A Note On Mapping: Understanding Who Can Influence Your Success
J. Patrick Dobel & Angela Day. A Note on Mapping: Understanding Who Can Influence Your Success. University of Washington: Electronic Hallway 2005
21 Pages Posted: 17 Mar 2016
Date Written: 2005
Abstract
An effective leader in a public or nonprofit setting needs a tool for systematically determining the forces and actors that play a role in the success or failure of the organization. To achieve personal and managerial goals, you need a mind’s eye map of the political environment in which you are operating. Political environments are characterized by complex and interconnected centers of power and authority, which convey resources and support for your organization, as well as opposition to your mission and organization. Operating within these complexities requires constant attention to a dynamic authorizing environment in order to maintain the viability of your organization. Mapping can become the tool by which you identify the important factors and forces within your environment that may help or hinder the achievement of your mission. A map possesses the advantage of a quick visual reference that can convey a lot of information quickly. There is no single best way to map an organizational environment, but the most effective maps are constructed with a given issue or scenario in mind.
This essay presents the theoretical justification for mapping political environments and explores the practical ways in which maps illuminate paths to effective action that does justice to mission and the realities of politics, leading and management.
Keywords: Leadership, management, mapping, political environments, organizational effectiveness
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