Don't ignore the stakeholder - create a management plan and stick to it.

I Develop a management plan to change or maintain status. Plan for each individual and group.

a. SWOT analysis (or similar) on specific stakeholders

i. Know what you can do for them and what they can do for your initiative

b. Communication Plan (understand the DiSC of the stakeholders)

i. Frequency – (daily, weekly, monthly?)

ii. Medium – (in-person, email, written report/presentation, newsletter or public update)

iii. Level of Detail

c. Determine specific stakeholder management actions

i. Tactics for mitigating negative impacts on projects. Actions to change Support, Engagement, or Power of a stakeholder

1. Increase Support – When you need the support of someone with significant influence power

a. Determine wants and needs of stakeholders and find the synergy between what they want and the initiative you are working on. If limited synergy, open up the scope of how you can help one another and look for synergy

b. Understand what motivates the stakeholder and highlight how the project will help achieve some of the interests that will assist the stakeholders vision/goal

c. Determine if lack of support is due to a perceived threat associated with your initiative, and find a way to alleviate any misconceptions.

2. Increase Engagement -When the stakeholder has high credibility and direct influence/input is beneficial for the project and they support the initiative.

a. Ask for their direct participation

b. Keep them engaged with regular direct communications – Consult with them frequently if they’re not able to participate in team meetings

3. Decrease Engagement –

a. When the stakeholder has low credibility, and their support and association with the initiative actually hurts your cause (tricky)

i. Create a passive communication plan for this individual.

ii. Keep on the outskirts, where-ever possible.

iii. Work with higher power/critical stakeholders for help on how to manage this individual’s credibility or gain advice from mentors

b. When the stakeholder is a higher-level manager, area supervisor or process owner and their presence, micromanagement, or high engagement interferes with team members becoming engaged (and can speak freely and honestly)

i. Ask the stakeholder to reduce the frequency of direct participation to “occasional” instead of every team meeting

ii. Keep them fully informed and communicate very closely to ensure their needs are met outside the team.

4. Increase Stakeholder Influence Power

a. Very difficult and time consuming (unless you are already in a position of high influence).

b. Highly political. May be a small part of the “long-game” and not for an individual project

5. Decrease Stakeholder Influence Power

a. Not Recommended - Dirty Politics, Could backfire

b. Gaining support for your project would probably be easier than reducing a person’s influence power/credibility.