4.2 Stakeholder Management | Aligning Influence and Expectations

4.2 Stakeholder Management

Project success depends not only on the internal team but also on the relationships with external stakeholders.
In fact, many delays or scope issues originate from misalignment or failure to build consensus with stakeholders.

Stakeholder management is the process of identifying stakeholders, designing engagement strategies based on their influence, and gaining alignment and cooperation toward the project’s goals.

What Is a Stakeholder?

According to the PMBOK definition, a stakeholder is:

“An individual, group, or organization that may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a project.”

This includes team members, clients, executives, end users, external vendors, legal departments, and more.

Understanding and aligning their expectations is a key role of the project manager.

1. Identify Stakeholders

Begin by listing everyone who may influence or be affected by the project.
Organizing them into categories helps ensure coverage:

• Decision-makers: Executives, department heads, product owners
• Operational staff: Dev teams, sales, support
• End users: Customers, store staff, internal users
• Support functions: Legal, finance, IT
• External parties: Vendors, contractors, partners

Capture key attributes for each stakeholder:

• Name, role, organization
• Level of influence
• Interest or concern areas
• Expectations and worries
• Key decision or approval points

2. Classify and Prioritize Stakeholders

It's not practical to engage all stakeholders equally. Use a two-axis model (influence × interest) to define engagement strategy.

Power–Interest Grid

Those with high influence and high interest require frequent updates and deep engagement.
For those with low influence and interest, minimal updates may suffice.

3. Plan Stakeholder Engagement

Develop an engagement strategy for each stakeholder group.
Consider the following:

• When they should be involved (e.g., approvals, reviews, decisions)
• How they’ll be engaged (meetings, reports, one-on-one)
• How often to connect (weekly, monthly, ad hoc)

Tailor the content to match each stakeholder’s perspective.
Executives may need ROI and big-picture impact. Operational staff need schedules and daily task clarity.

4. Build Trust with Stakeholders

Strategy alone won't move people—trust is essential for real cooperation.

To earn trust:

• Deliver consistently: Always keep small promises
• Communicate early: Share problems or changes promptly
• Listen: Prioritize two-way conversations over broadcasting

Trust takes time, but once earned, stakeholders become strong allies.

Summary: Projects Depend on External Relationships Too

Managing the internal team isn’t enough—you must also design agreements and cooperation with those outside the team.

Stakeholder management is not just about sharing information. It’s a proactive effort to build productive relationships that support the project’s success.

→ Next: 4.3 Communication Planning