After we signed our first major outsourcing agreement, we experienced both excitement and trepidation amongst the retained team, including disappointment and anger. The strategy was compelling with a strong business case. The key was to make sure we would realize the potential and generate expected value. To get to that point, we had a complex and challenging journey ahead of us and we needed to get our team members onboard. I quickly realized the importance of developing a collaborative relationship with my counterpart, and we co-developed a governance framework and the associated material to explain and operationalize the agreement. We then embarked on a “roadshow” to onboard our teams on this journey. I vividly remember one of our first meetings. This was with colleagues from a retained team I was unfamiliar with, and they did not know me. When I walked into the room together with my counterpart, it quickly became evident that they thought I was from the supplier as well. It was an interesting and eye-opening experience, and I resented the way they spoke to us! But I gained an important insight which had a profound influence on how I have managed and worked with suppliers ever since.

Of course, it is easy to just criticize the participants of that meeting. Certainly, I find such hostility undesirable. But there was also groundwork that could have been done on my side prior to engaging this larger team. Better stakeholder engagement upfront would allowed for a more productive discussion. Simply presenting a solution without taking key stakeholders through the opportunity statement and agreeing on the objective, is a little bit like putting someone on a train and telling them to like the destination without their input.