Stakeholder Management: The tricks they don’t teach you.

Some stories on Stakeholder Management

So, you've delved into the depths of PMBOK or Prince 2, aced the product owner courses, and proudly have a couple of certificates above your bed. Yet, those elusive stakeholders keep bugging you. They are never quite content with your efforts. While we can't promise you a magic wand, we're more than willing to share some tricks we learned along the way.

"How to Keep Your Employees Engaged in Business Meetings" by Belvedere Events and Banquets is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Don’t forget your hidden customers

In an ideal world, end-users would be the only arbiters of project success. In reality, especially in  internal digitalization projects, you need to take your hidden customers into account. 

Take, for instance, implementing a dashboarding tool. End users desire user-friendliness and aesthetics, but plant management wants to see the tangible benefits translated from that dashboarding magic.

Avoid brushing off these hidden customers as mere politics; treat them like the customers they are.

Keep your friends close, keep your critics closer

David and I find joy when folks start challenging our initiatives. It's a sign that what we're working on matters. Unfortunately, dissenting voices often get labeled as political nuisances. Resist the urge to label them and shoo them away; instead, welcome them with open arms. Disagreements are not always obstacles; oftentimes, they're your most valuable sources of information

Listen, connect, and even if it's a bitter pill, acknowledge that your project can always improve. Ignoring critics may lead to unforeseen and unwelcome surprises.

…and keep your enemies even closer (or: “Be Like James”)

Critics are gems, but occasionally, there are outright rivalries and personal agendas in the mix. Distinguishing between a critic and a political enemy isn’t all black and white. But there are some tricks that can help. Critics want what's best for end-users or the organization, while political enemies aim to sabotage for personal gain.

In navigating this gray area, be like James Bond – don't alienate them and keep them close. Foster as amicable a relationship as possible, because, let's face it, even 007 has dinner with those who want him gone. Or… be more like James!

Don’t be a gray mouse… make some noise!

Do you know that one project everybody is talking about? It is being executed seamlessly, within budget, and leaving users blissfully content? Neither do we, because we have to work on the problems, not on things that work.

Now, consider two scenarios:

• The project that ticks all the boxes, proceeding according to plan with every steering committee meeting canceled due to the smooth sailing.

• The project filled with drama, frequent escalations, and epic corporate clashes.

The latter holds a distinct advantage over the first one, ‘the squeaky wheel gets the oil’. And it makes sense that executives try to work on what needs support. But there is something else at work – The second project has a narrative, complete with drama and a hero. People, even corporate executives, love a good story. Now I'm not advocating for manufacturing problems. However, executing flawlessly without getting noticed is also not good. So be out there, make noise!

Keep stakeholders engaged by involving them in key decisions, sharing the challenges you encounter, showing the successes and making them part of the unfolding narrative.

Planning is important, but not why you think.

Planning , it looks scientific but everybody knows it’s just well educated guesses. So what is it actually used for?

Here’s the truth: what they really want to know is whether they can trust you. Do you know what you are doing and are you going in the right direction?

Just put yourself in the shoes of the other party. They often have no clue what they are embarking on. That can be scary, so they need to feel that you can be trusted, that you know what you are doing. So instead of sweating over the details of your plan, ensure that they can understand it and that it makes sense. And nothing says trust like actually delivering what you promise…

Give people a place

Stakeholder management is not about drawing lines on a diagram or listing names on a slide. Instead, see it as a way to create avenues for structured interaction. Steering committees, team meetings, and standups are classics, but larger projects demand creativity. But you don’t need to stop there: sounding boards, advisory groups, key user communities, tactical boards. 

By giving people responsibilities you demonstrate your commitment to involving them in your project (just make sure to balance out those activities with the actual executing of your project 👍) 

Don’t split doing and thinking

When you’re deciding on how to group people in your project, please, don’t split people into ‘the people with the brains’ and ‘the people who execute’ .

This can come in many forms : expertise groups without delivery responsibility, a product owner who only reports weekly to the team,a group that defines the requirements and roadmaps with teams that have to execute it. Whenever you see such a pattern emerge, just stop.

In knowledge work, thinking and doing are the same thing. If you have ever programmed you know what we mean.

By separating thinking from doing you are creating feature factories, and those are a recipe for frustration for everybody. It disempowers your ‘thinkers’ who grow frustrated and dismisses your ‘doers’ as second rank citizens.