Stealth Stakeholders.....
Last week while I was speaking at the Harrisburg University about Stakeholders Management, one of the questions from the moderator was, “What do organizations tend to ‘underestimate’ or give insufficient attention during the stakeholder process?” This question prompted me to take a deep dive and resulted in writing this post.
The first and foremost challenge in the stakeholder management process is defining the stakeholders. A common mistake is defining the stakeholders narrowly as sponsors, project team, vendors, and users. No doubt, they are essential and critical stakeholders; however, their risk profile is lower than those stakeholders who appear suddenly and spring a surprise. These stealth stakeholders are an enigma and present in all projects, irrespective of the size and complexity. Their impact may vary based on the timing of their appearance and the size/complexity of the project.
In a connected global environment, stakeholders who are not part of the immediate vicinity of the project may become critical. For example, if some of your operations are in another country, those remote team members can become stealth stakeholders if a natural disaster or political upheavals impede them from completing their tasks in a timely manner.
Some become stealth stakeholders frequently not because of their intentions, but the project team failed to identify and engage them from the beginning. They are the creations of project managers either because they ignored them, or totally forgot them. Conflict-averse PMs tend to ignore some difficult team members and pay the price at a later stage.
How to avoid stealth stakeholders:
- Start with the Risk Register; while developing a Risk Register, have a separate section for the stakeholders. Identify all possible stakeholders who may be even remotely involved in the project by using brainstorming techniques.
- In your communications plan, recognize them and define the frequency of engagement. Share the timeline and changes regularly with them.
- At critical junctures of the project, ensure that the change management team consults them for their feedback.
Surprises are the biggest enemy of any project’s success. Avoiding a surprise like stealth stakeholders is intelligent project management.
Well stated- 'surprises are greatest enemies of project success'. Stealthy Stakeholders should include 'indirect' stakeholders, who are not remotely involved but have a measure of influence over your prospective stakeholders. The challenge becomes how to adequately foresee, identify, and address such stakeholders. Your suggested approaches are a good start.
Adding a stakeholder component to the risk register is a great idea. From PMI Business Analysis Virtual Conference 2016, saw your link.