Hospital and community health: going from stakeholder management to stakeholder collaboration

Leaders of hospitals and other health service organizations often use stakeholder management capabilities to analyze, understand, and transact business with their stakeholders in order to achieve organizational goals. When these leaders and their organizations become involved in community health improvement, they have new and different types of stakeholders than for traditional medical care. In the community health domain, these leaders should modify their approach toward stakeholders so that they collaborate with stakeholders rather than try to manage them. Recommendations for how to do this include giving up some control, building trusting relationships, and emphasizing community goals.