One of the things Project Managers fear most is resistance. When we encounter difficult stakeholders, it triggers deep emotions. It’s easy to feel out of your depth professionally, and challenged, personally.
This is a common problem for all project managers. And it can be unsettling for newer PMs. So we asked an expert in this topic to write an article for you.
Elise Stevens runs the fabulous FixMyProjectChaos.com website, with over 100 podcasts for you to listen to. We like podcasts. And she is a seasoned practitioner who now coaches, mentors and trains project managers. Hear Elise’s interview with OnlinePMCourses founder, Mike Clayton.
But most important, Elise has thought deeply about the challenges posed by difficult stakeholder. She even has an eCourse available. So why don’t we turn this article over to Elise, and let her tell her story…
I remember when I started my project management career. I had worked my way up from being a graduate programmer:
In my team leadership role, I had significant contact with key business stakeholders. We worked well together and I thought we had a great relationship.
So, delivering projects, I thought:
How hard could this be?’
We still had core respect for each other. But adding the project delivery responsibilities had created a new level of challenge. At the time I didn’t understand why things had changed and why these people were making my life so difficult.
For me, as a new project manager, it seemed like trial by fire. And I had to make it all happen by ensuring that we delivered the project and the stakeholders were happy.
Fast-forward many years and to many stressful projects later.
I had improved my way of dealing with challenging (read: difficult) stakeholders. But I felt that my approach to these situations was ad-hoc. I never took the time to understand why I was having trouble with challenging personalities.
As most project managers do, I switched between blaming myself…
‘I must not be a very good project manager’
…to pushing the blame fully onto my stakeholders:
‘Gee they are difficult!
I can’t wait for this project to be over so that I can get a break from these people.’
This type of angst takes a lot out of you. It can leave you feeling stressed, and with reduced self-confidence and a low tolerance for the normal project ebb and flow. So, not a good place to be in.
I cycled through this process for a while – more time than I should have. Finally, I decided it was time to change the way I approached these situations.
My new approach was to focus on what I could change. Most of all, this was my behaviour and reactions to situations.
I realised that I was the one who had to improve and find new ways of dealing with difficult stakeholders. After all, it was unlikely they were going change.
I identified that I needed to:
This was the only way I could survive these situations with my sanity preserved and my stress levels as low as possible.
My first step is to ensure that I always do a stakeholder analysis. Sometimes I think project managers undervalue this step, but it is crucial. The analysis assessment involves identifying:
The approach I use to establish my project stakeholders is to:
Talking with your stakeholders and getting their feedback achieves the best results. It continues to astound me how many project managers don’t have a list of their stakeholders and don’t do an impact assessment.
As a project manager, often you don’t have a lot of time to spend engaging stakeholders. This is even though you know the task is critical to the success of your project. If you are time poor, you should focus on the stakeholders who are the most important. Find ways to collaborate with them.
Remember, stakeholder engagement is not linear. Stakeholders’ needs change as the project progresses. So, taking one approach for the duration of the project is rarely going to work. Be prepared to adjust and refine throughout the duration of the project.
Once you have identified your stakeholders, it is important to map them on an impact grid. The grid has four quadrants and is a great tool. But it doesn’t help you to identify who your difficult stakeholders are going to be.
Take a look at our article: Stakeholder Analysis: Do You Know the Top 20 Techniques?
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you could sit down and identify which person is going to be difficult. Then you’d know who is going to need a different type of engagement.
Perhaps you could develop clairvoyant skills for stakeholders. As a result, you could predict that Joe is going to be a challenge, so you can focus on him. Like us, stakeholders aren’t linear.
But things happen throughout the life of a project. So, sometimes stakeholders are on board and at other times they’re not. This could be due to issues on the project. Equally, it can be issues outside it: what’s going on in the organisation or in their individual teams.
Your #stakeholder may be difficult for reasons wholly outside your #project Click To TweetA stakeholder might be on board with the project one day and the next day they’re not. Therefore, having one approach to a stakeholder throughout the life of your project won’t work. You have to be constantly monitoring and assessing:
Well, the first step is to look at what’s happening. Ask: ‘Are you…
Sometimes you can’t quite put your finger on what’s happening. So, often you will have to work hard to join the dots. Establishing what’s happening will give you some clarity. And, more important, it helps you to remove the emotion from the situation.
Once you’ve identified the difficult behaviour, you need to understand the person that is being difficult. This can take time. Some things to consider are:
It is important to put stakeholders into the context of:
A good way of dealing with this situation is to working with your project sponsor. They may have insights or a relationship that can help to reduce the negative behavior.
But, what if your sponsor is one of your difficult stakeholders?
Well, we have the right article for you: How to Handle a Difficult Project Sponsor [6 Different Types]
As with all difficult situations, it is important to examine your own role. Your behaviour, language, and actions impact the way others engage with you. Some things to examine are:
You can change your behaviour. And you can adapt it to fit the needs of the situation. Sometimes it is just a case of understanding what that is.
Do take a look at our article: Interpersonal Skills for Project Managers – How to Develop Yours
The next step is to look at what’s going on in the stakeholder’s world and talk to them about it. It’s great if you are able to have an open discussion about this. However, sometimes it takes work to get the conversation flowing and secure the information you need.
A full frontal approach rarely works unless you have a trusted relationship. And it can also be challenging to get time in a person’s schedule to chat about these things.
Stakeholders often keep their cards very close to their chest. This is especially so for some resistant stakeholders. And its one thing that makes stakeholders difficult.
In this case, you will have to talk around things in a way that is not going to inflame the situation. You have to be very mindful of which approaches are going to work with different individuals.
I know that could sound wishy-washy. But it’s true.
I’ve had difficult stakeholders where I certainly couldn’t approach them and say, ‘You’re being difficult.’ Not even if I phrased it in a much nicer way than that. I expect you’ve had the same.
So, I’ve often had to gather some intelligence about why they were acting the way they were. I could then use that as a hook for a conversation to get them back on board.
So therefore…
I would hope you already have a stakeholder communication plan as part of your own project approach.
For difficult stakeholders, you will need a more detailed plan. And it will need to be more subtle and adaptable too. In particular:
And be absolutely rigorous in keeping your notes on this confidential!
For project managers, there seems to be little training available on how to manage difficult stakeholders. That’s why I put together my ecourse Four Steps for Engaging Difficult Stakeholders.
Being able to talk about these issues and find out what people really think had been trial and error for me. How I developed my skills was (unfortunately) by:
In the past, I would have just blundered along hoping that I was not making the situation worse. But over time, I’ve learnt more effective ways to engage people and you can too.
I’ve also come to understand the value of investing in quality relationships. This is especially so, with the important project stakeholders. Now, I make sure I understand who they are, where they’re coming from, and what their issues may be in the organisation.
Training and upskilling is an important part of your professional development. Project Management is not a static skillset. If you aren’t continually learning, then you are moving backwards.
#Project Management is not a static skillset. If you aren't continually learning; you're moving backwards. Click To TweetYet when it comes to soft skill development, finding a suitable course can be challenging. There are lots of skills to practice:
These are just some of the many skills that you need, to be an effective project manager.
‘I love how Elise included her personal experiences so I could understand how these techniques work in real life situations.’
Val Pramana
Find out moreIt is important not to write people off as being ‘difficult’. Never allow that to be where they stay forever in your assumptions. People change.
Stakeholders are not difficult.
It is their behavior that is difficult.’
But it’s just as important not to be too quick to write people off as being difficult in the first place. There will be reasons their behaviour seems difficult.
For example:
There’s a whole range of things that might be going on that have nothing to do with your project. But I think that sometimes we are too quick to look at it in the context of:
‘Oh, well, that’s not good for the project. Don’t they know that?’
The project may be the least of their worries.
So, it’s important for you to consider that what they’re saying may have nothing to do with the project. And maybe it’s the last thing on their mind.
Handling difficult stakeholders is an essential part of being an effective project manager. So you need to be able to do it effectively.
We (Mike and Elise) are seeing employers place a greater emphasis on stakeholder engagement. And networking around the organization is growing in importance. So, the days when you could deliver projects just by implementing the technology are, I believe, disappearing.
For a lot of project managers, that’s quite a challenge. Because dealing with difficult stakeholders is not what they’re used to. And any stakeholder engagement is likely to unearth challenges.
But here’s the truth… You cannot deliver projects without the people. It’s simply not going to work.
Exceptional project managers are ones that embrace the relationships with their stakeholders. They deal with the difficult issues, and develop a knack for negotiation and resolving conflict.
Exceptional #project managers embrace the relationships with their #stakeholders Click To TweetAre you ready for that challenge?
Mike and Elise look forward to responding to every comment you leave.
In it, Elise shares much more about how she strengthened some of the most trying relationships in her career.
And she lays out all her strategies for resolving conflicts and putting projects back on track.
This is a methodical, step-by-step guide, with easy-to-follow videos, case studies, worksheets, and more.
‘I love how Elise included her personal experiences so I could understand how these techniques work in real life situations.’
Val Pramana
Find out moreElise has worked in project and organisational change management for over 20 years. She loves helping project managers empower themselves with more skills and knowledge. So, she also coaches, mentors, and trains other project managers. Elise has launched over 100 free podcasts. She interviews experts from around the world about project management and leadership topics. Find her Podcasts and resources at https://elisestevens.co
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