Six Strategies for Dealing with Difficult Stakeholders

  Career Development   Change Management   Leadership   Stakeholder Management  

Have you ever lost sleep because of a difficult stakeholder? Maybe it was a boss, peer, or someone on the other side of the business. Perhaps it was worry about having to deal with them in an upcoming meeting. Or ruminating about how they are an obstacle to progress on a project.

So much of our success leading and directing projects and change initiatives comes down to our ability to influence our project stakeholders. Experience teaches us that managing their expectations and building rapport with our key stakeholders can make an enormous difference in our ability to successfully deliver. But the truth is some of our stakeholders are difficult. And though you can unfriend people on social media, you can't unfriend a stakeholder--you have to learn how to deal with them.

In this session, Andy Kaufman shares six strategies for dealing with difficult stakeholders. There are no simple answers, but these are strategies that Andy has shared with clients around the world, and you're invited to see which ones you can put into place.

After all, you deserve a better night of sleep!

As a result of this session, participants will be able to:

• Describe more broadly what a stakeholder is and how managing their expectations is so critical to project success.

• Explain the difference between "keeping stakeholders informed" and "keeping them satisfied."

• Describe practical strategies to help deal with and influence difficult stakeholders.

Have you ever lost sleep because of a difficult stakeholder? Maybe it was a boss, peer, or someone on the other side of the business. Perhaps it was worry about having to deal with them in an upcoming meeting. Or ruminating about how they are an obstacle to progress on a project. So much of our success leading and directing projects and change initiatives comes down to our ability to influence our project stakeholders. Experience teaches us that managing their expectations and building rapport with our key stakeholders can make an enormous difference in our ability to successfully deliver. But the truth is some of our stakeholders are difficult. And though you can unfriend people on social media, you can't unfriend a stakeholder--you have to learn how to deal with them. In this session, Andy Kaufman shares six strategies for dealing with difficult stakeholders. There are no simple answers, but these are strategies that Andy has shared with clients around the world, and you're invited to see which ones you can put into place. After all, you deserve a better night of sleep!