Key stakeholders are pushing back on your social impact strategies. How will you navigate this challenge?

Navigating pushback from key stakeholders on social impact strategies can be tough. 💡 Here are three steps to turn resistance into support: 1️⃣ Listen actively to their concerns and acknowledge their perspectives. 2️⃣ Present data and case studies that illustrate the long-term benefits of your strategies. 3️⃣ Foster collaboration by involving them in the planning process to create shared ownership. 📚 For more guidance, read "The Art of Strategic Listening" by Debra Benton. #StakeholderEngagement #SocialImpactStrategy 🌟📊

It’s OK to not have all the answers - in fact, no one does! This is a great moment to pause and learn. With the right attitude, what seemed like a problem could turn into a profound improvement.

I would question how engaged they were from the start? If the ground work is done in listening, checking in regularly and sense checking the direction of the strategy early on, there shouldn't be push back in this manner. If this has happened, what has gone wrong? How can we do it better next time?

Active listening and the management of critical thinking are essential for understanding teams in any context. Social impacts have an additional emotional component since they will directly impact the personal lives of those involved, for this reason it is very important to understand the context of the comments of who participates since each one has a different personal burden of life than the other. -Take an even-handed position. -Let everyone know the pros and cons of each initiative. -Prioritize the initiatives with common criterias -Involve participants to be co actors and co-responsible for planning/ execution. -Always try to put yourself in the other person's shoes to better understand the situation, but do not lose your neutrality.

It requires a balanced and strategic approach. By actively listening to concerns, clarifying objectives, and transparently communicating the rationale behind the strategies, organizations can address stakeholder apprehensions. Utilizing data and evidence to illustrate the potential impact, fostering compromise and collaboration, and providing education and engagement sessions enable organizations to navigate pushback effectively. Remaining open to adaptation and flexibility allows for the integration of stakeholder feedback while ensuring that the strategies align with the organization's mission and values, fostering a more inclusive and sustainable approach to social impact.

Regardless of the initiative, these must be quantified using criteria associated with the organizational culture, presenting the external (social) and internal impact, how it is aligned with the corporate image and culture, the resources required to carry them out, such as financial and human resources. Use clear and simple language, avoid using technicalities, be consistent between what you communicate and what your plan expresses. This will allow you to carry the message to the entire population involved regardless of the role. Remember everyone has something to contribute

Never try to fix the problem that is not perceived at that point as a problem. Magnify Latent to Evident first. Development is one thing and lifestyle is another. They are intertwined as much as they are tangled together. If there is a big pushback, there could be several reasons. One such could be that you can not see the claws, from where you stand, as sharp as people have been hit by. Another could be they can not smell the pie as sweet as you've baked. Revisit both, your perspective/ proposal, and their pushbacks. Take an outside eye opinion and be detached while taking feedback. I know, easier said than done, I know. Overcome the exact point of their challenge without it getting associated with other tag-alongs of your solution.

Es muy importante, antes de iniciar cualquier proyecto con impacto social, entender las dinámicas e interacciones entre las partes interesadas; ir al campo a conocer personalmente a los stakeholders más importantes; establecer vínculos genuinos con ellos basados en la persecución de un objetivo común. La prevención es la mejor forma de evitar el rechazo a una estrategia. Crearla de forma colaborativa y participativa también es fundamental. Aunque pueda tomar más tiempo, una estrategia co-creada con los stakeholders ayudará a evitar que sea rechazada por quienes también la hayan creado contigo.

Para navegar este tipo de situaciones, es importante mostrar que tu equipo mide consistentemente el impacto y tiene información actualizada del contexto. Esto permite argumentar sin recurrir a casos aislados (case studies), yendo a los impactos macro (soluciones sistemáticas), al impacto particular. Es clave acompañar esto junto con evidencia concreta de que tu equipo: - Innova: usa metodologías ágiles y tecnología apropiada - Conecta: con aliados claves (evitar duplicación o ineficiencia) y conoce muy bien a los/las beneficiarios/as. - Reflexiona e itera: revisa sus procesos y los mejora durante y luego de cada proyecto.

Data will always be a useful tool when presenting results. Keep in mind that the data alone does not speak, do not forget to contextualize the variables on which this data was obtained so that it is communicated appropriately. Keep in mind that they can accompany you or they can also give you a clear message that something is not going well and the strategy must be adjusted.