LESSON 2: DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A STAKEHOLDER STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATION PLAN
45min.
A12.KCI-2. Develop and maintain the stakeholder strategy and communication
The way in which you deal with the interested parties is dependent on the influence that someone has, and the interest that he has.
The way of communicating can be:
Strong involvement.
Consultation.
Informing.
The greater the influence and stake someone has, the more you need to involve that person. This can be illustrated by the way in which the players will act during the project/ programme by using the diagram.
Because of their interests, they will provide support and set demands. The project/programme translates this support, and the demands, into the final result to be delivered, and also into the approach to be used to deliver it.
The extent and speed with which the team takes account of their interests, as perceived by the interested parties, determines whether the support is maintained, or whether the demands are increased. Communication plays an important role in this. When everyone is working hard to satisfy the interests, but does not communicate this satisfactorily, it can result in the interested parties gaining the impression that their interests are not being sufficiently taken care off.
Related to this, I would like to mention the importance of managing the expectations, meaning: the project/programme manager actively intervenes when the expectations of the different interested parties look like deviating from what the team is actually going to deliver.
As well as the extent to which the interested parties set requirements on, and provide support to, the project/programme, there are also less tangible issues such as the confidence the interested parties have in you, the sponsor and the operational project/programme staff, and the way in which the project/programme is executed.
This confidence also impacts the demands and the support given. The greater the trust, the higher the level of support, and the less the trust, the more the demands increase. In addition, the question arises as to how much you will notice any of this and sometimes this is not until you meet resistance, when it is then often too late.
It is advisable to develop a strategy to involve the most important stakeholders in how the project/programme will be managed. As the strategy (approach) has, after all, been agreed collectively, this builds trust. From this, you will get an impression of "which way the wind blows" in the organization; who is really in charge, and where the "informal" leaders are located.
The key word in developing a strategy is always trust! When you have gained the trust of the parties involved, then even those who don’t agree with you will also approach you with a more open attitude.
In the project/programme management plan you establish this approach and you have this plan signed off by the project board. Preferably, such a project board consists of representatives of the most important stakeholders, who have the power to decide.
In any event, the plan is a means to sort out your authority in advance. If you need the cooperation of other interested parties, who are represented on the project board, then you must ensure that you also involve them in determining the approach.
Application
You can convert the above into actions on the project/programme/portfolio for which you are currently responsible, by carrying out the following steps:
Describe the importance of the stakeholder strategy.
Produce a communication plan and maintain it.
Explain any changes.
Look for the possibilities to cooperate with other people.
