MANAGEMENT OF STAKEHOLDERS
According to Bourne & Derek (2006), stakeholders’ influence on project management teams fluctuates and also poorly understood. Bourne & Derek (2003, 2005) explained the influence of stakeholders on projects’ outcomes, how to identify them and set up KPIs. They argued that for project managers to build and strengthen the relationships with the stakeholders, they need to have a set of skills to ensure good communication and swerve in the political arena of the organisation in order to gain trust and to successfully deliver the project outcomes. However, as project managers, we know that nothing is linear and every project is different as well as the project environment.
Above all understanding, managing and satisfying stakeholders’ expectations are key for the success of projects’ outcome. Different stakeholders have different expectations, but it is also a question of the perception of value. So, how the project managers engage with stakeholders become critical. From my experience, it is easier to understand the directions of influence when the project environment is well understood.
By understanding the environment in which they are operating, project managers can develop an ongoing relationships with the stakeholders through targeted communication strategies. There are different tools/methodologies to identify and manage stakeholders. One well-known tool for assessing key stakeholders’ relative influence and to better understand their expectations is the Stakeholder Circle (Bourne & Walker, 2005). Through the use of this tool, project managers can define appropriately the Communication Strategy to engage with those identified stakeholders.
The Stakeholders’ Circle consists of five steps:
Identifying of the stakeholders and understanding their needs
Prioritizing the stakeholders based on their power, proximity and urgency
Visualizing the key stakeholders using the Stakeholder Circle and applying ranking list
Engaging with the stakeholders by building and implementing an effective communication strategy
Monitoring any changes over time by using the Stakeholders Engagement Profile
By identifying the stakeholders, project managers will be in a better position to influence and shape the strategy of the project and take the leadership role as expected from him. In this complex and global environment, it is critical for project managers to understand the politics of projects, understand the forces of influence and to develop appropriate strategies to reduce any conflict of interest and risks to the project.
