Understanding Your Stakeholders

Whether it’s a complex or even a simple project or any piece of work for that matter there will be people who are interested in it to one degree or another. These people are your stakeholders. But what are stakeholders? Stakeholders come in all shapes and sizes and the level of interest they have in your piece of work, or maybe you would like them to have in your piece of work, is one way to categorize them. Their ability to influence your work either positively or adversely is another way of categorizing them.

Who Are Your Stakeholders?

Understanding your stakeholders requires that you know who they are in the first place. Anyone who has an interest in, either directly or indirectly, the successful completion of your piece of work or project is a stakeholder. Those people or groups and companies who are closely involved are obvious but others who maybe don’t have any direct contact with your work in other parts of your organization may well be a stakeholder too.

For people you also need to read group, department or company as it may not be a particular individual you can identify at this stage. One group of stakeholders that can often be forgotten is customers, the whole reason why your work is being undertaken in the first place.

Where Are Your Stakeholders?

The simple answer to this question is they fall into two groups; those that are internal to your company or organization and those that are external to it. Actually where you draw the boundary is not important in identifying stakeholders, it merely helps in the thought process of ensuring you have identified them to start with. Where it becomes more important is in how you communicate with your stakeholders as there may be organizational requirements overlaid on you for interacting with external stakeholders.

Why Should You Be Interested In Stakeholders?

Put simply, if you aren’t then there is a strong possibility that one of the more influential stakeholders will cause you problems and potentially prevent you from succeeding in your piece of work or project.

So, having identified them you need to determine which ones are likely to be supportive of your work, advocates even, and which ones may block or delay you. One way of bringing this all together is in the form of a Stakeholder Mapping, a simple two-by-two matrix of Power (ability to support or de-rail your work) verses Interest (in your work) each scored Low to High. A project sponsor who controls the budget will naturally have both high power and interest whereas an individual within an unrelated department is likely to have low power and low interest.

Having identified your stakeholders and where they sit and their level of interest has been mapped then comes the ‘So What?’. Now that you know all this information what do you do with it?

What Do Stakeholders Need From You and You From Them?

Those which come out as high power and influence will be the ones you ought to focus on to start with. Ask yourself why they score as they did. Do they have the ability to support you work or hinder it and depending on this answer what do you want to do about that?

The phrase “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” comes to mind here. Someone who is a strong supporter you will want to keep that way so keeping them informed as progress is made and ensuring you know what they expect as time moves on is essential with this type of stakeholder. An individual or group that has the capability to block or delay your work is a serious risk and needs to be dealt with. Close engagement to fully understand their position is critical so that you can determine what may be done to minimize their impact on your work. If nothing else, better understanding where key stakeholders are coming from enables you to better plan your work with that in mind.

It is not necessary to work through each individual stakeholder in this way but it certainly makes sense for those that you determine are your key stakeholders. For others it may be possible to group them together based on particular interests or needs and engage them as such, perhaps through a common communication method if merely keeping them informed of progress is considered sufficient.

Stakeholders Change Over Time

It is definitely worthwhile re-visiting your set of stakeholders regularly as individuals may change their views and indeed, especially in large organizations, individuals move on and someone new comes in to fill their shoes. Depending on the work concerned it may well be the case that stakeholders that showed low interest early on may start to get more interested as the work moves into a different stage. This can be the case were early engagement with potential end-users is wanted but their level of interest and willingness to get involved only increases as you get closer to completion of your work or project.

To better understand your stakeholders you need to:

1. Know who they are in the first place.
2. Identify where they are, inside your organization or outside of it.
3. Determine what they need from you and what you need from them to move your work forward.
4. Engage with your stakeholders accordingly.
5. Revisit your stakeholder identification regularly.

Note I have deliberately avoided using ‘project’ too much in this post even though Stakeholder Management is so often associated with projects and programmes. The simple process of identifying who your stakeholders are and considering what they need from you and you need from them is equally applicable to all aspects of business.

Leaders Need To Nudge

There is no doubt that in turnaround situations and times of crisis the last thing that is needed is a leader who takes their time to make decisions and engages with everybody and anybody. What is needed is the ability to quickly assimilate information and make and communicate decisions accordingly. An autocratic style maybe, but crises require strong leadership from the very top.

Fortunately turnarounds and crises aren’t the norm, although ‘heroic deeds’ seem to take all the headlines making them appear so. No, the norm is far more mundane. Leaders are responsible for ensuring the continuation and preferably growth of their businesses and implementing necessary change along the way.

Whether it’s the CEO of a large multi-national or the leader of a work-team what is required is a consistency of approach over a period of time so that their team members start to appreciate what’s needed and what they’re jointly aiming at. The last thing anyone wants is goals that are forever changing (a self generated crisis doesn’t make any sense at all) or seemingly arbitrary changes in processes or procedures.

Once the leader has put in place a clear Vision and aligned Mission that everyone understands and can relate to the leader’s role needs to switch to one that encourages their senior people towards that Vision. The temptation of course is to try and get there in one big step but if that were achievable it wouldn’t be much of a Vision really. The development of a Strategy and Plan are obvious but it’s the way those senior managers in the organization or team behave and operate with their own people that matters most.

It’s highly unlikely that continuing to do the same as before will help an organization move positively towards achieving a new Vision. Things need to change and the leaders in the organization need to change their ways of working. Not a comfortable thought for many people. Again, the temptation may be to change the senior team and bring in new ones who operate in the way the overall leader expects them to but that risks losing invaluable experience and, remember, this isn’t a crisis, it’s just trying to improve things.

Gentle persuasion, coaxing and nudging people in the right direction are far more productive methods of encouraging gradual and sustainable changes in behavior. And if that starts from the top and flows throughout the organization then movement towards a new Vision and goals becomes unstoppable. It may be less dramatic than ‘heroic deeds’ but is far more achievable for most organizations.

Picture courtesy of www.pictfigo.com

Leading Change

Leaders who introduce Change Programs into their businesses will do so for any number of reasons but they will all have one outcome in mind – improving the current situation.  Having decided that a change needs to happen some form of program needs to be put in place to deliver it. 

The Change Program (or whatever else it may be called) needs to be managed and measured to ensure it moves forward in the right direction.  The Leader won’t be the person who is involved in the day-to-day activities to deliver the program but they will be the person who is expected to set the vision for the change and justify it.

While the Leader will continue with their ‘day job’ they need to keep on top of the Change Program at all times to avoid it stagnating.   

Don’t Walk Away

It’s all too tempting for a Leader to set a new direction or say what they want something changing and expect their business to do whatever is needed to make it happen.  This might be satisfactory for relatively simple tasks and instructions but for significant change a Leader must stay engaged at all times.  The level of engagement will differ depending on the changes being implemented, the business concerned and the people involved but continued engagement is a given.  Without it people may think that the change has lost its importance over time.  The last thing the Leader wants is to come back to the Change Program when they expect it to have completed only to find that it hasn’t.

Empower and Overtly Sponsor Your Change Champion

The Leader will give the task of implementing the change to someone within the business and task them with delivering the changes required.  Like any task that person, no matter how senior, will need the authority to deliver what is needed which for any organizational change must come from the very top.  Making sure everyone knows that the Change Champion is fully empowered from the top of the organization is absolutely critical to delivering successful change.  This needs to be repeated regularly throughout the change implementation with the Leader overtly sponsoring their Change Champion.  Without it the difficult discussions with others that the Champion will have may lead to nothing.  

Keep Listening

Even as the Leader continues with their numerous other activities it is essential that they listen in to the organizational chatter or grapevine as it is often the only way that they will discover what is really happening during a time of change.  Communication is all about listening as well as transmitting but a Leader will only hear a fraction of what is out there if they rely solely on what they are told in formal briefings (senior managers tend only to give good news). 

By listening carefully and being willing to modify what is changed or how changes are implemented the Leader will demonstrate flexibility and be better placed to deliver a change that is sustainable in the longer term. 

Celebrate Success Along The Way

Any Change Program has a series of milestones and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) against which its success is judged.  Usually success is only considered at the end of a program but by recognizing successes along the way and the contribution people have made the Leader will show continued commitment at times when people may be struggling to understand why the changes are occurring.  A photograph of the Leader with individuals and teams as they achieve a particular milestone along the way is simple enough yet can be so helpful in keeping people motivated.

Since all Change Programs have the potential to cause uncertainty for those impacted by them it is imperative that Leaders put the necessary effort in to make sure they deliver all they can.  By staying engaged, overtly sponsoring their Change Champion, listening to what’s really happening and celebrating success along the way the Leader increases the chances of the change delivering what was intended.  

Picture courtesy of www.pictfigo.com

Do Your Project Meetings Deliver?

How many of us have spent hours on end at project meetings wondering just why it was that we were invited and wishing we could get out of them and go and do something more interesting instead?  So maybe the senior stakeholder meetings need to have a wide representation to ensure the governance of the project is working well but let’s face it, these should only be quarterly or bi-monthly at most.  It’s when the wide stakeholder base gets involved with regular project meetings that the focus starts to shift from project delivery to meeting attendance.

All organizations have their own project culture which dictates what meetings happen and who is expected to attend.  The key word here is ‘expected’ because anyone can make a reasoned argument to attend any meeting however tenuous the connection.  The skill of the Project Manager comes in ensuring only those that have direct relevance to a project attend meetings.  This means negotiating and influencing different stakeholder groups and undoubtedly ruffling a few feathers on the way.

To prevent project meeting attendance becoming an industry in its own right I strongly recommend a thorough review of the meeting structure and cutting out any that have wide stakeholder attendance.  Combining meetings is another way to reduce time but be careful that in doing so you don’t start to build up the meeting attendance again so that it becomes un-manageable.  As a goal, aim to reduce the number of project meetings and time spent on them by 50%.

There is one type of meeting I’d never get rid of and that of course is the regular Progress Meeting.  For these to be of any use you have to ensure you get the right attendance, the bare minimum I would suggest – your core team. 

How often? – weekly is best and at the start of the week.  A Monday Morning Meeting to kick the week off looking at what happened last week and what needs to happen in the coming seven days is an absolute must.  Only switch to daily meetings at peak times, perhaps towards the delivery end of the project but try to avoid this wherever possible as it can start to re-generate the meetings culture again.

How Long? – 30 minutes maximum should be enough to get through all necessary discussion.  This requires good meeting skills on behalf of the Project Manager (or whoever else might lead) and team members.  If 30 minutes seems tough then go for 60 minutes to start with and aim to reduce down to 30 once you get into the swing of things.

Where? – It is so tempting to just pull chairs together in an office and hold a meeting there but the distractions can be huge.  It’s far better to remove yourself and find another area to hold your meeting.  Remember you don’t need long so providing someone can take (very) brief notes anywhere will do.

  

So, my top three tips for successful Project Progress Meetings are:

1. Schedule them at the start of the working week and stick to this.
2. No more than 30 minutes for the meeting.
3. Have the meeting away from the working area to avoid distractions.

[A word on distractions in meetings  - there is no need for people to take phone calls, read and reply to texts and e-mails in a 30 minute meeting – turn the phones off, it’s only half an hour!] 

Peer Reviews For Programmes and Projects

It doesn’t matter how dedicated your team of programme and project managers are every now and again they can benefit from a fresh set of eyes taking a look at what’s going on.  A team that is ‘heads down’ in delivery mode can sometimes suffer from groupthink and perhaps become blinkered into thinking their approach is not only the best but the only way forward.  To prevent this from happening and introduce some constructive feedback to the team and client as well, a Peer Review should be undertaken.

What Is A Peer Review?

A Peer Review is, put simply, a review of a programme or project, by a small team of experienced individuals who understand the ins and outs of delivering successful outcomes.  Also known as a Project Health Check, they bring together between two and five people (occasionally just one) to look at what the programme/project has been doing and more importantly what it is planning to do during the next phase.

Specifically it is not an Audit in that it doesn’t look to find out what is wrong.  Rather, it looks to provide appropriate input to clients and teams that they may wish to take on board to improve their chances of success.

How Long Should a Peer Review Take?

Not long, anywhere between a day and five days should be sufficient for even the most complex of programmes.  This way it can be scheduled in from the start, indeed it makes sense to schedule a number during the life of a programme – including at the end.

What Happens in a Peer Review?

This can vary depending on the programme but good practice would suggest carrying out interviews with key team members and stakeholders in-confidence.  These take place after the Review Team has had time gain an appreciation of the programme ahead of the Peer Review itself.  Holding interviews in-confidence cannot be stressed highly enough as it allows individuals to express their own opinions and views which may not come out in the day-to-day working environment.  If the Review Team or just part of it is drawn from outside the parent organisation then this independence greatly assists.

Once the interviews have been completed the Review Team need to quickly develop their recommendations and produce a Report that can be handed to their Client.  The Client in this instance could be the Programme Manager or Sponsor.  Providing the relationship between Programme Manager and Sponsor is mature enough both ought to see the output of the Peer Review.

Wherever possible the Peer Review Report with its recommendations (and Points of Good Practice) should be fed back face-to-face.  This allows for verbal explanations and discussions thus aiding understanding.

A couple of points about the Peer Review Report itself.  It only needs to provide the briefest of explanations of what the programme/project is about and should concentrate on explaining what was found and the rationale for the recommendations it makes.  As such, it should be short and to the point, not some tome that sits on a shelf.  The Review Team must remember when putting together the report that what they heard in the interviews was in-confidence.

Who Should Carry Out A Peer Review?

Whether it is a very short one day look see with one person or a week with four or five the composition of the Review Team needs to match the context of the programme or project.  That does not mean that Subject Matter Experts have to be engaged to fully understand the specifics involved.  It does mean that within the Review Team there needs to be an appreciation of type of programme or project concerned and the organisational environment.  This might mean having a (suitably experienced and independent) Review Team member from the host organisation.

Peer Reviews – In Summary

Getting a small team of experienced professionals to take a look at how a programme or project is progressing makes sense to most people and is an excellent Return-On-Investment considering the benefits.

• Schedule Peer Reviews to coincide with the completion of a phase so that readiness for the next phase can be looked at.
• Keep the Peer Reviews short and to the point – 5 days max.
• Ensure the Peer Review Team has appropriate experience and appreciation of the environment in which the programme/project is being delivered – and is independent.
• Don’t forget to schedule a Peer Review at programme/project close, just to make sure what was supposed to have been delivered was and to help capture good practice.

A Peer Review doesn’t have to be arduous for those involved in a programme or project and the benefits of getting independent feedback from experienced professionals can be invaluable.