engaged
Today's workforce is exhausted and overwhelmed by rapid changes that strain work relationships. By equipping workers with foundational stakeholder management skills, they can better navigate these challenges, maintain healthy connections, and reduce stress, paving the way for stronger collaboration and healthy teams.
Emotionally intelligent leaders and workers build healthy relationships with each other and key stakeholders, contributing to a resilient, high-performing, and highly engaged workforce that is not easily threatened by the effects of change and the evolving workplace.
Introducing ROHEI’s New Programme: Manage Stakeholders with Emotional Intelligence
Develop emotional intelligence (EI) skills for more effective stakeholder management.
Interact and respond empathically with key stakeholders at the workplace.
Be equipped with a conversational process/tools to manage difficult conversations, encourage cultural sensitivity, and resolve conflict.
Handle contingencies according to organisational standards with emotional resilience.
Participant Testimonials
"When I came to this course, I did not expect that there was so much depth to this subject. It was eye-opening and it really changed & opened up my perspective on certain things, especially handling difficult topics and conversations. Our trainers (Eng Eng & Alvin) effectively and skillfully merged to take us through the various topics, and exercises, in a thought-provoking manner. Thanks! I learnt a lot & look forward to applying the skills."
SENIOR DEALER | GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY
The trainers were very engaging and allowed me to see the mistakes in the way I deal with people. Their advice has been effective in both my home and work life.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR | SINGAPORE REGULATORY AUTHORITY
Very good introduction to EI, with clear concrete applications to both professional and personal life. Highly recommended!
APAC MARKETING DIRECTOR | GLOBAL COSMETICS BRAND
Discover how learning is better caught than taught.
Sign up for a free Preview, a complimentary trial in which you can participate in an experiential learning session featuring one of the modules in Manage Stakeholders with Emotional Intelligence. See for yourself how transformative this can be for your team.
Go beyond insights. See how transformative this can be for your team with a complimentary sneak peek of ROHEI’s Manage Stakeholders with Emotional Intelligence programme.
At this event, be prepared to:
Participate in an experiential learning session
Learn about our tool to assess where you are on the Emotional Intelligence scale
Get actionable tips to help you win over difficult stakeholders
Connect with fellow learning & development professionals
…and so much more!
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