Hello, I am Diana Kwamboka, the current Government Relations Lead at BURN Manufacturing. As I considered the offer for this role and reviewed my key deliverables, I recognized that stakeholder management, partnership building, effective communication, and stakeholder engagement were essential skills for success.

While I had developed these skills in my previous roles, I knew that the scope of this new position required me to strengthen them further. That realization led me to enrol in the Mastering Strategic Partnerships class.

From the beginning, I was intentional about what I wanted to learn and why it was important. The first session was a key highlight for me because we were asked about our expectations and what we aimed to achieve by the end of the workshop. That was my moment to define my learning objectives:

• How to make cold calls effectively
• How to read and interpret non-verbal cues—where a “yes” might actually mean “no”
• How to manage multiple stakeholders efficiently

With these goals in mind, my mission began. I knew that if I could master these, I would be set for success. I felt ready to take on the world—after all, who runs the world? (Girls).

By the end of the six-week workshop, I had gained far more than I had expected. Making cold calls became as easy as calling a close friend. One key takeaway about making cold calls was the importance of thorough research—learning as much as possible about the person you’re reaching out to, understanding what they care about, and ensuring that your ask aligns with their interests.

Additionally, I learned the importance of having a stakeholder tracking tool to record conversations, commitments, and key insights. This not only makes follow-ups seamless but also ensures that every interaction is strategic and well-documented.

Armed with these insights, I felt fully prepared to deliver in my new role. And as fate would have it, within my first month, I had two major deliverables:

• Organizing a stakeholder meeting with key individuals I had never interacted with before.
• Creating an Excel tracking tool to map out all the associations we are part of and identify key stakeholders we should be engaging with and why.

Both tasks turned out to be a breeze. I successfully scheduled the stakeholder meeting within two weeks of joining, and today, my partners and I have built strong working relationships. I also developed a centralized stakeholder tracking tool, which has become an invaluable resource, allowing easy access to stakeholder information whenever needed.

This experience not only strengthened my confidence but also reaffirmed the power of strategic partnerships in driving meaningful engagements.