You're facing power dynamics with senior stakeholders. How can you navigate them effectively?

Be Data driven (as much as possible) Build alliances; get people with influence to support you Understand what motivates them and strategize accordingly Find out who will they listen to (The Influencers), get them to support you Most important of all, Be Patient. This will take time :)

This all stems from understanding your position in the whole scenario of things. The better you correctly understand where you stand in terms of position, the easier it will be. It all depends upon the decision makers how to utilize your expertise, if you have any. The sooner you understand the better. No need to get into trying to teach the decision makers how to conduct their office. Do keep a record of things you tried to convey to the top management in order to better or improve things.

Navigating power dynamics with senior stakeholders goes beyond understanding their authority; it's about building genuine relationships and aligning your goals with their broader vision. Demonstrating how your initiatives contribute to the organization's overall success shifts the conversation from hierarchy to shared value. Respect, transparency, and a focus on mutual outcomes are essential to turning power dynamics into opportunities for collaboration.

To navigate power dynamics with senior stakeholders, it's crucial to first understand the sources of their power, whether it arises from their position, expertise, control over resources, or influence within the organization. Their power often shapes how they make decisions, prioritize initiatives, and manage risk. By recognizing this, one can adapt their communication style and strategy to better resonate with their priorities. Also incorporating emotional intelligence plays an important role where we can understand the motive, their challenge, process of decision making and further engage with empathy and anticipation.

Listening deeply and asking open-ended questions to get to the source of the stakeholders' motivations. When you understand the root causes of what is driving them, it is so much easier to influence because you can tailor your communication to their needs.

I agree. Building rapport with senior/ key stakeholders goes a long way. What motivates them... What are their pain areas and how my solution impacts their life - if we are able to answer these questions satisfactorily, rapport building would become a lot easier.

Every Power has a source . Position Authority or Resource Ownership or Deep domain Knowledge or Transforming Skill set or holding the purse strings. I would first listen in to understand that. And then compare it with my own positioning in that source . I would then change my engagement style accordingly , driven with empathy. Understanding the motivation behind the person's words helps a lot.

Para construir una buena relación con partes interesadas sénior, dedique tiempo a conocer sus desafíos, objetivos y trayectoria profesional. Encuentre puntos en común y muestre un interés genuino en sus perspectivas, estableciendo una conexión personal que va más allá de lo empresarial. Esta confianza fortalecerá su posición cuando necesite negociar o buscar apoyo, facilitando la alineación de sus propuestas con sus intereses y mejorando la dinámica de poder en la relación.

Building rapport with senior stakeholders is crucial for navigating power dynamics effectively. By genuinely understanding their challenges and objectives, you not only foster trust but also position yourself as a valuable partner in their success. This alignment allows you to propose solutions that resonate deeply with their priorities, making it easier to secure their support. Successful engagement is rooted in empathy and active listening, which can transform a transactional relationship into a collaborative alliance. Ultimately, when stakeholders feel understood and valued, they are more likely to champion your initiatives, leading to bigger B2B deals in less time.

One of the most valuable things I alway do i to build personal connections. Whenever I entered a meeting, I made sure to read the room and paying attention to how people interacted, who spoke up, and whose opinions were respected. But more than that, I take the opportunity to introduce myself, often scheduling a quick 5-minute catch-up with key stakeholders afterward. I ask them what their vision was for the project, what success looked like from their perspective. This opened doors for honest conversations and showed them that their input truly mattered.

One thing I found helpful is in such situations, it is always helpful to communicate and discuss perspective ( both parties) and value it brings to the project. Agree on best achievable short and long term goals taking constructive inputs. Understanding the broader over all organizational object helps.

Para comunicar su valor a las partes interesadas sénior, enfoque sus mensajes en cómo su trabajo respalda los objetivos estratégicos de la organización. Articule los beneficios de sus proyectos de manera clara y concisa, destacando cómo sus iniciativas pueden mitigar riesgos o aprovechar oportunidades. Al demostrar el impacto tangible de su labor, fortalecerá el apoyo de las partes interesadas, incluso en entornos con dinámicas de poder complejas.

Entender a las partes interesadas sénior como los principales tomadores de decisiones en la organización, comenzando por hacerles evidente el impacto de sus acciones en todos los demás actores.

Effectively communicating your value to senior stakeholders is crucial in navigating complex power dynamics. By aligning your initiatives with their strategic goals, you demonstrate your understanding of their priorities and position yourself as a valuable partner in achieving organizational success. Utilizing the six-step dealmaker method can enhance this process, enabling you to engage decision-makers with clarity and integrity. It’s not just about presenting data; it’s about telling a compelling story highlighting how your contributions can drive growth and mitigate risks, ultimately transforming ambitious sales talent into extraordinary dealmakers who deliver results.

The same way that a picture is worth a thousand words, a properly built business case is more powerful that hundreds of hours of talks. With proper TCO / ROI approach, a business case can be a very powerful weapon as it can demonstrate costs savings or money gains, and sometimes even both when combining multiple projects / initiatives. The mains challenge being of course to connect it to the IT big picture / strategy and effectively adapting it to the stakeholders' audience.

Empathy is not just a soft skill; it's a strategic tool in senior stakeholder management. As a sales performance speaker and coach, I've seen firsthand how understanding the unique pressures and objectives of senior stakeholders can transform a challenging negotiation into a collaborative partnership. By leveraging empathy, you can align your proposals with their priorities, making it easier to close bigger B2B deals in less time.

Empathy is a game-changer in navigating power dynamics. I always made it a point to listen to their concerns and acknowledge their worries. Sometimes, they just need to be heard. By understanding where they were coming from, I could present solutions that addressed their concerns, aligning my actions with what mattered to them. This not only helped build trust but also made them more open to my ideas and suggestions.

Requesting feedback is not enough; it’s crucial to ensure you’ve understood it correctly. This is especially important in cultures where issues are not addressed directly. For example, in a meeting, a stakeholder may offer praise while subtly indicating disagreement. You might interpret this as satisfaction, but the stakeholder could be giving a final chance to correct things. It’s vital to ask clarifying questions and consider the speaker’s personality and communication style. Keep in mind that in some cases, a ‘yes’ might actually mean ‘no’.

That directly relates to regular communications. As a best practice, there are always ways of collecting feedback from people around and naturally when delivering presentation to stakeholders, it is even more critical to ask for feedback. Some people are sometimes afraid of asking but with nice and gentle introduction, I scarcely receive refusal. My advice would be to test something like: "I hope this was valuable use of your time. Is there anything you have been missing, and if you would have to change one element, which one would it be?"

Feedback is critical, especially when you're managing senior stakeholders. Whenever I implemented advice or suggestions from a stakeholder, I made sure to circle back and let them know how their input made a difference. Not only did this make them feel valued, but it also opened up a pathway for continuous collaboration. When stakeholders see their advice in action, it deepens their investment in the project

While seeking feedback is generally beneficial, there may be a few instances when it may not be advantageous. For example: Vague or unhelpful feedback - If feedback is not specific or actionable, it might not provide meaningful insights or guidance for improvement. Fear of criticism - Some people may be afraid of receiving negative feedback and avoid seeking it altogether. And some use the opportunity to criticise. Lack of trust - If there is a lack of trust between the person giving and receiving feedback, it may not be taken seriously or may even cause misunderstandings or resentment. Think before you ask.

Finally, alliances are everything. In a project with complex power dynamics, it’s essential to foster partnerships. I worked to find common ground among stakeholders, identifying where their goals overlapped. Building these alliances created a more unified vision, and when the team works together instead of pulling in different directions, the project moves forward much more smoothly.

In case of a major issue, seek support from allies with influence and a vested interest. However, other options may work. Sometimes, a critical mass of opinion can be more effective in resolving an issue than relying on a single influential leader’s stance.

Building alliances is not just about gaining support; it's about creating synergy to propel your proposals to new heights. As a sales performance speaker and coach, I've seen firsthand how aligning with other stakeholders can expedite the closing of bigger B2B deals in less time. It's about leveraging collective strengths and insights to present solutions that resonate deeply with senior decision-makers. This collaborative approach is a cornerstone of my Dealmaker Method, which emphasizes the power of unity in transforming ambitious sales talent into extraordinary dealmakers.