Martín Garrido Ramirez, CEO and cofounder of eAgora

Today I wanted to talk to you about how to deal with misalignment with the stakeholders. In many cases, those of us who work with small and large public organizations find that alignment is not something magical.

Build human connection first

One of them is to be very clear with the scenario we are facing. It is normal for there to be differences between organizations. I believe the first step is to establish contact and understand each other very well. At last, when one seeks alignment among others organizations, there must first be an alignment between humans.

Ultimately, organizations are made up of human beings, and many times a lack of understanding between people could make that two organizations that may potentially have common interests end up not working together. Therefore, I believe it is very important, first, to understand who we are dealing with, relating to the structure and the people within that structure and prepare for that first meeting, that initial contact.

Investigate why, don't push

When two parties cannot find common ground to move forward, I think the most sensible thing to do is to ask ourselves why. If we can get feedback from that side, all the better because it will not be what we believe has happened, but rather we may have another perspective from the other side on why it hasn't worked. And if we see that there is an understanding, I think it's very important not to impose our vision.

Build in regular checkpoints

And then I think it's very important, and in the end, this is still like any human relationship, having certain coping mechanisms of that relationship or alignment. Often, when developing a pilot or a service, there may be misunderstandings, there may be things that don't work. And I think it's very important to have that sense of confidence and alertness, to be on the lookout, to say: "If something isn't right, you can call me or you can write", or if something is not as you thought it would be leave those open doors, not to leave, not to say: "Well, we have come this far" but precisely to prevent that from happening.

And often it is to generate, even those checkpoints, that is to say: "Well, we'll meet or call each other weekly to see how things are going if you are satisfied, what problems you are encountering."

Key takeaways

• Alignment starts with people. If people don’t understand each other, organizations won’t either.

• When alignment doesn’t happen, ask why. Don’t push your solution where it doesn’t fit.

• Keep the door open. Regular check-ins catch problems early and protect trust.