You're facing resistance from a senior stakeholder. How can you assert your authority effectively?

Remember ... Asserting authority may lead to challenges; it’s crucial to first understand the other perspective. Initiating face-to-face discussions can help build a more collaborative relationship. Rebuild credibility by leveraging your expertise and data, ensuring alignment through clear and transparent communication. And yes, patience and a practical approach are key when navigating such situations.

Authority applies to people or things under one's scope of responsibility. In this case, you're dealing with something under your authority but with interests from someone with superior authority, hence the resistance. This requires a lot of negotiation, the type that demonstrates win-win to all concerned while not compromising values. You will need to come with not just facts that justify your position but also persuasion to realign the senior stakeholder's interest in a way that makes the person feel that they not only changed position but also got something out of it.

Empathy is at the heart of every relationship and it can pave a way to building stronger connections as well as building trust. I think more than asserting authority its significant to build a common understanding. Understanding the perspective of the senior stakeholder which can bring both of us on the same page and open a deeper dialogue to resolve the issue at hand. Communication and common understanding is the key to addressing apprehensions and building a strong foundation.

Remain open to discussion. Invite the stakeholder to share their concerns and address them calmly and factually. Find common ground or compromise if necessary. For example, "I’m open to hearing any concerns you might have. Let’s discuss how we can address them while still moving forward..

Gaining trust and credibility by providing data and insights to back up your position, followed by a concrete demonstration of your work, might close the distance with higher authority. My APAC and global leaders were willing to trust my judgment and ideas once they had gained their trust.

Building credibility when facing resistance from a senior stakeholder starts with understanding their perspective. I would take the time to listen to their concerns and identify the root cause of their resistance, whether it's related to risk, misaligned goals, or a lack of clarity on the proposed approach. Demonstrating empathy and a genuine interest in their viewpoint helps establish trust, showing that I'm not just pushing my agenda but am invested in finding a solution that aligns with both their expectations and the project’s goals. Then you can leverage your experience within the sector to provide evidence-based recommendations, using data, case studies, and past successes to demonstrate the strategy's effectiveness.

Act calm and invite all stakeholders to contribute in giving feedback before rushing a decission. If you are impatient all decission making of everything not under your hands will simply not happen. Clear communication explaining risks also of not reaching an agreement or falling under a paralisis by analysis state is paramount to move forward in the desired direction. Push but softly...

Understand why and origin of the resistance, talk to them without prejudice, evaluate from their perspective and in-large for the organisation. Listen to them open minded. If you are not convinced, have a face-to-face meeting, share your thoughts firmly with data on the past, market, in-line with business etc etc.,

One thing, I have found helpful is to articulate using examples which align with the discussion. This way, the effectiveness of communication is better as they can relate to the subject. It is also important to gauge the interest of the person and if not keen, then methods to engage the concerned stakeholder into the conversation is important before expressing your point.

Communication being understood is always the responsibility of the person speaking or sending the information, not the receiver. If you are not being heard, change your content or context, not your tone or volume - unless you are already shouting then bring it down to dull roar..

Communication becomes a critical part of this initiative to assert your POV to the senior stake holder, you need to communicate your past success story and your experience and conviction in the steps that you are taking in the role. It is also important to ensure that you come across as someone who knows the subject matter and has expertise in not only understanding but resolving the issue. This can be treated as a pitch presentation where you are trying to win over the party based on your own past success.

There are big opportunities in any communication to build credibility and the relationship. Portraying yourself to the senior stakeholder that you are someone who is a valued and respected colleague and it will benefit them to align to you (and your positions) moving forward. So every communication is an opportunity to ‘sell yourself’ and win hearts and minds.

To do this requires frame control and good storytelling skills. Start by understanding their frame and perceptions and how that aligns to their motivations. Set the scene, the characters, key message / purpose of the communication. Once this is set outline the goal, problem / barrier and options or solutions.

Underpinning your influence is your ability to build connections. Relationships form the foundation of influence. Influence isn't just about persuasion—it’s about building trust, rapport, and mutual understanding over time. Strong relationships are essential because they create a foundation of credibility and goodwill. When stakeholders feel heard, valued, and connected to your goals, they are more likely to align with your vision. Influence, therefore, stems not only from presenting logical arguments but also from nurturing long-term partnerships based on shared interests and respect.

Collaborating with specialists and leveraging past activity can be highly effective. Clients often value an agency or consultant’s influence and credibility, so I'd share the team's and my own knowledge of what works and doesn’t. I’d look to support recommendations with relevant data, case studies, and past successes. i.e. if discussing a new marketing strategy, I’d present analytics showing how similar strategies have driven results in the past. The next step is to clarify shared objectives by reminding the stakeholder of our common goals, be that increasing brand visibility, improving customer engagement, or driving revenue growth. By aligning the conversation around these objectives, you shift the focus from resistance to collaboration.

Common ground is always the best place to start a conversation from. The opposite requires people to explain the fun out of the toplic and people ( especialy decision makers ) loose interest fast when they are not engaged. Along time ago I was taught to FAB any product when selling.. Getting buy-in is no different, no matter what it is; Explain the F=feature what the A=advantage of that feature is and finally what the B=benefit of that advantage is to the person and you can sell them anything, an idea, a product anything!

Firstly, to assert authority with a senior stakeholder, you must have already build credibility through your expertise and data, understand their logic, and communicate effectively. Align your objective, leverage your influence subtly, and seek common ground. By following this approach creates trust and collaboration, which helps to influence more to overcome any kind of resistance. This has always been my approach.

I think seeking alignment is vital when influencing all stakeholders. I usually start by getting to know them as individuals. What do they value? What are their pain points and how can you solve these? From here, you can then work out how far you need to align yourself to lessen their resistance. When someone is resisting something, there is a valid reason in their minds, which they might not always voice. Building a relationship means they are more likely to tell you what that reason is. Businesses are a brilliant exercise in relationship building and all successful ones rely on strong internal and external relationships

In general terms seeking alignment is very important. However even with senior stakeholders I prefer to deliberately choose the alignment / allies I am seeking because you can't realistically align with everyone and I do not need complete alignment with stakeholders, I only need sufficient alignment to allow progress towards my objective in the short and long term. This needs to be executed carefully and as part larger strategy.

In order to support your argument, it's critical to maintain professionalism and refrain from getting too personal. Being professional in difficult circumstances only serves to increase respect and have a productive conversation that is in line with shared objectives. It is important to keep emotions at bay, and go back to data points and logical reasoning.

Documentation: Document agreements to avoid non-committal verbal communication. You can use the project plan to guide conversations and clarify points. Professional Conduct: Maintain professionalism throughout interactions, even when facing resistance. This helps in building long-term relationships and trust.

Agreed - professional behaviours are essential in any relationship building. People need to be able to trust you and to feel safe.

Expect difficult stakeholders (SH). Open all sessions with the project overview, key messages & context. Orientate to phases complete, high-level scope & if relevant project documentation. Highlight key requirements already influenced by SH. Note requirements 'car park' for if time & cost allow. Take 5-7 minutes. Do not include new information here. Next introduce the purpose of this session, & how SH can still influence the project. Identify constraints - time, cost considerations, scope & quality. Explain complex issues will be assessed 1:1. This takes difficult SH 'offline', removes the audience, and gives you the opportunity to build a constructive relationship, whilst risk assessing the issue & exploring practical solutions.