If you are a Project Manager, one of your big challenges is how do you deal with your stakeholders. Its a challenge and one that doesn’t have a perfect answer.
What I can offer you, is a 3 pronged guideline to help you have a framework for each project you are involved in.
1. Identify: The biggest key in managing your stakeholders is to identify them and to classify them in relation to how important they are to the success of your project.
2. Plan: Planning is huge in Project Management, no matter what the context. When you are trying to manage your stakeholders, planning is just as important. So plan how you are going to keep all of your stakeholders informed.
3. Execute: Identifying and planning are irrelevant if you don’t execute. Even if it is a simple project with very few stakeholders, make sure you take the time to come up with a plan and execute it. Execution is the key.
These 3 tips are pretty basic, easy to implement, and can help you feel less overwhelmed. Obviously when dealing with stakeholders and clients, it can be much more complicated, but we will deal with that later.