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The aim of this paper is to report on the advancement, in theory and practice, in stakeholder management as a result of the author's experiences, and to invite other practitioners and researchers to collaborate in, or contribute to, research to further advance stakeholder management theory and practice in both project management and organisations.

The process of developing theory and practice from ideas based on work experiences and reflection, through action learning, practical application and reference to a “collaborative community of enquiry” composed of colleagues, clients, academic researchers and practitioners is reported in this paper.

The process of developing a methodology and ways to assist organisations is not static: each organisation is different with different needs and goals. It is therefore essential to facilitate the continuous improvement and development of tools and processes that support stakeholder relationship management (SRM) in organisations. This is best achieved through exposure of the ideas to researchers and practitioners.

The stakeholder relationship management maturity approach to assisting organisations successfully implement a stakeholder “mindset” or culture, has been developed to the level described in this paper through a process of reflection, action research and continuous improvement. The ideas expressed in this paper need to be tested further. This paper includes an invitation to researchers and practitioners to contribute to or collaborate in this process.

This paper provides a framework that any individual or organisation can use as a basis for immediate implementation of SRM in any project or organisation.

This paper provides a summary of how a doctoral dissertation can be adapted, improved and used to benefit project and organisation management world‐wide.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for assisting individuals in organisations to understand how to engage their senior stakeholders.

The main method for the research is a descriptive case study to test the theories described in the paper. The approach to the topic is based on reflection of the experiences of the author and colleagues, tied in with theories developed by the research of individuals in the field of leadership and organisational strategy. The result is a framework to provide guidance to practitioners working in organisations and a new approach for researchers in organisational management and stakeholder engagement.

While there are many journals and books devoted to assisting management to lead and motivate staff and team members, there is an absence of research and thinking on how staff and team members may gain the attention and support of their managers. This paper addresses this gap. The problem has been expressed in terms of the experiences of the author and colleagues and has been received with interest by those individuals who have attended workshops and presentations given by the author on this topic.

The solutions proposed are based on the experiences and reflection of the author and colleagues. Additional research needs to be conducted to further support the conclusions drawn from the ideas in this paper.

Significant changes should be made in the thinking of staff and team members in their approach to acquiring and maintaining the support of their managers. The recommended approach is a structured process of stakeholder engagement based on building and maintaining robust relationships with important stakeholders leading to the development of timely, appropriate and effective communication.

The paper and the ideas expressed within it take a different approach to most of the published literature in that they seek to view organisational culture and practice from the perspective of staff or team members (followers) and how they might proceed to address issues that require management attention and support.

The aim of this paper is to summarise a successfully completed doctoral thesis. The main purpose of the paper is to provide a summary that indicates the scope of, and main issues raised by, the thesis so that readers that are undertaking research in this area may be aware of current cutting edge research that could be relevant to them. A second key aim of the paper is to place this in context with doctoral study and further research that could take place to extend knowledge in this area.

Research reported in this paper was based upon action learning from a series of case studies where a project management tool for managing stakeholder relationships was tested and refined.

The tool is useful in helping the project delivery team identify major influencing stakeholders and visualise their potential impact. This tool then helped the studied project delivery teams to develop stakeholder engagement strategies. While it was initially tested as a planning tool to be used at the early stages of a project it can be used through the whole implementation phase of a project as the flow of major stakeholders and their influence changes during a project.

The tool was further improved during 2006 and commercialised in 2007 and is currently being used by numerous organisations. In observing how it is being used and can be used, it is suggested that over time a useful data base of stakeholder behaviours is being established that can be mined and used to better predict stakeholder types and their likely actions.

This paper provides a summary of cutting‐edge research work and a link to the published thesis (see URL www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_021.html for a pdf (7meg)) that researchers can use to help them understand how the research methodology was applied as well as how it can be extended.

This paper aims to explore a case study example of the decision‐making process that occurs within complex organizations. It exposes a murky “zone” of decision making and action between the strategic vision set by senior management and the work of teams to realise projects.

A case study from the experience of one of the authors is used to illustrate the activities in this “zone”. The lessons from the case study are supported by emerging project management and general management literature. The paper is exploratory in nature and the case study used provides a useful vehicle for reflection and sensemaking.

The “zone” is metaphorically described as a highly complex and dynamic organism. Operating in the “zone” requires agility and an understanding of both the project and the organizational environment to cope with the demands of its chaotic nature. The paper's conclusions indicate that the traditional command‐and‐control management style is counter‐productive in today's organizations.

Key implications include the need for project managers and their teams to be politically astute and sensitive to the needs and pressures of a wide range of project stakeholders. A methodology and tool for visualising the influence of stakeholders can be of considerable use and a flexible style of decision making is necessary to manage within the inherent uncertainty, complexity and chaos found in projects and organizations like the one illustrated by the case study.

Shows that a paradigm shift in management thinking is needed to succeed in managing projects and their teams within the turbulent environment of a modern matrix organization.

Effective project managers are required to have both “hard” technical skills to help control the iron triangle of time, cost and functional scope as well as relationship management skills to work effectively with people and get the best out of them. This paper argues that project managers also need a third skill: we refer to it as tapping into the power lines. This is a skill beyond the management of schedules, budgets and milestones, beyond leading project teams or managing suppliers and users, and even beyond what is commonly regarded as managing a project's senior stakeholders. The hypothesis, based on data gathered from three case studies, is that there is a need for project managers to be skilled in managing at the third dimension in large organizations; to understand the need for, have the ability, and be willing, to “tap into the power grid” of influence that surrounds all projects, particularly in large organizations. Without third dimension skills, project managers and their organizations will find delivering successful project increasingly more difficult. The second part of this paper will discuss how project managers might achieve competence in managing the third dimension both through individual effort and with the support of the learning organization.

The purpose of this paper is to offer insights into a tool that one of the authors has developed to help map, and thus visualise, stakeholder power and influence within the performing organisation.

The concept described in this paper has been tested at several large international gatherings to well over 200 active professional project managers. The feedback to date has been very positive. This positive feedback led to testing of these ideas through research being conducted during 2004/2005 by one of the authors who is a candidate for the doctor of project management (DPM) at RMIT.

The research is centred around this tool, the stakeholder circle, as a means to provide a useful and effective way to visualise stakeholder power and influence that may have pivotal impact on a project's success or failure. The stakeholder‐circle tool is developed for each project through a methodology that identifies and prioritises key project stakeholders and then develops an engagement strategy to build and maintain robust relationships with those key stakeholders. An example of the tool is presented.

Future papers will provide case study examples currently under way of the use of this tool. The implication for this tool's use is that project managers can clearly visualise and map stakeholder influence patterns that have significant impact on stakeholder outcome expectations.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the philosophy of the journal and present a summary of its content and how the various papers link to the journal's philosophy.

The paper is a limited literature review to establish the journal's philosophy and linked description of the issue's content.

This helps readers to understand the scope scale and expectations of reviewers with respect to papers to be submitted and also helps readers understand what kind of papers to expect in this and future issues.

As the first issue, this editorial establishes the themes to be expected and it outlines several innovations in the journal's format.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the product of a ten year study, the PhD thesis, “Feminist Systems Thinking: Principles and Practice”, conferred in April, 2012 by the University of Queensland, which contains a set of five practical principles, to assist in policy directions for enhanced community development and project management.

This research adapted Constructivist Grounded Theory to complete Part A, a theoretical imbrication of Cultural Ecofeminism and Critical Systems Thinking. Part B of the thesis is a set of four applied case studies utilising participatory action research.

The findings of Part A of this work established a meta‐theoretical framework in the form of five practical principles to guide project managers at various stages and scales of their work. Part B's evaluation of these principles found that the principles can make practitioners' work clearer, identify gaps to address the multiplicity of often overlapping social concerns, and flag implications for future research and practice.

Embedding the principles in practice can help managers plan, guide and evaluate community development interventions. Further research to establish the principles in a wider number of settings would be advantageous.

Embedding the principles draws in the voices of those on the margins of any project, helping to avoid superficial consultations and oversight of all (human and non‐human inhabitants) affected.

This work is entirely original. There is no known imbrication of the epistemologies selected for this study. In the recent examination of the thesis, the work was commended for its innovative methodological approach and original contribution to knowledge.