Midlevel Stakeholder Categories

First Element: Stakeholder Categories
Identifying all stakeholders is the midlevel leader’s first mission. Stakeholders include everyone who will need to contribute to the project or who could be affected by the project. This requires looking across all directions of the internal organization, as well as outside (customers, clients, vendors, contractors, media, etc.) Those stakeholders are then categorized into four distinct groups: Superordinate, Subordinate, Customers, and Complementors/Blockers. Superordinates are people that have some authority over the midlevel leader. Subordinates are people with a direct reporting line or authority to the midlevel leader. Customers are those that you serve or end users that will benefit from your project. They can be internal or external. Complementors/blockers are people or units that are not directly above or below the midlevel leader, but are necessary to the success of the project.
This is an important step towards building rapport and a trusting relationship. Bee-in phase is made up of eight key steps devised to help create commitment and support for the midlevel leader’s projects. This phase is applied not only to subordinates, but customers and complementors/blockers. However, this is the only phase that should be applied to subordinates for successful implementation. Leading from the middle is almost impossible without the support of a committed team. The steps in this process are developed to help produce this commitment. The steps include (Nickerson, p. 57):
1. Selecting the right team – making sure to invite people that have the knowledge and experience to help create viable solutions.
2. Gain commitment from the team – getting the team involved in the decision making process throughout the entirety of the