How do you leverage stakeholder influence and support for project success?

1 Identify your stakeholders

The first step is to identify who your stakeholders are and what their roles, interests, expectations, and power levels are. You can use a stakeholder analysis matrix or a stakeholder map to categorize and prioritize them based on their impact and importance for your project. This will help you plan your stakeholder engagement strategy and tailor your communication and reporting methods to suit their needs and preferences.

2 Establish clear and realistic expectations

The next step is to establish clear and realistic expectations with your stakeholders about your project scope, objectives, deliverables, timeline, budget, risks, and quality standards. You can use a project charter, a scope statement, a work breakdown structure, or a project plan to document and communicate these expectations. You should also involve your stakeholders in defining the project success criteria and the key performance indicators that will measure the project outcomes and benefits.

3 Manage changes and issues

The third step is to manage changes and issues that may arise during the project execution and affect the stakeholder expectations. You should have a change management process and a change control board to evaluate and approve any changes to the project scope, schedule, or budget. You should also have an issue management process and an issue log to track and resolve any problems or conflicts that may impact the project quality, risks, or stakeholder satisfaction.

6 Manage conflicts and expectations

The sixth and final step is to manage conflicts and expectations that may arise among or between your stakeholders due to different opinions, priorities, or interests. You should use your negotiation, mediation, and facilitation skills to resolve any disputes or disagreements that may jeopardize the project success or the stakeholder relationships. You should also use your influence, persuasion, and compromise skills to align the stakeholder expectations with the project reality and the best interests of the project.