Mapping system actors: identifying roles and influences to orchestrate change
No organization is an island. The success of a project depends on the ability to recognize and relate to all the subjects inhabiting your ecosystem. The Stakeholder Map is the visual representation of all actors involved—internal and external—aimed at clarifying roles, relationships, and decision-making weights.
Using this tool allows you to identify non-obvious subjects who can influence your strategy or be conditioned by it. Mapping stakeholders based on their power and involvement is the fundamental prerequisite for aligning your team's knowledge—what is called "sensemaking"—and designing value propositions capable of generating value for the entire system.
Building a common and shared vision of the people we directly or indirectly involve in our project is the first step to identify the value exchanges in the ecosystem
How to use the Stakeholder Map canvas
Internal Dimension
Start by identifying the operational core from which project relationships branch out.
Step 1: Define the Core Team
Place the work team or business unit directly responsible for the project and involved in daily activities in the innermost circle.
Ecosystemic Dimension
Broaden your gaze outward to populate the map with all system actors.
Step 2: Identify Direct Stakeholders.
Identify the functions and people the team constantly interacts with to deliver value, such as partners, priority customers, or internal departments.
Step 3: Map Indirect Stakeholders
Recognize subjects who have an influence on the system despite not being operationally involved, including regulatory bodies, local communities, or competitors.
Strategic Assessment
Analyze the actors' positions to guide coordinated team action.
Step 4: Analyze Power and Interest.
Evaluate each actor by asking key questions: Who exercises power? Who has high interest but low impact? Who supports and who might hinder change?
Step 5: Final Considerations.
Use the map to define how to engage each stakeholder group in your trajectory toward the desirable future.
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