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Stakeholder Relationship Management: A Primer
Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.
A few years back, in my article about project communication plans (One Size Does Not Fit All), I set forth four principles that I believed were relevant to stakeholder relationship management. To save you the time of searching for the article, the principles are recapped below:
Principle 1: Consider the Organization Culture and Political Environment (people’s expectations, agendas, sacred cows, risk aversion & change processes)
Every organization forms its own culture (values, beliefs and behaviors). What works in one environment doesn’t always work in another. Project managers that get support and achieve their project’s goals are masters of navigating the murky waters of their organization’s culture. They understand the dynamics at play and know how to build support and constituencies. Most of all they know that within the macro-culture there are subcultures, and they adapt their style to fit each.
Stakeholder relationship management requires that the needs, concerns, agendas and culture of each stakeholder group is consciously evaluated and that communications are structured and shaped to meet their specific requirements.
Principle 2: Fit the Communication Plan to the Project’s Impact
All projects, whether large or small, need communication plans. More than project complexity and duration, …
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