SCARF Augmented Stakeholder Analysis

AugmentingStakeholder Analysis

with SCARF

Jeff Stankiewicz

www.ProficiencySystems.com

http://www.proficiencysystems.com/

2 © 2014 by Proficiency Systems, Inc.

A method to identify all parties – persons, departments, or organizations – who may have influence upon a project and take the necessary steps to manage their interests and expectations so that the project runs as smoothly as possible

What is Stakeholder Analysis?

An important project management tool toproactively and effectively manage risk, potentially impacting the delivery ofdesired results on time, within budget, that last


Lack of stakeholder buy-in is one of the most common project failure modes

Proactively analyzing stakeholder buy-in allows issues to be addressed early on, helping to ensure they don’t hinder project success

Why Stakeholder Analysis?


Stakeholder Analysis Process

Should be conducted early on, and updated throughout the project as understanding of stakeholders' influence and attitude evolves

When to Do Stakeholder Analysis?





Project Life


1. Identify stakeholders

2. Assess their attitudes and degree of influence

3. Develop the Plan to address buy-in issues of high-influence stakeholders

4. Execute the plan

5. Monitor for evolving attitudes and influence




Stakeholder Analysis – Assessment Grid

High-InfluenceResisters

Low-InfluenceResisters

Low-InfluenceAdvocates

High-InfluenceAdvocates

Degree of Influence

Att

itude

Tow

ard

Pro

ject

Arik S.

NW Mfg

AndeS.

NigelM.

R&D

Jane D.

JayZ.

JohnM.

PhilF.

Sales

Leverage these stakeholders to help influence buy-in of High-Influence Resistors

Develop a plan to improve the attitude (buy-in) of these stakeholders


A stakeholder’s attitude toward the project is determined based on a consensus best guess of their emotional position relative to the change

– There is no defined criteria to assess why they may or may not be bought-in; it’s just “yes” or “no”

– Without more defined criteria to consider when assessing degree of buy-in, there is increased risk in a misdiagnosis and unexpected (potentially damaging) stakeholder behavior later in the project

Issues with Traditional Stakeholder Analysis

When High-Influence Resister stakeholders are identified, there is no guidance on how to effectively manage them


Augment the traditional Stakeholder Analysis tool with the SCARF model

Our Suggestion for Improvement…


Augment with SCARF


SCARF is a brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others

Developed from hundreds of neuroscience studies

Enabled by the advent of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in 1992, which made it possible to study the mental processes of subjects by looking at brain activity

What is SCARF?Status

Certainty

Autonomy

Relatedness

Fairness


The SCARF model was developed by David Rock

What is SCARF? (Cont.)

http://www.your-brain-at-work.com/files/NLJ_SCARFUS.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isiSOeMVJQk&feature=youtu.be






The “minimize danger and maximize reward” overarching, organizing principle of the brain– If a SCARF element increases, the brain’s

approach response increases

– Likewise, if a SCARF element decreases, avoidance responses are triggered

Foundation of the SCARF Model

Adapted from various lectures, presentations, and papers discussed in the NeuroLeadership Institute’s Certificate in the Foundations of NeuroLeadership course


Status is about perceived relative importance compared to others

The brain’s reward circuitry is activated when someone feels ‘better than’ another person, leading to a flood of dopamine. A reduction in status appears to trigger the same brain regions that correspond to physical pain

Status

Tips:

When considering a workplace change, seek to understand the, often subtle, factors impacting individual employees’ perceived status

Allow people to give themselves performance feedback, instead of you giving them feedback

Provide opportunities for people to learn and improve – and recognize it when it happens



Certainty helps meet the brain’s need for identifying recognizable patterns, to be used in the prediction of the near future

Any uncertainty triggers an alert to the Orbital Frontal Cortex, diverting attention to the abnormality

Certainty

Tips:

Build and communicate business plans, strategies, and maps

Make more things explicit

Work to provide pockets of certainty in uncertain times



Autonomy is the perception of one having control over their environment

Having perceived control feels rewarding, however a perceived reduction can result in an intense threat response linked to the perceived inability to influence outcomes

Autonomy

Tips:

Don’t micromanage employees

Be aware that working in a team naturally results in a reduction of autonomy. This perceived threat can be counteracted with increases in status, certainty, and relatedness

When necessary, seek out ways to provide “structured” autonomy. For example, instead of stating “this is the solution”, provide two options and ask “which would you prefer”



Relatedness involves the perception of others being ‘in’ or ‘out’ of a social group

People appear to a have a pre-disposition – probably driven by millions of years of tribal living – for forming and seeking to belong to groups, where they achieve a sense of belonging and protection. Correspondingly, ‘outsiders’ were viewed as being a threat

When someone does not feel an adequate amount of relatedness a threat response, in the form of feeling lonely, is generated– Interestingly, countering this loneliness by seeking

relatedness to a new individual often triggers an additional automatic threat response

Relatedness



Relatedness (Cont.)

Tips:

When meeting someone new, offer a handshake, swap names, discuss something in common, etc. to generate some feeling of closeness, triggered by the release of oxytocin

Provide team members opportunities to share personal aspects of themselves

Utilize formal buddy, mentor, and/or coaching programs to help foster safe connections



Fairness, as exhibited by a number of studies on fair exchanges, has been shown to be intrinsically rewarding

Unfair exchanges can generate a strong threat response, sometimes linked to the same brain region involved with triggering the emotion of disgust

Fairness

Tips:

Provide increased transparency

Establish clear expectations and ground rules

Provide a perception of fairness by sharing the burden



2. Assess:

For each influential stakeholder, instead of simply rating his or her level of buy-in, explore how the changes resulting from the project will likely impact the stakeholder’s SCARF dimensions; either positively (approach) or negatively (avoid)

How to Integrate SCARF into the Stakeholder Analysis Process



3. Plan: For each High-Influence Resister stakeholder, instead of simply

brainstorming for ways to improve buy-in, use the SCARF model to develop a more scientific based action plan

Develop a plan that maximizes each of the SCARF dimensions (in the positive direction) for the stakeholder

How to Integrate SCARF into the Stakeholder Analysis Process (Cont.)



Let’s assume that a team is conducting an analysis on an influential stakeholder

This stakeholder's office will need to be moved as part of a larger improvement. The team comes up with the following:

SCARF Augmented Stakeholder Analysis Example


For stakeholder with a moderate to high degree of negative SCARF impacts the team should explore ways to eliminate or offset the negatives and to maximize the positives:

SCARF Augmented Stakeholder Analysis Example (Cont.)

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SCARF Augmented Stakeholder Analysis