Relationship, Relationship, Relationship: Fulfilling Your Role with Stakeholders
I started my career in social work, providing case management services for youth and their families. As a newly minted social worker, I quickly felt overwhelmed by the enormous issues of those I served. Resources available to help youth and families were often inadequate. Sometimes, the systems involved exacerbated the problems they were designed to address. I decided that if I was going to survive the social work profession, I needed to focus on the micro work at hand. No macro work for me - let someone else tackle the systemic issues. Twenty years later, I find myself doing the macro work, advocating for change at an agency and community level. How did that happen? I think my mantra, “Relationship, Relationship, Relationship,” is the key. Creating strong relationships with stakeholders can make the difference in securing important funding, funding late-night respite, or even bringing the right colleague to work for SAFY.
A stakeholder can be broadly defined as the groups and individuals who can affect or are affected by an organization. Our youth and families, foster parents, funders, referral sources, and even our co-workers are all stakeholders with each other. That’s important to understand - we are in this together - there is no “us and them!” This is exactly how the micro work became macro for me. As I attended that community meeting or semi-annual review with Child Protective Services, I interacted with important stakeholders, rubbing elbows with those doing direct service and community change work. The micro and macro work that needs to be done in a community is happening around us all the time. And that work gets done in relationship with others.
Because creating strong, effective relationships can be challenging, it is helpful to think about a few important and simple things we can easily do. Staying present in the moment, being curious and engaged, and using effective communication skills with everyone we meet is a great place to start. Be genuinely engaged with your co-workers and the youth on your caseload. Listen carefully and be curious when attending that community meeting or training. Pay attention to your integrity. When you volunteer to do something for a stakeholder, ensure it gets done. Send those meeting notes out and make that phone call. Report back so everyone knows what happened and what comes next. And when things don’t go as planned, be transparent and don’t shy away from problems. Stakeholders will see you as an important change agent by acknowledging difficulties and mistakes, listening to concerns, and addressing problems proactively.
SAFY’s mission to preserve families and secure futures needs everyone at the micro and macro levels to work together. There is no “us and them” - simply “we” together! So, look around at the stakeholders you meet and remember the mantra: Relationship, Relationship, Relationship!
