You're facing resistance from a senior stakeholder. How do you regain control of the team's decisions?

To regain control when facing resistance from a senior stakeholder: Open Dialogue: Schedule a private meeting to understand their concerns. Empathy: Acknowledge their perspective and show empathy. Data Support: Present data and evidence to support the team's decisions. Common Goals: Align team decisions with overarching business goals. Compromise: Find a middle ground that addresses their concerns while maintaining the team's direction. Follow-Up: Regularly update and involve them in key milestones.

Indeed listening to their concerns is key. One also has to decipher whether their concerns are valid and must then be willing to address those concerns or provide some assurance where the concerns may be unfounded One should also be honest if one has no solution to the concern if it's a valid one. Accept that the stakeholder might have a valid point and demonstrate why the agenda that you are pushing is still a worthy one despite that concern. So a cost benefits analysis of some sort should be presented. Demonstrate your belief in what you want to do.

Ask questions to gain more visibility on where these concerns come from and the context behind them. For example, has this been tried before and failed due to X, Y, and Z? Are there cultural aspects in the company that need to be addressed in parallel? Are there concerns regarding staffing or priorities? Once you are clear on these points, you can tailor your arguments accordingly.

When facing resistance, it's better to overcommunicate than undercommunicate. Establish a regular communication cadence. Maintain a risk registry that includes items flagged by senior stakeholders (if these are indeed real risks). Proactively demonstrate that you are managing these risks and considering mitigation strategies at each project step. If these were not actual risks but rather concerns from stakeholders not fully buying into the project, continue reporting on progress and checking in with them to monitor their level of buy-in as you deliver on the initiative. Bring data, results, and colleague endorsements to show real impact.

Invest in finding advocates across the spectrum - different departments, different seniority levels, and different skill sets. Ensure you align yourself with 'visible' stakeholders who have the right attitude to be advocates: energetic, respectable, knowledgeable, and in alignment with your project vision and values. It can be especially helpful if you have some advocates, who were not in agreement with you initially and you managed to change their mind already.