You’re working on a project with a difficult stakeholder. How can you get them to see things your way?

If implementation is at early stage then critical stakeholders engagement will be convened to brief them of the project and their critical roles in advancing the project and its sustainability arrangements. If implementation has gone far, then dissemination of key findings from the roadmap will be convened to brief the stakeholders about progress made so far and open conversation about their roles in ensuring the intervention is a success. This way the stakeholders are more likely to have a change of mind to support the project as well take ownership.

Keep in mind that difficult stakeholders want the project to succeed, but their expression of this desire may change over the course of a project. The following helped me deal with these stakeholders: - Identify and rank the stakeholders based on their level of influence and interest. - Listen to what they say; try to understand their point of view. - Meet them individually and ask open-ended questions about their opinions and how they feel the project is progressing. - Determine their motivation and what concerns them the most. Ensuring they feel heard, valued, and appreciated grows trust and support. Building relationships and understanding motivation takes time and effort but will make your job easier in the long run.

Effectively manage to Stakeholders is vital skill they could impact your scheduled milestones. You could figure out the strategy based on Stakeholders needs and wants as per their world ,how they see your Project progress . Always remember when you are handle project always keep your third eye open and recognise the down level stakeholder too , Though they don't have power and capacity to argue but their hidden voice could impact your schedule # synchronization # alignment # direction # commitment that leads to success of your Project.

Stakeholder management is a pivot skill that any business manager would need in the organisation. There are times you need to sense of the requirements of the stakeholder because the minute things are implicit rather than spoken. You can always put your thoughts forward in such a way where their requirements are met but in your way. Most of the stakeholders are very open about new ideas keeping the fact intact that the deliverables remain unimpacted!!

If you have something to get done and are dependent on someone that isn't fully on board (or on board in a manner in which you would like), the first thing is to understand their priorities and why the work you need them for isn't high on their list. If in fact their prioritization makes sense, then perhaps the initiative itself needs to be reevaluated / reprioritized. If you do not agree with their prioritization as it relates to the wider book of work, then you'll have to move to the next steps.

If you haven't already established rapport with stakeholders, then you've given yourself a difficult path. The soft skills needed to manage people is paramount, and if you haven't used those soft skills to engage and build rapport from the start, or if you haven't already developed those soft skills, you are likely putting yourself in a difficult position. Important to note that there isn't any one style or formula for building rapport. People have different personalities and respond differently based on how you engage them. You can have a stakeholder that is curt and to the point, or you can have a stakeholder that requires a little friendly banter before getting down to problem solving.

As a project leader, build rapport with the difficult stakeholder by understanding their concerns and priorities. Communicate transparently, emphasizing shared goals and potential benefits. Utilize data and case studies relevant to subsea engineering or renewable energy to illustrate the advantages of proposed solutions. Offer compromises and seek win-win outcomes to foster collaboration and alignment.