How can you improve stakeholder engagement in your program?

The most dangerous stakeholder is the one with high influence, but low power (think Jonah Hill's character in Moneyball). This person is dangerous to the success of your project because you've probably never heard of them, but the decision makers are unlikely to approve anything without their buy-in. So when determining who the key stakeholders are, it's critical to have a frank conversation with your client to understand what really happens behind the scenes. Once you have a good sense of who all the players are, sort each person into an influence/support matrix (e.g.high degree of influence + supportive of the project). Then come up with a separate communication strategy for each quadrant.

What I have seen that works great is a tailored communication strategies angle that engages stakeholders from the beginning. Different stakeholders have diverse needs and preferences, so understanding their communication styles and information requirements up front is crucial. Facilitate workshops, focus groups, interactive white board sessions, and team brainstorming to gather their insights and ideas. This inclusive stakeholder approach empowers, fosters a sense of ownership, and strengthens the project’s green light and overall success!

In my experience stakeholder engagement begins with understanding the objectives of your stakeholders. Each stakeholder tends to have different end goals they are trying to achieve. Understanding these as early as possible and translating them into quantifiable objectives with their agreement will lead to their engagement.

Absolutely right.. Many times the approvers are Rubber stamps on top of the reviews and approvals from someone else in their team. And if you don’t know them and their approach and strategy then you may miss key things which will in turn results in losing stakeholders’s trust.

How can you improve stakeholder engagement? Talk to them. Tools are to figure out strategies and to group stakeholders. But engagement comes from dialogue that promotes mutual benefit. If there's nothing in it for the stakeholders, then you're just communicating updates. Once you've used the tools to figure out your stakeholder groups, begin conversations that allow them to share their motivation for being engaged. If there's nothing of interest on the hook, stakeholders are just going to swim on by to another program. Every program has to have a hook, and then you need to work with them so they can be a part of the program's success story.

A tactical tip would be to create a common place could be a simple as a document, wiki or a folder which can used and reused. If it’s a collaborative document you can save time by having everyone’s feedback in one place to iterate for future versions.

The communication with stakeholders is two ways. One side are the vision and benefits that have been outlined by the senior management. The other side is the answer of the question “What is it here for me?” for each stakeholder which needs to be defined in the earliest possible stage, otherwise the Program will face rejection and resistance. Every stakeholder is part of the program for a reason. By knowing Why and What (is it there for her/him) you got the full vision and benefits for everyone involved.

To my opinion, a program should not simply "align with the strategic goals", it should be the answer (= How to) to one or several of the company's strategic goals.

Communication is not "build it and they will come". Communicate a consistent message of program benefits and benefits through diverse channels and check in with stakeholders individually to make sure the message is received. Enhance the message in your direct conversations to continue to drive consistency and awareness in the message.

It’s important to build and communicate a “what’s in it for me”(WIFM) for each stakeholder group. Co-developing each of these messages with members of each group is ideal. Then of course, these communications must ladder up to the larger vision.

Another thing I’ve found helpful in maintaining trust and rapport with stakeholders is connecting their feedback to decisions being made. This demonstrates to stakeholders that their input is valued and will be taken into consideration for process improvement and program development. It also fosters a collaborative environment and encourages strong relationships.

Engaging with seasoned business veterans can be intimidating. But here's the truth: They were once in your shoes ??. If the thought of approaching a senior stakeholder sends your heart racing, try these steps: ??Preparation: Knowledge is power. Understand your topic inside-out. ??Active Listening: More than speaking, listen. This builds trust. ??Seek Mentoring: Sometimes, all you need is guidance. Don't be afraid to seek it. ??Practice: Role-play conversations or presentations with colleagues. Remember Your Value: You're in the room for a reason. ???? Engaging with high-caliber professionals is a growth opportunity. ?? Embrace it, learn from it, and watch as your confidence soars, every expert was once a beginner.

One thing I’ve found helpful is connecting on a personal level and weaving personal aspects regularly into conversations. And it has to be genuine to demonstrate true caring and cement stakeholder relationshipd

Ensure right domain knowledge and resources are deployed. It’s crucial to avoid stakeholder fatigue - avoid over consulting stakeholders on the same subject and take notes. Share knowledge within your team so that the whole team is up to date to collaborate with the stakeholders Share meeting summary (RAID) and achievements at the end of interviews and collaborative sessions to ensure everyone is on the same page. This will give an opportunity to the stakeholders to raise concerns in time

Establishing & maintaining trust with stakeholders is central to successful program management. Begin by fostering a culture of openness & honesty. Active listening, empathy, & transparent communication form the cornerstone of this culture. Regular updates on program progress & risk management are critical. This should be delivered in a format suitable to each stakeholder, using data-driven insights where possible. Acknowledge & celebrate stakeholder contributions, creating a positive feedback loop. Handle disputes respectfully, focusing on solutions. Always deliver on commitments, demonstrating through actions that the stakeholders can rely on you. This blend of emotional intelligence & execution forms the bedrock of stakeholder trust.

Humans are predictable. We are more likely to support a solution that we've had a hand in creating. So provide frequent opportunities for your stakeholders to provide feedback & collaborate with one another. If they are given opportunities to learn about other points of view within the project, they will be more willing to collaborate, and if necessary, compromise, for the greater good.

In case of disagreements with ideas or solutions try to have an open mind to understand why the stakeholders are disagreeing and try to do qualitative and quantitative analysis to get buy-in from stakeholders and always look for a win-win scenario and ultimately how you make the stakeholders feel about the disagreement (respectfully, patiently analyzing the scenario and honestly showing transparency about the situation) helps to make good long time relation with stakeholders.

Involving & empowering stakeholders in decision-making & problem-solving enhances program outcomes & ownership. Encourage diverse perspectives & tap into stakeholder expertise through active solicitation of input on program goals & deliverables. Foster a culture of collaboration by inviting stakeholders to governance, planning, & review meetings. Foster an environment that welcomes ideas & suggestions for improvement. Delegate tasks based on capabilities & interests to promote engagement. Pair delegation with support, providing necessary resources, guidance, & coaching. This approach not only solves problems effectively but cultivates a high-performance culture, driving business ecosystems.

Providing opportunities to people involved in program or project in decision making improves the health of a project. When you feel credible in a project, stakeholders make wiser decision. Always seek for feedback, in order to improve quality of program. This will help stakeholders to learn and increase the chances of owning a piece in the game.

It's important to work in tandem, working in partnership is the only way where knowledge and relationships can be expanded and ultimately leading to success!

Continuous collaboration with the stakeholders is very important and you need to engage them throughout the life journey of the engagement. You need to understand their pain points and expectations, and have regular sessions to incorporate their feedbacks throughout the project lifecycle, to ensure that the end product perfectly aligns with the needs of the stakeholders.

Being flexible with stakeholders engagement activities is important esp when the project faces issues such as delays. Adapting to the changes is key. Timely and accurate updates to stakeholders are key to building trust.

Stakeholders should be reminded often of the "Why" of the program, especially for them individually. Do not be afraid to communicate a lot on this regularly, it is never too much !

One thing I've found simple yet amongst the most effective: ask stakeholders very early on how they like to be communicated with. Once they tell you - test it early on to validate its effectiveness or redirect. This has been particularly true of senior/executive level stakeholders (sponsors) & in remote working environments where "natural run-ins" aren't going to happen.

Tailoring your engagement with each stakeholder's intent based independent connects, helps you to bring all stakeholder to same page in common forum. Time is essence hence keep focus on the program objectives and Agenda's for each engagement.

Recognising and rewarding stakeholders is essential to building understanding and trust from the get go. While there is an accent on this in the final stage of engagement, genuine connection and buy in is achieved through celebrating quick wins with affected, interested and contributing stakeholders in the early stages. A carrot over a stick approach wins out most every time.

You only have to reward to keep them when you started on a top-down note of "me and them" versus "us". It's better to see your stakeholders as partners -- in startup language, "co-founders".

Gratitude builds community, lasting change, and rapport as long as it's genuine. As a program manager or change manager it is incredibly gratifying to see a stakeholder share a success story. Changing well is tough to measure, but that's a genuine success story from a stakeholder is a good indication of a job well done.

Recognizing and rewarding the stakeholders for their engagement is the single most effective way to achieve sustainability of the project outcomes.

Among the mechanical aspects of stakeholder management, it is important to not lose the human aspect. Take the time to know them as individuals and build strong relationships. Practice flexibility in your approach and keep the focus on ultimate business outcomes versus a rigidly followed process. Your personal brand with them should be a problem solver and not a “process executioner”. Don’t be afraid to ask what they think of you along the project lifecycle. You will get priceless feedback.

For effective stakeholders engagement, a program manager should 1. Establish Kick off call on Day 1 to introduce stakeholders and team formally to each other and there he/she can explain program objectives, timelines and milestones 2. Publish RACI matrix to help stakeholders understand their roles and responsibilities in first week 3. Create teams/slack channels and distribution lists with stakeholders and team and setup daily/weekly calls and publish it in first week. We call it establishing Communication Model. 4. Next engage stakeholders and leaders as required through Escalation Model. Everyone should know whom to escalate to and escalation matrix. Its most important for effective engagement of stakeholders.

Its challenging when we have programs with more than 30 stakeholders as it gets very difficult to get them all together after the Kick Off day. Even one meeting per quarter is often a challenge. What I use is bi-weekly short videos of 5-8 min to give an update on the program and ask questions which they can answer in the comments. This way we keep the focus and interest on the program and when we meet we got higher number of stakeholders showing up and higher involvement in the conversations. Every video that is made with big smile, good sense of humour, creating curiosity and suspense for the next video + questions to answer are working very well

I always lean in with helpfulness with my stakeholders. If they struggle to meet a deadline, offer to set up time to knock out the task together. Or, tell them, "how can I help; I'm here to make your job easier and simpler." Stakeholders don't mean to ignore your requests; they are busy too so be a lifter of their workload and their hearts. Go get 'em all!

Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. Always remember we are exchanging value to one another for a collaborative impact. I always identify their goals, and find the sweet spot that moves everyone’s goals forward for the most impact. This takes real transparency and relationships for success—isn’t that the way we should all want to do business?