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This week's edition focuses on demonstrating the impact and value of your work to the most important people in your professional ecosystem, including:

- Funders

- Policymakers

- Potential investors

- Employers during an interview process

When it comes to showing work is impactful (and deserves support), my approach reflects a version of a well-known quote.

The quote and its variation after a word from our sponsor.

 

Sponsorship message:

This week's newsletter is sponsored by OneSkin.

Led by Ph.D. scientists dedicated to helping people age in a healthy, vibrant way, OneSkin patented the first peptide (protein building block) scientifically proven to reverse skin aging at the molecular level.

* 2 things to know: I only accept sponsorships from companies whose products I use myself, and I receive a small commission from sales that use the SCIENCE15 discount code (enabling One for the Week to remain free for readers).

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

- Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, from the 1878 novel, Molly Bawn.

"Impact is in the eye of the stakeholder"

- @BayerStrategic, 2023.

You know your work makes a positive difference.

That's probably why you're up every morning, making progress towards your professional goals.

But your stakeholders - those who can propel or put the brakes on your progress - may have multiple meaningful programs and priorities competing for their attention and funding authority.

How to demonstrate yours is worthy of their support?

In the next section, I'll show you a 4-part model you can apply to decipher factors with the greatest influence over how your stakeholders view the impact (and importance) of your work.

(1) Mindset

Appreciate first "impact is in the eye of the stakeholder." 

And since the definition of impact differs, metrics for assessing impact vary among stakeholders. 

Is impact measured in:

- Dollars and cents?

- Positive press coverage?

- Lives saved or improved by your innovation?

✅ Begin by acknowledging varied versions of "impact" (and its accompanying metrics) across - and even within - stakeholders.

(2) Analysis

Understand how performance of your stakeholder(s) is measured.

Which of your specific outputs or outcomes contribute most in the evaluation of your stakeholders' performance? 

 ✅ Pay particular attention to your activities that contribute the most to assessments of your stakeholders' value.

(3) Engagement 

Routinely communicate with your stakeholders, formally and informally. 

Sources such as scheduled meetings, impromptu interactions, social posts, media coverage, and formal reports can help keep your pulse on what's particularly important to your stakeholders within your area of activity. 

✅ Look for - and create - opportunities to gauge stakeholder interest in aspects of your work. 

(4) Iteration

Stakeholder priorities can rapidly shift.

A news story. Policymaker preference. New leadership.

These changes and more can rearrange your stakeholders'  conception of your impact.

✅ Stay nimble and attuned to shifts in stakeholder priorities, expressing your impact in various ways that correspond to what can be a frequently changing landscape.

What do you think about the ideas in this week's edition?

What challenges have you experienced in demonstrating your impact and/or responding to stakeholder priorities?

Let me know your thoughts, and I'll share your comments in a future One for the Week.

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