Colin Bartle-Tubbs
Head of Programme Management
Serco
Managing politics and stakeholders to ensure delivery of business outcomes from key programmes
Tuesday 24th April 2007, 15.30 - 16.10
Stakeholder Management & Communications is one of the key elements of programme management that successful leaders use to win support from others. It helps them ensure that their programmes or projects succeed where others may fail.
Stakeholder Management is critical to the success of any delivery in every organisation. By engaging the right people in the right way you can make a significant difference to the final outcome and ultimate success of the programme and more importantly...your career!
A Stakeholder is anyone affected by a decision and ultimately interested in its outcome. This can include individuals or groups, both inside and outside your organisation. It is the "People" element that makes this such a challenging task. People are far less predicatable and their behaviours much more complicated than any other area of a programme. Accordingly it is essential to try and evaluate why people might support or oppose a particular outcome. Nevertheless, Stakeholder Management is not about trying to make everyone ‘happy', but about concentrating on those people who are in a position to influence and impact what is being delivered. It should also be recognised that, on the whole, none of us like change and we invariably have to be led through various stages of transition - being moved from a negative or passive attitude to an active and positive one.
Both Stakeholder Analysis and Stakeholder Relationship Management are vital tools and should be used iteratively throughout a project to keep everyone aligned.
The real value of stakeholder relationship management is difficult to quantify but every successful business leader will recognise that it is a source of competitive advantage. The key to success is not just about leading your team efficiently and effectively, but also about dealing successfully with the issues surrounding the programme itself. As you become more successful in your career, the actions you take and the programmes / projects you run will affect an increasingly wide range of people. Accordingly, the more people you affect, the more likely it is that your actions will impact people who have power and influence over what it is you are delivering. These people can either be strong supporters of your work - or dangerous and challenging blockers.
The change of ethos in Stakeholder Management is epitomised through an example of Shell and its disposal of the oil rig Brent Spa in 1995 which triggered the move from their original business maxim: ‘decide, announce, defend', to the more astute and sensitive language of: ‘dialogue, decide, deliver'. This particular incident was actually a significant catalyst which altered the way that organisations approached the management of their stakeholders.
This session will evaluate the various political drivers around Stakeholder Management and discuss some of the techniques used with specific examples of real-life situations drawn from the international programmes which Colin has undertaken.
Speaker Biography
Colin Bartle-Tubbs is a Director at Serco. He was appointed as Head of Programme Management to support Serco's central resource team, a group formed to provide a centre of expertise and leadership for major PFI/PP programmes. He originally trained as an Architect and has 25 years experience of large capital projects and property portfolio management.
Since joining Serco, Colin has been responsible for directing a variety of substantial international programmes within changing business environments - these include the Military Technological College in Oman, the restructuring programme for the BBC's Property Team, the Hamad Staff College in Qatar, the National Traffic Control Centre in Birmingham and the nuclear deterrent Cyclamen Programme for the Home Office.
Prior to joining Serco, for 12 years he was a Director at Deloitte responsible for designing and developing the company's Programme Management / Leadership Methodology. During this period he was responsible for several complex programmes both within the UK and internationally - these include the privatisation of British Rail, the re-structuring of the world's largest truck plant at Kamaz (Eastern Siberia), NIKE's new European Customer Service Centre and coordinating the privatisation programme for Azerbaijan.