How to engage stakeholders (brilliantly)
Kate Jacobs uncovers how to go beyond mere ‘management’ of stakeholders and really connect.
Image credit: Shutterstock
The APM definition of stakeholder engagement is: “The systematic identification, analysis, planning and implementation of actions designed to influence stakeholders”. But the reality of stakeholder engagement can often feel much messier than that neat description, hinging as it does on interpersonal relationships, conflicting priorities and drivers, and human behaviour that is often emotional, rather than rational.
That means stakeholder engagement is often the thing that makes or breaks a project. As Raquel Horta, co-founder of Partnium Services and a project and programme management coach puts it: “Projects fail on people, not Gantt charts.”
Embracing the human side of stakeholder engagement as much as the programmatic elements is what makes the difference.
“You can have the tidiest schedule in the world and a fabulous risk log, but if the people who are doing the doing aren’t interested, don’t understand what they are doing or don’t have the time, then the work doesn’t get done,” explains Elizabeth Harrin, Senior Project Manager at Nuffield Health and author of the APM book Engaging Stakeholders on Projects.
In an epidemic of ‘busyness’, this can be easier said than done. “The most common issue I see is stakeholders who are not available,” Harrin adds. “Everyone is so busy, and your project might not be at the top of their to-do list. Getting the right people to make decisions, complete tasks and show up to meetings is more and more challenging.”
Identify who your stakeholders really are
Identifying stakeholders sounds simple, but power doesn’t always sit where you – or the organisational chart – might expect. Stakeholders may be dispersed, unorganised and informal. As well as looking at the organisational structure and engaging with formal project sponsors, map other connections and relationships across the stakeholder ecosystem.
“There’s always an invisible stakeholder: someone who has influence on the project, but who isn’t easy to identify,” says Ian Cribbes, co-author of the APM Short Guide How to See Connections Between Stakeholders Using Systems Thinking. He recalls trying to recover a military project in the Middle East. “I was talking to the General about what we needed to do. He would then pick up the phone and speak to someone in English, who would say the plan I was proposing wasn’t acceptable.”
Through some detective work, Cribbes was able to work out that the person giving the advice was a technician – no one in a leadership position – and a former colleague who coincidentally lived a few doors down. “We got together and started to work out what was mutually beneficial for everybody,” he says, which got the project back on track.
Once you’ve identified the true stakeholders, take a step back. Think about what you are trying to achieve and who you need to engage with to achieve that objective. Prioritise where to focus your time and energy depending on where you are in the project.
Stay agile
“You need to accept that stakeholder engagement is based around human relationships,” says Cribbes’ co-author Phil Macey. That makes it dynamic and often political. “What often happens is that people do stakeholder analysis early in the project and park it, then get tripped up,” Macey says.
Rather than writing a plan and leaving it to gather dust on a shelf, view stakeholder engagement as a dynamic process, not a one-off event. Keep reviewing your stakeholder list as the project evolves, monitoring and updating where people are sitting on the detractor-to-champion scale.
For long-term projects, stakeholders are likely to change as people move jobs. When that happens, it’s important to start from square one again, says Cribbes. “When someone new comes in, they start at the bottom of the ‘commitment curve’ again,” he says. “The organisation may know all about the project, but that person doesn’t. Don’t expect them to know anything: go and talk to them.”
Build relationships before you need them
Early in Horta’s career, she had an experience that has stayed with her. A relationship with a stakeholder soured to the point that they shouted at her in front of others. She subsequently asked to be taken off the project. At the time, she framed it as: “Difficult stakeholder; not my problem.”
But years later, she sees things differently. “That person was under enormous pressure: the project was overwhelming them. The outburst they had wasn’t about me at all,” she says. The issue was that she hadn’t built the relationship that would have helped her to see that in time: “I stayed at the level of the work – the tasks, the deliverables – and never engaged with what was going on underneath. When things escalated, I had nothing to fall back on – no trust banked and no relationship to hold the weight.”
Today, her advice is simple: “Build the relationship now, before you need it. Get curious about the pressure the person is carrying, not just the project plan.” Invest time in getting to know people. Adapt to their style and get to know their priorities, concerns and motivations early on, connecting your project to their agenda.
Tailor your approach
Getting to know your stakeholders on a deeper level will help you tailor your approach. That doesn’t always mean more work in the long run. As Harrin explains, not everyone needs the same level of engagement.
“Some stakeholders need detailed involvement; others simply need updates,” she says. “Understanding each person’s influence, interest and preferred way of working helps you focus your time where it will have the greatest impact.”
Consider more tangible differences, too. Are there cultural or language differences between your stakeholders? Cultural misunderstandings can cause friction, so plan ahead and tailor your approach accordingly.
Alongside that, treat stakeholders as partners to work alongside, rather than obstacles to overcome.
“The shift from ‘stakeholder management’ to ‘stakeholder engagement’ is about recognising that people aren’t resources to control,” Harrin says. “The most successful projects involve stakeholders as valued partners who contribute ideas, shape decisions and help champion change.” Inevitably, the question every stakeholder will have is: what’s in it for me? You have to be prepared to answer that question.
For some stakeholders, face-to-face interaction can be invaluable in building relationships and getting to the heart of an issue. Cribbes is a big advocate of going for a coffee off-site, encouraging people to move beyond the ‘party line’ heard in more formal meetings.
But technology can play its part too, especially in catching minor issues before they blow up into something bigger. “A quick Teams message as a holding comment [can] set minds at rest,” Harrin says.
Find your allies
You might be managing a major project, but that doesn’t mean you need to handle stakeholder engagement on your own. See yourself as the facilitator, advises Macey, pulling on other talents in your team as needed.
Building relationships quickly, for example, is a key skill that not everyone has. If it isn’t your forte, find someone who’s great at it.
“If there’s someone in your team who is gregarious and gets to know people well quickly, launch them off to build relationships, which you can then tap into,” Macey says. Ask someone trusted and credible on the project team to play the role of the ‘critical friend’, acting as devil’s advocate at times and providing objective feedback on plans and progress.
Use stakeholders to engage with each other too: a converted sceptic could become your strongest advocate; a powerful champion could win over your most stubborn detractor. And if you’re working at a more junior level, focus on building relationships with senior stakeholders. “You’ve got to find someone who can act and advocate on your behalf,” says Macey. “If you are a junior project manager, you’re not going to get into the boardroom, so work out a route to influence it.”
Building influence without authority is key, Horta says. “You have to influence people who don’t report to you, who will often be more senior than you. Most project managers are never taught to manage up.” Successfully wielding influence without authority means being curious, rather than forceful, she adds. Ask the right questions to help others surface problems and build solutions.
Build trust through honesty and consistency
Trust arrives on foot and leaves on horseback. That Dutch proverb – summing up how easy it is to lose trust – should remain front of mind for every project manager working on stakeholder engagement. “People engage with people they trust,” Harrin says. “Be reliable, follow through on commitments and demonstrate competence. Trust takes time to build but underpins every successful stakeholder relationship.”
Honesty and transparency are the foundation on which trust is built – even when people might not like what you are telling them. Cribbes’ advice is to always be honest with stakeholders. “If you are not honest, it will soon come out, and then you will lose all the trust you have built,” he says. “If you’ve got bad news and a good relationship, you’ll probably get away with it.”
Consistent, regular engagement is key, even if you haven’t got anything meaningful to share. “If you’ve got nothing to say, then tell people,” Cribbes recommends. “Ask them what you can do for them. That keeps them aware that you are thinking of them and that you consider them important.”
Harrin agrees that where project teams tend to go wrong is in not doing enough engagement or not being consistent in their approach. “Mostly, people appreciate you trying and will provide feedback if they don’t like what you are doing,” she says, “but not doing anything, or not doing enough, means they have nothing to respond to. And stakeholders – especially senior leaders – really don’t like being in the dark.”
The dos and don’ts
Do:
- Invest time in building relationships – face-to-face over coffee and cake if you can.
- Treat people as partners to work alongside, not obstacles to overcome.
- Tell the truth, even if it’s not what people want to hear. Honesty is the foundation of trust.
- Say something, even if you have nothing substantial to share. Keeping people in the loop makes them feel important.
ٴDz’t:
- Assume you automatically know where power and influence sit.
- See stakeholder engagement as ‘completed’. It is a dynamic, not a static, activity.
- Shoulder the burden alone. Find your allies, champions and proxies: those who can advocate for you and build relationships on your behalf.
- Take it personally if people are difficult. Remember, everyone is under pressure – it’s most likely not about you.
Purchase the book Engaging Stakeholders on Projects – How to harness people power by Elizabeth Harrin, which is published by APM, at the APM Book Shop
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