2024 WSE Fifth Session: A Focus on Managing Stakeholders

July 31, 2024

The fifth Wall Street Exchange session of 2024 featured special guest Tali de Assis, a consultant for the FWA’s President’s Circle Firm, New York Life. Tali is a consultant for Hemsley Fraser, one of the world’s Top 20 companies for leadership development, digital content and training outsourcing.

After an introduction from WSE Co-Chair Gerri Bostick, Tali kicked off the session with an overview of stakeholder management. The first step was to provide clear definitions of stakeholders and stakeholder engagement. She then took a poll asking the interns to identify their biggest challenge managing their stakeholders. The results showed two topics: understanding their needs and expectations and building and maintaining relationships with them.


Tali then shifted to the four proven steps for managing and engaging them which included first identifying who they are. She provided a visual to help the interns think through this step and develop their own circle of stakeholders. The group then went into smaller breakout sessions to identify and discuss their relationships with their current stakeholders.


The interns were then shown an example of how to contract with stakeholders and create a communication plan which included action steps. The final part of the session was a discussion of stakeholder engagement principles which included consulting early and often, understanding what success looks like, and learning from challenges. Tali ended the session by giving the interns a stakeholder blueprint with some key steps and recommendations for them to follow. It included an action plan to help them record what they are already doing that’s working as well as how they can be more effective with their individual contributors.


On behalf of the FWA, the Co-Chairs and the WSE Committee extend their sincere thanks and appreciation to Tali de Assis and the company sponsor, New York Life, for their longstanding support and generosity to the interns and the Wall Street Exchange Program.


Click here to learn more about the Wall Street Exchange program. For questions about the program, please contact Kelsie Piersaint, the FWA’s Next-Gen Educational Programs Manager.

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