Project management is a people business.
Projects get done through people. We need people on our teams to do what they
say they are going to do, and we need to help them do that.
That’s why stakeholder engagement is such an important skill.
So what does it look like when stakeholders
aren’t engaged?
If you aren’t seeing the success you were
hoping for in building relationships with your project stakeholders, then this
will sound familiar:
- You can’t get time with your
stakeholders - You’re stressed out by having
to deal with conflicting priorities - Your projects take longer
because no one will commit to anything - You get blindsided by people
saying they should have been involved in the project and you don’t even know
who they are - And in the end stakeholders are
not happy with the results.
Believe me, I’ve been there! Did I tell you my story about forgetting to include the post room staff as stakeholders in a project where we massively increased the amount of mail coming into the post room? Suffice to say I wasn’t popular that day.
But I learned a lot from the experience!
And I never left out stakeholders again.
When you’ve got decent tools, techniques
and tactics for building successful stakeholder relationships, trust me, life
becomes a lot easier!
You gain authority and credibility. Your
colleagues and stakeholders listen to you. People start to tell you things that
affect your project without assuming you’ll find it out from somewhere else or
don’t need to know. You have a clear engagement plan. And everything on the
project starts coming together.
Let
me help you create great working relationships with your stakeholders.
I’m running a stakeholder management workshop in February 2023.
It’s highly practical and hands on. We’ll have three teaching calls across a week (21, 22 and 23 February) where we’ll look at something actionable you can do to improve stakeholder engagement.
We’ll be covering:
Session 1:
Stakeholder identification. You’ll create a
stakeholder register and assessment. You’ll get to know who your stakeholders
are and how they feel about your project.
Session 2:
What does it mean to ‘do’ engagement? You’ll learn techniques that work to engage others effectively, so you can save time, build relationships and deliver the project results you need.
Session 3:
Dealing with difficult. You’ll come away with techniques for diffusing conflict before it starts, learn how to deal with challenging situations and unavailable stakeholders.
The whole course is hugely practical, with real-life tips and strategies for making it easier to work with others. I have drawn on my official APM book, Engaging Stakeholders: How to harness people power, and professional practice to put together a learning experience designed to help you get the job done more quickly.
It’s $100 (with a VIP option that comes with a copy of the book and a group coaching call that is $197). If it’s something you’d like to do with me, then you can sign up here.
Stakeholder management can be a bit messy and difficult. There is no magic wand I can wave to make all your people problems go away. If your project sponsor is horrible to work with, they probably still will be horrible, even if you’ve got amazing stakeholder engagement skills.
The thing that will be different is that you’ll know how to manage their difficult behaviour better.
The stakeholder workshop I’m teaching will give you a framework for doing exactly that. We’ll be plotting out who you need to involve, how to communicate with and engage them, and how to create feedback loops so you know what’s really important to them – and then you can do it.
Does it take more of your time to engage
stakeholders properly? Yes.
Is it worth it in terms of project outcomes
and your personal stress levels? Yes!
“Oh my goodness, I’m so excited! All of the materials have been so incredibly helpful. Thanks again for everything – I’m still sifting through all the extra resources and finding new, useful ideas!”
Leah, past student
FAQ
What’s the time commitment?
3 hours, split into 3 sessions. One hour per day over 3 days, starting 7pm on Tuesday 21 February.
You don’t have to attend live. You can watch the
replays when it suits you. If you have questions and can’t join live, just
email me.
Is it right for me?
We’re
going back to fundamentals, but getting to the more advanced stuff quite
quickly. If you are literally just beginning in project management, then it
might not be for you, simply because you’ll get more out of it if you are
already working in a project environment with a real project to use the skills
on.
It’s
not an advanced negotiation or conflict management training either: if you are
successfully navigating office politics at senior levels and getting your
projects in on time then I don’t think there’s much I can teach you!
I think the training is perfect for you if you want to make sure you’ve got the fundamentals right and you want practical tools, techniques and tips to gain credibility, handle stakeholders with different priorities and get your stakeholders engaged.
Can I claim PDUs?
Yes. You will get an attendance certificate. This course is about 3 hours of training so you can claim 3 PDUs against the Talent Triangle (claim the hours that you spend on the course materials – if you do the exercises and watch all the bonus training you can probably claim more). I am not a PMI ATP but that does not stop you claiming PDUs.
Can I claim the cost through my company?
Yes,
if they are prepared to fund it! I can issue an invoice/receipt for your
Finance team and take payment in a variety of ways.
I’m so excited to be offering this training and I hope you’ll join me in the workshop.
Hope to see you on our Zoom calls!
This article first appeared at Rebel’s Guide to Project Management
