Stakeholder Engagement Tips: 5 Tips For Project Managers

Stakeholders - and good stakeholder engagement - are the key to a successful project. So, in this video, we have 5 stakeholder engagement tips for you.
These tips are inspired by our Kindle-exclusive eBook, 'Stakeholder Engagement: Advanced Insights to the Essential Discipline for Mature Project Managers'. You can get this book from any Amazon Store. It is chock-full of great project governance tips.
- US - Amazon.com: geni.us/ZxPfD00
- UK - Amazon.co.uk: geni.us/7g27xT
Check out all of our Kindle-exclusive Project management eBooks at onlinepmcourses.com/project-m...
My basic introductory book to Project Management is How to Manage a Great Project (published by Pearson): geni.us/4Iz6M (affiliated link).
These links are affiliated. You won't pay any extra, but we'll receive a small commission from Amazon to help cover the cost of making these videos.

[@ops9430]

Thank you so much for being my mentor on KZbin. Very helpful video

[@Onlinepmcourses]

You're welcome.

[@vijpari88]

Ur voice and the way u present is really enjoyable and easy to understand .

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Thank you Vijay.

[@mariaisabelmachadomendes9483]

Brilliant video. Thank you. I love the way you explain everything in a very simple manner. And I loved the way you introduced your book as well.

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Thank you very much!

[@princesskerla4]

Thanks so much Mike, this is the best video i have watched here about stakeholders engagement.

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Wow! Thank you.

[@mankas2252]

5 tips for good stakeholder (sh) engagement: 1. Allocate plenty of time for sh to meet listen and understand them 2. Think not sh management, rather sh engagement (identify, analyse, plan communication, act, review what you've learning) 3. Make judgement on scope, listen and assess whom to please whom not 4. Build right emotions, don't argue with idiots 5. Give them reason to change their mind

[@Onlinepmcourses]

great!

[@flipvanwaeyenberghe6155]

Fabulous video, right up my avenue!

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Thank you, Flip.

[@donasomu3648]

Thanks a lot Mike, I am addicted to your soothing voice

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@fa2me75]

Brilliant! I've learned so much from your videos! Thank you!!!!

[@Onlinepmcourses]

You are so welcome!

[@red-r0se]

Thank you so much for these tips. I love the way you explain things. Very easy to understand and memorize. Very helpful indeed. Wish you all the best.

[@Onlinepmcourses]

You're so welcome!

[@jennijenjenful]

Wow this is amazing information. I learned so much. Thank you!

[@Onlinepmcourses]

That's great to hear. You're very welcome!

[@dagwould]

Stakeholders fall into a few groups, in my view: Reactors: no real 'stake' but could affect those who can influence your community; Suppliers: you need what they do to complete your project to perform; they can be for or against, but must cooperate without sabotage. Their power to activate their position varies; Influencers: those with current influence in your project 'community' (its customers and customer supporters)

[@Onlinepmcourses]

There are lots of frameworks - more or less rigorous - for classifying and naming stakeholder groups. They are useful learning tools. But I avoid using them because if team members start using the labels on real people we get two effects: 1. we can forget that each stakeholder is an individual and has a more complex set of wants, needs, preferences, and styles than the crude caricature suggests 2. the labels are bound to leak out 'into the wild'. Many seem to me to be disrespectful in small ways and some will come across as very insulting to certain stakeholders. Your labels are not too bad on this, but if I fitted your label 'reactor' and I found out that you think I have no real stake in a project that I feel affects me, I may be more than a little upset.

[@fabianase7664]

You are a genius Mike! I enjoyed your class

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Wow! Thank you

[@supanaratn7558]

These are very valuable tips for project management. Thank you

[@Onlinepmcourses]

You're very welome!

[@AsuzaHillary-ym2xk]

The concept of stakeholders in project management refers to anyone who has an interest or stake in a particular project. The video gives a few examples of stakeholders, including the project team, the customer, and the sponsor. It also explains the importance of stakeholder management in order to ensure the success of a project. Tips of a good stakeholder. Here are five tips for managing stakeholders effectively: 1. Establish clear roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders. 2. Create a stakeholder communication plan and stick to it. 3. Seek stakeholder input and feedback early and often. 4. Engage stakeholders throughout the project life cycle. 5. Be transparent and open with stakeholders.

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Thank you so much for making notes. Now people don't need to watch my video.

[@rowenalagon4599]

thank you for sharing ideas

[@Onlinepmcourses]

It's my pleasure.

[@auntyayosstories2861]

I enjoyed the humour in your video. Thank you

[@Onlinepmcourses]

I'm glad! You’re welcome.

[@yohacw]

Thank you very much Sir

[@Onlinepmcourses]

You're welcome!

[@abuthanha]

Very informative, interesting presentation, great voice modulation

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Thank you kindly!

[@stavros.kourtidis]

Don't get me wrong, but it is like i can see in his eyes the bitter poison of getting denied over and over again from stakeholders. A experience worth learning from. You remember me of a misfit, finding his way on a road full of "golden boys" and succeeding them and overcome yourself. Thank you for sharing that experience with us.

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Thank you, Stavros (I think). Yes, I've been on the sharp end of stakeholder engagement dealing with all sorts of stakeholders (positive, adversarial, neutral, courteous, and rude). But I hope there is no bitterness in me. I certainly don't feel any!

[@stavros.kourtidis]

@@Onlinepmcourses Hey MIke, that is good to read, I hope you never feel the bitterness.

[@andrewlee7621]

Mike, thank you so much for these tips! Do you have any tips/advice on setting expectations with stakeholders - how to set the expectation with them from the onset on what they can expect from you and how deep you will be involved as a PM in working with them?

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Great suggestion! I'll add it to my list of future videos. in the meantime, my Stakeholder Engagement playlist is at: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4fVeZh7m7eWm9E

[@harshdadeyan7511]

The intricacies of managing diverse stakeholders and shared a real-life scenario where effective communication resolved conflicts.

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Yes, indeed.

[@mona3367]

this was a god one too. Thanks Mike!

[@Onlinepmcourses]

You're welcome, Mona.

[@benbo7042]

Very good tips. Thanks

[@Onlinepmcourses]

You're welcome.

[@benbo7042]

Hi Mike, I am wondering if you have an email address through which one can reach you regarding PM. I have studied PM but yet to gain my first job in PM.

[@Onlinepmcourses]

@@benbo7042 You can contact me through the website, onlinepmcourses.com or [e-mail]

[@benbo7042]

@@Onlinepmcourses Thanks

[@swapniljadhav8094]

excellent video.very well explained in less time...Identyfy, Analyze, Action and review...IAAR

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Much appreciated!

[@Aramis7]

Great video

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Thanks!

[@NiaPD]

Allocate the time; respect your stakeholders by engaging and not managing, 5 steps to engage are identify, analyse, plan, act and review; you can never please all of them all of the time so choose who you want to please; don't argue with idiots - ask questions, repeat their last words and use silence; to change someone's mind give them a last chance though new information

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Spot-on!

[@kishork80]

awesome

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Thank you.

[@kode7210]

Wow

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Great.

[@faaizkhan405]

You are ice cold mike.

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Cheers! ❄️🧊❄️

[@simonsimon2463]

Do you recommend a certain stakeholder engagement form for a scrum project?

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Simon. I don't have a particular recommendation for you. I think a scrum project, like any, needs you to adapt to the stakeholder environment you find yourself in. All the standard tools will help you document and understand your stakeholders, and a basic communications plan format will allow you to build up a rigorous plan, and keep it up-to-date, adapting to changes as you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/foavqWx9o85shck

[@ronaldjennings8544]

Working as a business analyst can we recommend a risk free solution/approach?

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Risk free? No such thing. In whatever professional role you hold, part of your responsibility is to be able to evaluate risks in your domain, and recommend how different choices impact the type and degree of risk that the decision-maker would incur. Risk management is partly about balance. This means understanding appetite and tolerance to risk and interpreting choices against these.

[@abuthanha]

Can we consider contractor as a stakeholder ?

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Absolutely you can - and all of their subcontractors too!

[@sumitmitra7336]

Your Stakeholder engagement didn’t perform as per plan & there are inordinate number of change request due to that leading to delays. What is the likely cause for this ? 1. Poorly prepared Change management Plan 2. Incomplete stakeholder register 3. Not reviewing the change log 4. Not updating the issue & change log

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Sumit - nice try, but I don't answer test questions because I don't see how that helps people learn. And I am also not a big fan of multiple-choice questions that oversimplify complex situations like the one represented in this question. My recommendation is that you think through the situation described from first principles and determine all the likely causal contributors. Regardless of what the question setter thinks is the 'right' answer, consider instead how you would reduce the chances of this happening to you. Clue: there are multiple things you should be doing. Then discuss with your tutor/supervisor.

[@sumitmitra7336]

Thanks for your honest reply Mike

[@Onlinepmcourses]

@@sumitmitra7336 😉

[@auntyayosstories2861]

Give them one last reason. Pretend you forgot to mention that important reason, before you know it, they agree😅😂

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Sort of…

[@andrewwong5670]

Irrevocably, asking the right question is the fundamental part of problem-solving skill and project development. By asking the right questions, you will quickly identify these problems and surface out solutions accordingly. One size does not fit all. You can't put all these stakeholders into account given time, money, and resources are scarce.

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Andrew - I am not sure exactly what you are trying to say, but you are exactly right that you cannot prioritize all of your stakeholders. The Analyze stage of the stakeholder engagement process must include a robust prioritization, so you can allocate your resources and time most effectively.

[@andrewwong5670]

I mean every problem arises in project management is associated with different aspects. Therefore, the project managers should learn to ask correct questions in order to pull out real problem

[@Onlinepmcourses]

@@andrewwong5670 Thanks - yes, that's certainly true.

[@Gloriadavidoff]

The team is a stakeholder

[@Onlinepmcourses]

It is - and so are individual members.

[@spacedudey2k]

What is tip 5? Changing someone’s opinion?

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Giving them a reason to change their mind. We get stuck and won't change our minds for fear of losing face. So tell me something new that I can use as my 'excuse' for changing my mind: 'oh, if you'd told me that before...'

[@spacedudey2k]

@@Onlinepmcourses thank you

[@13csepe]

First of all, I'd like to say that I like your videos, as they are well articulated and understandable for even those people who have no prior PM experience whatsoever. However, when it comes to the process, it only makes you understand the crucial steps that need to be taken in stakeholder engagement, but it doesn't show the "HOW's". (e.g. How to identify "your" stakeholders or what sort of stakeholder analysis exist or recommended to use). And due to the lack of these essential details, for me the video is a bit too generic. (It's bascially the same video, as your previous "stakeholder management in 5" and "stakeholder engagement five-step process"). However, if you could add a bit more details (e.g. real or fictive examples) or if you were a bit more specific in these topics, then I believe people would have a much more thorough understanding of these processes. Again, I really like your videos, but I thought I'd leave more of a constructive feedback/note.

[@Onlinepmcourses]

Thank you Mark You will find a lot of the more detailed content in my paid courses, but also free, in my feature articles, for example: - Stakeholder Engagement Strategies: Don’t Miss 40-plus Ways to Power up Your Project onlinepmcourses.com/stakeholder-engagement-strategies-40-plus-ways-power-up-your-project/ - The Top 20 Stakeholder Analysis Techniques All PMs Should Know onlinepmcourses.com/the-top-20-stakeholder-analysis-techniques-all-pms-should-know/ - Project Stakeholder Management Knowledge Area: A Guide to Stakeholder Engagement onlinepmcourses.com/project-stakeholder-management-knowledge-area-a-guide-to-stakeholder-engagement/ - How to Handle Stakeholder Objections onlinepmcourses.com/handle-stakeholder-objections/ A lot of the detail you are after, will not fit easily into a short YT-style video.