Managing
Project
Stakeholders
PARTICIPANT GUIDE
Learn the ins and outs of
leveraging the project
management skills you already
have to effectively plan for
stakeholder management!
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B Y T H E E N D O F T H I S C O U R S E , Y O U
W I L L B E A B L E T O E F F E C T I V E L Y
M A N A G E P R O J E C T S T A K E H O L D E R S
T H R O U G H O U T T H E L I F E C Y C L E O F A
P R O J E C T .
03
INTRODUCTION
Defining your role as a project manager.
05
IDENTIFY STAKEHOLDERS
Determining all of your project stakeholders.
08
PRIORITIZING STAKEHOLDERS
Analyze the impact of potential stakeholders and
prioritize them using a power/interest grid.
12
CLASSIFIYING STAKEHOLDERS
Classify your stakeholders based on their level of
engagement with your project.
16
MAINTAINING STAKEHOLDERS
Use a RACI Matrix to develop a roles and responsibilities
chart for maintaining stakeholders directly involved in
your project.
20
WHAT'S NEXT?
Plan for next steps!
LuckyAcornLD.com | page 2
Introduction
Project management
is a role that requires
the project manager --
that's you! -- to
navigate the peaks
and pitfalls of bringing
an idea to life, despite
the very real
constraints of time,
money, and quality of
the project output.
Skilled project
managers know how
to balance all three of
these project
constraints like
spinning plates.
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 3
W H A T I S A
S T A K E H O L D E R ?
A stakeholder is anyone who impacts, or who
could be impacted by, the project you are
overseeing. Stakeholders either have something
to gain or something to lose from your project's
outcome.
Common stakeholders Include:
Company owners Company employees
Investors Communities
Vendors Team members
Customers Residents
Stakeholders can be your greatest resource, your biggest
cheerleaders, and the stalwart champions of your project.
However, a resistant or oppositional stakeholder can at best
become a stick in the mud, and at worse become an outspoken
force of hostility toward a successful project outcome.
Getting and keeping stakeholder buy-in for your project could
determine whether your project will be seaworthy, or a
shipwreck.
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 4
Identify
stakeholders
The first step in managing
project stakeholders is
identifying who the
stakeholders are in the first
place.
View video #1 to take a look at
an example project and a
project manager who needs to
identify project stakeholders.
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 5
Video #1 Note-
Catcher
Use the note-catcher below to record information about
the example project as you watch Video #1. Can you help
Drew identify stakeholders who are impacted or will be
impacted by the project he is managing?
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 6
Identify your
stakeholders
Think about the project you are set to manage. Who are your
stakeholders? Who can you think of who has an interest in your
project, or an investment in the project's result? Use the boxes
below to list your stakeholders or stakeholder groups. Space
has been provided for you to jot down notes about each
stakeholder you list.
#1: #2:
#3: #4:
#5 #6:
#7 #8:
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 8
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 7
Prioritizing
stakeholders
TO WHAT DEGREE CAN
YOUR STAKEHOLDERS
IMPACT YOUR
PROJECT?
After the project manager
has identified all potential
stakeholders, they should
consider the impact each
stakeholder or stakeholder
group could have on the
successful implementation
of the project, assessing
how each might react to
different aspects of the
project and developing a
plan to manage those
reactions.
This will be vital.
As the project manager,
you need to increase
positive stakeholder
support and mitigate
negative stakeholder
influences that might sink
the project.
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 8
Stakeholder
impact analysis
Prioritize project stakeholders by asking three key
questions:
What level of
power do they
Power
have over the
project?
What is their
level of interest Impact
in the project and
its outcome?
In what specific ways
can this stakeholder
contribution
contribute to the
success or failure of
the project outcome?
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 9
Power/interest
Now you've seen an example of how project manager Drew used a
power/interest grid to prioritize his project stakeholders. Using
Drew's as a model, plot out and prioritize your project stakeholders.
The center box on each quadrant gives prioritization suggestions.
High
Keep
Satisfied
rewoP
Keep
Monitor
Informed
Low
Low High
Interest
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 10
managing your
stakeholders
Read engagement
Throughout the project lifecycle, check in
on your stakeholders to determine their
level of engagement in your project. Are
they interested? Are they pleased with the
direction and progress of the project?
Communicate
Based on a stakeholder's level of
engagement, communicate with them in
ways that keep them satisfied and fully-
invested in the project's success.
Do your research
Consider contacting your stakeholders
during the planning phase of your project
to gauge their initial hopes or reservations.
Learn stakeholder expectations for the
project.
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 11
Classifying
stakeholders
Knowing a stakeholder's
engagement level can
help a project manager
formulate the
Stakeholder
Management Plan,
including the best ways
and how often to
communicate with the
stakeholder, how and
when to involve them in
developing or executing
parts of the project, and
how to maintain a
positive relationship with
the stakeholder at
different points in the
project lifestyle.
Management plans differ
depending on how a
project manager
classifies a stakeholder's
engagement level.
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 12
engagement
level checklist
It can be helpful when developing a Stakeholder Management Plan to
classify stakeholders by engagement level. Use the checklist below to
classify engagement levels for each of your stakeholders. Make as many
copies of this checklist as you need to account for each project
stakeholder.
STAKEHOLDER: __________________________________________
UNAWARE
These stakeholders are not informed about the potential
impacts of the project.
RESISTANT
These stakeholders are against the project because the
resulting change would have some negative impact.
NEUTRAL
These stakeholders are indifferent to the outcome of the
project.
SUPPORTIVE
Supportive stakeholders are in favor of the project and are
likely positively impacted by the effects of the project.
LEADING
Leading stakeholders are high power, high interest on the
power/interest grid. They are vital advocates for the project
and can influence the project's outcome.
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 13
MATCH PLAN
Match the engagement level to its recommended
communication and action plan. Check your answers on the
next page!
Give them frequent
UNAWARE
opportunities to be involved
and consult. Encourage
them to advocate for the
project. Let them know you
appreciate them.
Find methods of boosting
RESISTANT
their interest in the project
and share ways in which the
project will benefit them.
Provide them with some
NEUTRAL
background about the
project. Offer to follow up
with them to address
questions or concerns.
Connect them with someone
SUPPORTIVE
they trust who has high
interest in and high
enthusiasm about the
project.
Keep them up-to-date with
LEADING
information regarding the
project's status.
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 14
ANSWER KEY:
MATCH PLAN
Give them frequent
UNAWARE
opportunities to be involved
and consult. Encourage
them to advocate for the
project. Let them know you
appreciate them.
Find methods of boosting
RESISTANT
their interest in the project
and share ways in which the
project will benefit them.
Provide them with some
NEUTRAL
background about the
project. Offer to follow up
with them to address
questions or concerns.
Connect them with someone
SUPPORTIVE
they trust who has high
interest in and high
enthusiasm about the
project.
Keep them up-to-date with
LEADING
information regarding the
project's status.
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 15
stakeholder
communication
Answering these three questions can go a long way in ensuring
effective communication with project stakeholders.
Who?
Who should stay informed
about the project?
When?
How often should they be
informed, and at what points
in the project's lifecycle?
How?
How will they receive the
necessary information?
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 16
maintaining
stakeholders
Maintenance planning is
a vital part of a strong
Stakeholder
Management Plan and
can be key for organizing
the project flow,
collaborating with a
diverse web of
stakeholders, and
communicating with
stakeholders effectively
as a project evolves.
For stakeholders who are
directly involved in the
project day-to-day, a
clear understanding of
organizational roles and
responsibilities is
essential. As the project
manager, that's where
you come in!
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 16
RACI Matrix
Effective project
Responsible
R managers often utilize
the Responsibility
Assignment Matrix --
otherwise known as
Accountable
A the RACI Matrix -- to
define and document
project roles and
responsibilities for
Consulted stakeholders directly
C involved in the
project's objectives
during different
Informed phases of the project
I lifecycle.
Watch Video #2 to see
how Drew creates and
uses a RACI Matrix for
his project. Use the
note-catcher on the
next page to jot down
notes as you watch.
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 17
Video #2 Note-
Catcher
Use the note-catcher below to record information as you
watch Video #2. What information does Drew use to create
a RACI Matrix for the logistics park project? How can you
use a RACI Matrix to help you maintain the health of your
project and your stakeholder relationships?
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 18
RACI MATRIX
After watching Video #2, use the empty RACI
R A Matrix below to develop an initial plan for your
project roles and responsibilities.
C I
STAKEHOLDERS
TASKS
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 19
What's next?
As you execute your project, you will have to
reassess the engagement level of your project
stakeholders and update your Stakeholder
Management Plan.
For projects to succeed, project managers need to
keep stakeholder needs, wants, requirements,
goals, and satisfaction in mind and communicate
accordingly. Provide the information that matters
most to each individual stakeholder or stakeholder
group.
Influential stakeholders who move from a neutral
engagement level to resistant will require the
project manager to answer to concerns, and it is
your job as project manager to communicate
effectively, re-balance stakeholder expectations for
the project, and keep those spinning plates of
project constraints -- time, money, and quality --
from crashing to the floor.
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 20
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NOTES:
LUCKYACORNLD.COM | PAGE 21
