Congratulations on attaining your PMP certification.
The specific methods of increasing stakeholder engagement really depend on the context of the stakeholder, their interests & agendas, the scope of the project and so on. In some cases, it might merely be a case of communicating more frequently with specific types of information they are interested in about the project whereas in others where their direct involvement is required you might need to look at leveraging your political influence to get other senior stakeholders to "coax" the reluctant stakeholder to becoming more involved.
This is why it is important to analyze each distinct key stakeholder carefully and regularly to ensure that you come up with tactics for engagement which have a high chance of succeeding.
If we're still planning, I would consider the information in the stakeholder analysis when identifying potential activities designed to increase stakeholder engagement.
If it's just one stakeholder and the project is in motion, I would go talk to the person to see how they're doing and gain insight into their circumstances; maybe let them know what I need from them and ask if there's anything I can do to help. The stakeholder engagement plan is just a tool; sometimes a quick conversation is better than a plan.
If the problem is all stakeholders, I would do a little digging to determine if something had happened or a decision had been made that caused priorities to shift. There may be a good reason for diminishing engagement that I haven't been made aware of, yet. Saving Changes...
Regarding your question, I believe stakeholder engagement is deeply connected to how we manage change. I’m curious to know: do your organizations have a dedicated Change Management Office (CMO) to support you? Also, what specific Change Management practices do you integrate into your development approaches to ensure stakeholders are truly aligned?
In my experience, having a structured framework for change makes it much easier to move stakeholders from a 'neutral' or 'resistant' state to a 'supportive' one.
Hello Alexandra, Congrats on the PMP designation! I recommend going through Prosci’s resources (they have a wonderful library) to gain immensely valuable insights and guidance on managing stakeholder engagement. For instance, the following article, "How to Use the Engagement Stakeholder Plan,” offers, among others, engagement strategies. https://www.prosci.com/blog/how-to-use-a-stakeholder-engagement-plan-sep “The ADKAR Model provides a useful framework for diagnosing where engagement efforts are succeeding or where stakeholders may be stuck. For example:
If stakeholders lack Awareness, communication efforts may need to be revisited.
If stakeholders lack Desire, leadership may need to address concerns and clarify benefits.
If stakeholders lack Knowledge, training programs may need to be strengthened.
If stakeholders lack Ability, more hands-on guidance or resources may be required.
If stakeholders lack Reinforcement, additional engagement strategies may be necessary to sustain adoption.”
I strongly recommend reviewing the Prosci.com website to learn more.
Maria
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Alexandra RIZZITELLIProgram operations manager| Medical researchMelbourne, Australia
Thank you all, this is really helpfull. The project is in execution and I've come on board for the execution part. Our business doesn't have a CMO nor PMO. I'm establishing the ground rules now, i feel it's never too late to think about those things. I have not encountered stakeholder resistance yet, just getting prepared. Saving Changes...
Something that I find helpful with engaging stakeholders is to understand their motivations and what they're getting out of the project. It helps to build narratives for them so that it's easy for them to resonate with the project and if they feel that it's beneficial to them, then they'll be more motivated to help. Something to think about! Saving Changes...
Alexandra — congrats on stepping in during execution; that’s often the hardest point to influence engagement.
One thing I’ve seen repeatedly is that stakeholder disengagement usually doesn’t start as resistance — it starts when stakeholders are no longer being asked to make decisions that matter.
A few practical things that help early:
• Be explicit about which decisions require stakeholder input vs. which are simply updates. People disengage quickly when everything sounds informational. • Anchor recurring touchpoints to a decision, trade-off, or risk, even if it’s small (“do we accept this risk now or defer?”). • Make it visible how stakeholder input changes direction, not just how it’s “noted.”
If you do this early, engagement tends to sustain itself — because participation has consequence. Communication alone rarely does.
You’re in a good position starting this before resistance shows up. Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Great question, and welcome to the profession.
A practical way to think about stakeholder engagement is to stop treating it as a communication problem and start treating it as a value and decision problem.
A few actions that work consistently in real projects.
Start with perceived value, not influence Before choosing any tactic, ask a simple question for each key stakeholder: What does success look like for this person, in their own words? Engagement increases when stakeholders see their definition of success reflected in decisions, not just in reports.
Separate information from involvement Many plans confuse the two. Information is one-way. Engagement requires choice. For critical stakeholders, define explicitly what decisions they will influence, when their input is genuinely open, and what is already constrained. False participation destroys engagement faster than silence.
Use engagement levels dynamically Don’t lock stakeholders into a static “keep satisfied / manage closely” box. Engagement should evolve by phase. Early ambiguity often requires more involvement. Later execution may require clarity and predictability instead.
Reduce cognitive load Engagement drops when stakeholders feel overwhelmed. Short, focused interactions with clear outcomes beat long meetings every time. One decision per interaction is a good rule of thumb.
Close the loop visibly If stakeholders give input, show explicitly what changed and what didn’t, and why. Nothing increases future engagement more than seeing past contributions taken seriously.
In short, stakeholder engagement plans work when they clarify trust, decision rights and perceived value. Communication supports engagement, but it never replaces it.
Hope this helps, and congrats again on your PMP. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
My recommendation: take a closer look to this methods, some of then you will find for free in the internet: Solution Selling (some times called SPIN Selling), LAMP and Power Base Selling. Second thing: to put this in terms of the PMI take into account that Business Analyst is the key role for doing that. So, take a look to business analysis documentation inside the PMI:
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Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
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