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Acknowledgements
The work and thinking of this research has occupied a large part of my life for the last
four years, and many people have provided assistance and support.
I wish to acknowledge and thank the following people:
All the people of Melbourne Water for their generosity; they allowed me to dwell
in their workplace, observe, ask many questions and get the feel for how they
worked. In particular Jacquie White and Chris Chesterfield for the invitation to
explore stakeholder engagement in the Waterways Group and then gave their
time to thinking about the data and collaborate with me to make sense of things.
David Hill and Michael Keough were both always generous and available to
provide more information about stakeholder engagement and communications.
All the research participants, the Waterways Group leadership team, and each
of you who gave time to have a conversation with me about stakeholder
engagement, thankyou.
The managing director of Melbourne Water, Rob Skinner was thoughtful and
provocative in his thinking and approach, generous with his time and supportive;
he is a creative thinker and encouraged me to work at the edges of my knowing.
Representatives from the water retailers, the Minister’s department and the
Department of Sustainability and Environment – thankyou for giving your time to
this research.
My colleague, Bruce Turner, who took the risk and engaged me to work with
him at Melbourne Water. Through synchronicity, he provided me with an
opening to explore this work and was wonderfully supportive, thinking with me
and tolerating my seemingly constant questioning. We shared robust
conversations and ‘lived’ the difficulties of collaboration.
Brian Summers, also a doctoral candidate observed the initial focus groups,
then debriefed with me after each one. He shared his thoughts and
observations, in a totally honorary capacity and has patiently met with me over
the years of the development of this thesis. I am very grateful for his collegiality.
!
"#!
Thankyou also to colleagues in the university seminar series who provided their
thoughts and comments about ideas I was grappling with. In 2008, I presented
the research to the annual ISPSO meeting in Philadelphia. To all those
colleagues who generously provided critical thinking and input, thankyou for
providing the opportunity for a novice to present to such an esteemed group. I
appreciate the many authors I have read during this work for making their ideas
widely available as this has assisted my learning.
My supervisors, Professor Susan Long who provided patient guidance and
expert knowledge on working with organisations, and Ruth Dunn, who
consistently filled me with support on a personal and therapeutic level; both
women enabled me to clear out stuff that was getting in the way of my thinking
and help me see things more clearly.
During 2007 my leg was badly broken in a bike accident, and I could no longer
participate in a fund raising ride around Cambodia. However, my friend Michele
took me with her ‘in spirit’. Her friendship kept me strong and helped me deal
with grief and loss. I became disabled and for the first twelve months was
restricted to a wheelchair. There were many times I thought it was all too much!
But through wonderful friends and their love and support I was able to keep
going. My daughter Holly made sure I attended the ISPSO conference to
present this work; she pushed me everywhere in the wheelchair and kept me
laughing. My mother Patricia provided nourishment and encouragement. My
great friends Jenni, Rob, Margaret, Mark, Henry, and Kate, tirelessly supported
me, distracted me when necessary, and encouraged me to stay strong and
keep going.
None of this would have been possible without the enduring love and friendship
from my husband Noel, and our great children, Holly and Jack. They are each
remarkable individuals. Their tolerance of my absences whilst writing, and the
way they challenged my thinking, helped give me stamina and wrestle with not
knowing enough. More than anything, it is their amazing support that has
helped me to persist in this arduous task. I am humbled by your love and
inspired by your spirit. Thankyou.
!
#!
Abstract
The research reported here addresses the question of what is required to engage
stakeholders to create effective change. It is a case study of one organisation,
Melbourne Water, which is located in Victoria, Australia.
The research is undertaken using a qualitative, action research framework and a
systems psychodynamic perspective. Volunteer participants participated in one-on-one
interviews and focus groups. The data is also generated through organisational
observations and reflection utilising the methods of supervision and journaling.
The organisation is transitioning from an old way of doing things. In the past, technical
expertise was considered to be all that was required to make changes. In the current
environment, in which alternative water supply sources are being developed in
response to chronic water shortage, Melbourne Water and its stakeholders, have to find
new ways of working to ensure a sustainable water future. Melbourne Water has to
engage, partner and collaborate with stakeholders.
The research shows that multiple complex factors influence which stakeholders to
involve, how to involve them, and how much engagement is enough. There are
difficulties sharing information across different cultures within the organisation, and at
times external stakeholders experience issues of communication, described as ‘the left
hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing’.
Traditional quantitative evaluation methods are not adequate to demonstrate key
factors of effective stakeholder engagement, such as levels of trust, feelings of respect,
strength in relationships or a sense of being heard and understood.
Effective stakeholder engagement requires individuals in organisations to develop
personal awareness of their own behaviours and to develop strong interpersonal skills.
Taking these findings into account, it is argued that in order for stakeholder
engagement to be successful in this organisation, individuals need mature interpersonal
skills and the ability to form stakeholder relationships alongside their technical
expertise. Information about stakeholders shared strategically across the organisation
builds organisational knowledge and capability. The capacity of negative capability, a
psychodynamic concept describing the ability to work with unknown outcomes, on the
edge of knowing, and engage in a non-defensive way with stakeholders is one
approach. Working in this way will create greater capacity for organisational
adaptation, however, not all members of the organisation can develop this wisdom.