The Relational Lens Understanding, Managing and Measuring Stakeholder Relationships

Drawing on the authors' combined years of experience in both private and public-sector organisations, this practical book highlights the importance of relationship building between individuals, groups and organisations in diverse contexts. It will make a valuable read for business professionals and graduate students in fields as varied as change management, leadership, organisational psychology, and organisational behaviour. Employing the Relational Proximity® framework, it provides tools for informing assessment of the relational impact of policy and management decisions, enabling evaluation of organisational relationships, providing a language for constructive discussion of strained relationships, and integrating a range of models and perspectives within one process. Using real-world case studies and models, the conditions within which people are more likely to form and conduct effective relationships are also examined. This combined approach provides the language and concepts to enable constructive discussion and actionable solutions in building trust and sustainable value.

Introduction. The dark matter of organisations; 1. The value and importance of relationships; 2. Why organisations should think relationally; 3. How to measure relationships; 4. Directness - high touch organisation; 5. Continuity - connection across time; 6. Multiplexity - context for breadth; 7. Parity - power, balance, fairness; 8. Commonality - overlap of purpose; 9. What relational proximity builds; 10. Relationships between stakeholders; 11. Managing, measuring, reporting, regulating; Epilogue.

John Ashcroft is Research Director at the Relationships Foundation and co-author of Relationships in the NHS (with Geoffrey Meads, 1999) and The Case for Interprofessional Collaboration in Health and Social Care (with Geoffrey Meads, 2005).
Roy Childs has worked in organisations at senior levels for more than twenty years focusing on developing capability and building relationships. He is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Chartered Occupational Psychologist.
Alison Myers is an experienced consultant, facilitator and trainer. She has been a senior managing consultant with Accenture's Change Management and Human Performance practice and is now an ordained Anglican minister.
Michael Schluter is an economist and social entrepreneur who has launched ten not-for-profit organisations and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's New Year's honours in 2009. He co-authored The R Factor (with David John Lee, 1993) and The Relational Manager (with David John Lee, 2009).