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Stakeholder Engagement
Key points
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Psychological safety and “humble inquiry” are the foundation and scaffolding for successful, productive, learning teams.
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A strong team is even stronger when interpersonal relationships are valued.
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Mental rehearsal and planning an engagement strategy before important meetings are important skills.
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Understand the importance of continuous engagement and take steps to ensure it happens, such as by using regular feedback and celebrating success.
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Consider the acronym “BAM” (belief, adaptation, mutual accountability) to create an environment for effective stakeholder engagement.
Acknowledgments
Humble thanks to Jeff Cooper, John Corman, Denise Dubuque, Robert Eubanks, Gary Kaplan, Michael Leonard, Carol Peden, Liana Peiler, Edgar Schein, and Michael Rosen for their insights and collective wisdom in shaping this chapter.
How do we avoid these common quality improvement epitaphs…?
“Great idea that never saw the light of day.” “We followed the best and brightest ideas that worked elsewhere… didn’t work here.” “Started OK, but couldn’t roll with the punches.”
The process map discussed in a previous chapter (see Chapter 29 ) gives insight into identifying the key stakeholders that make up a team for action and successful implementation. Once identified, creating an environment where the stakeholder team is engaged and stays engaged is a critical leadership skill in quality improvement. What follows is a framework of tips for success and pitfalls to avoid—foundational always events, team design, mental rehearsal, and continuous engagement.
Foundational Always Events
The most critical experience for an engaged stakeholder group is psychological safety. Amy Edmondson, an organizational learning scholar who described psychological safety, defines it as “a climate in which people… feel comfortable sharing concerns and mistakes without fear of embarrassment or retribution.” Candor is expected. It is essential at a group level to nurture an environment of new ideas and productive dissent.
The leader shapes and role-models this environment by promoting a culture of psychological safety and humble inquiry. Edgar Schein, arguably the father of organizational culture, coined the term “humble inquiry.” It is about “asking questions and building a relationship based on curiosity.” It implies that there is no one expert “telling” the group what to do. Questions are not asked to test answers but are asked in a true spirit of inquiry.
These two elements—psychological safety and humble inquiry—are the foundation and scaffolding for successful, productive, learning teams where every voice is valued. What emerges is the collective wisdom—a clearer and wiser signal separated from the noise. From this emerges collective ownership.
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