Navigating the complexity of multi-stakeholder environments in government contracting is no easy task. Bringing together diverse perspectives, aligning goals, and harnessing the strengths of various organizations to achieve a shared vision requires a nuanced approach to collaboration and leadership.
Through our work supporting government agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and others, we’ve gained insight into what it takes to manage contracts and relationships successfully in a complex environment.
In this article, Coforma subject matter experts explore the day-to-day challenges of working on multi-stakeholder government contracts. They share some of their strategies for orienting themselves on new projects, managing diverse stakeholder needs and priorities, communicating effectively and with empathy, and aligning with partners around a shared mission.
Orienting Teams in a New Contract or Partner Relationship
Entering new contracts or partnerships is a panorama of unknowns—new acronyms, unfamiliar faces, and intricate team dynamics. Coforma Director of Engineering, Brax Excell, likens familiarizing yourself with the details of a new project to finding your way in a new city. “The first thing you should do is make yourself a map,” he shares. “Start by researching how you fit into the larger project landscape. Make a diagram or org chart so you can figure out who’s responsible for what and how they all work together. Then reach out to those people and teams to start building relationships.”
Embracing the inherent ambiguity of new environments at the beginning of projects is helpful for Senior Principal Product Designer, Arden Klemmer . “You have to get comfortable with the complexity,” she shares. “No matter how many maps you make, you won’t understand it for a while, or you may get it wrong. And that’s normal. It’s about finding the mechanisms that help you navigate the unknown.”
Together, the insights Brax and Arden offer outline a balanced approach to managing the initial overwhelm of entering new contracts: diligently mapping the new terrain and adopting a patient, adaptable mindset while orienting yourself.
Meeting Varied Needs and Managing Conflicts in Diverse Stakeholder Settings
Maintaining steady progress and alignment in the face of diverse—and often competing—stakeholder interests can be challenging, particularly for project leaders. “It’s important for me to understand how we’re going to get to the outcome we’re working toward,” says Product Manager, Sydney Mandap. “It’s also important to balance the users’ needs with our stakeholders’ priorities. This is why stakeholder management gets really complex. There are a lot of conflicting needs to balance.”
Discovering commonalities among all the internal and external stakeholders is crucial in meeting these various needs over the course of a project. “Once you’ve identified shared objectives, it becomes possible to create alignments that serve your collective goals,” Sydney shares.
With a 20-year background in healthcare advocacy, Coforma’s Healthcare Account Director, Marissa Parisi views the inevitable conflicts that arise in any multi-stakeholder environment as a potential catalyst for innovation. “I think people hear the word conflict and think it’s going to be difficult,” she says. “But great new thinking can emerge from conflict. Often, the creative tension when people disagree can lead to breakthroughs and directions we’ve never thought of before.”
As a team, it’s also important to establish boundaries and processes to address any competing forces when they arise so everyone can maintain momentum on projects as they’re being resolved. “This means coming together as a team and developing a cohesive and shared decision-making process,” Sydney says. “By creating these processes upfront, we’re better prepared when competing forces do arise, and we can navigate them without any alarm.”
By viewing disagreements as a vehicle for facilitating better problem-solving and ideation, and equipping project teams with detailed decision-making processes, we're prepared to meet, address, and resolve any challenges that do arise.
Communicating Clearly and with Empathy Through Project Complexities
The government stakeholder environments we integrate ourselves into are multilayered. Coforma is often responsible for many applications, with many different contractor teams working closely alongside policy experts and business owners.
For each of these applications—which our teams may be working on simultaneously—we have stakeholders spread across various groups in different divisions, each with competing priorities and interests. Pulling it all together requires discipline and communication.
“You have to communicate early and often—especially about priorities—to ensure everyone is aligned,” Brax says. “Level-setting is also key. This means making sure you’re talking about trade-offs and costs in real terms.”
He also emphasizes transparency in communication. “Being transparent and open with everyone on the project is key to our approach,” Brax shares. “That’s part of what makes us such a strong group to work with.”
Even with impeccable communication, working in environments as complex as those at the federal level of government can be challenging, particularly when you’re looking through a fast-paced technology lens. “When you’re a contractor on a mission to drive change and be a great partner, the layers of bureaucracy can be frustrating,” Marissa shares.
Maintaining a mindset of empathy and collaboration helps mitigate this frustration. “Over time, I’ve developed a profound sense of empathy and compassion for our government partners,” Marissa reflects. “They’re going to be the ones to help implement policies that change people’s lives for generations. I am here working hand-in-hand with them in service and gratitude.”
Aligning Project Teams and Stakeholders Around a Shared Mission
Finding your way amid the intricate dynamics of multi-stakeholder environments, particularly within government contracts, requires building positive relationships based on trust, open communication, and the ability to unite around a shared vision.
Arden offers the following advice for aligning multiple stakeholders around a shared mission: “Always keep the project’s mission in mind while working on it. It helps simplify decision-making, strengthens collaboration, and encourages conviviality.”
She recommends taking time to “zoom out” with both your team and your partners to think about the “why” behind the work. “You’ll find those are the moments of most alignment,” she shares. “It’s very helpful to all take a step back and remember that we’re ultimately talking about people, not software interfaces.”
At Coforma, we’re tied to our partners by more than just contractual obligations. Our mutual commitment to creating solutions that undeniably improve people's lives is what makes our relationships thrive and our projects successful. To learn more about the work we do or explore how we might partner together to make a difference, visit our website: https://coforma.io/.