Managing Difficult Stakeholders

You’ve all had them . .  stakeholders that for one reason or another are difficult to satisfy / manage.  They can make project work difficult, unsatisfying and even dangerous.  I’ve seen them complicate, slow and even derail perfectly healthy projects.  They are the bane of project leaders and seem to be ever present.  Avoiding them is NOT an option; so let’s consider how to improve our ability to manage the difficult stakeholder.

Why So Difficult?  What makes a stakeholder “difficult”?  We’ll address the three most common reasons; 1) They don’t Understand, 2) They don’t Agree With, or 3) They don’t Value / Support  the project.  All three of these reasons lead to pain, and most avoid the pain associated with change by avoiding or confronting the change.  As a change agent, the project leader usually is at the “point” of or driving change initiatives and thus must effectively deal with the resulting resistance.  So having a handful of tactics may be helpful.  Ready?

Understand:  Paramount among reasons for “difficult” stakeholders is fear resulting from lack of or misunderstanding about projects.  It is not uncommon to have stakeholders become resistant when their “comfort zones” are invaded by the ripple effect resulting from your project.  Frequently this happens late in the project as a result of poor stakeholder identification at the beginning of the project or ineffective communication throughout the project.  This will result in delay and potential scope creep, creating huge problems for the unsuspecting project leader.  Communication is the solution to this problem, and preemptive is always better than reactive.   You need to first understand the stakeholder’s perspective and then provide information to alleviate the underlying fear or pain.  This frequently requires creativity, so allow your core team to assist.

Agree With:  We all have beliefs about the way things should be (paradigms) and it is not uncommon to have those beliefs clash.  This accounts for much of the tension with which project leaders must deal.  We are normally threatened when someone disagrees with our view of things, and our first reaction is usually to “dig in” and defend our view or belief.  When we undertake this tactic it only serves to solidify the opposing view and intensify the difference.  Negotiation and Idea Generation are the solutions to this problem.  When project leaders learn to view disagreements as opportunities for creativity and use the energy that normally accompanies such differences to generate alternative ideas / paths / solutions or negotiate trade offs they cease to exacerbate differences and begin to construct bridges to resolution.

Value / Support:  Each of us has values / priorities (personal or work imposed) that address the question “what’s in it for me?”.  Things that we value highly get our attention and effort, and things that don’t, don’t.  Imposing my values or priorities on others does not win their support nor garner much of their energy.  With everything that is going on in busy organizations today, many things don’t earn my interest or attention until they impact me personally (until I am within the ripple or begin to feel the pain).  The solution to this type of difficult stakeholder is education.  They must be convinced of the benefit to themselves to recognize value and behave in supportive ways.  The wise project leader ascertains stakeholder values / priorities as part of their situation analysis at the beginning of the project and uses that information to anticipate potential problems and “educate them away” early in the project.  But even when they spring up during the project, education about benefits is the solution.

Resolving Conflict

Based on your input during the last poll, Resolving Conflict is the topic I'll address in this update. 

Projects are about creating something new.  That requires creativity and innovation.  Most creativity derives from forcing conflicting or opposing ideas together into a new idea, concept, product or service.  It is key to remember that CONFLICT is NOT your ENEMY; unresolved conflict is.  So let’s consider strategies to resolve / manage conflict, and let's begin by recognizing that RESOLVING conflict does NOT mean that one wins at the expense of another.  Most resolution results from the creation of NEW ideas / methods / strategies with which differing parties can align.
 

The Need for Conflict:  In project work we are responding to change.  Solutions that once worked, no longer satisfy needs, so we must depart from what is known.  Rules that previously predicted no longer apply.  Risk is required.  New ideas / perspectives are necessary.  We enter a phase where everything should be challenged and nothing should be assumed.  Some level of conflict with existing processes, policies, standards, etc. is not only desirable but necessary.  However, most of us have worked in the more predictable hierarchal organization and risk and unpredictability in that environment are undesirable and extremely uncomfortable.  Challenging ideas / assumptions that belong to others or are well established is not acceptable behavior in the ongoing operations portion of any organization.  Thus it is important to recognize that your first challenge is to make conflict acceptable and as risk-free as possible for each of your core team members.

 

Managing Conflict:  Frequently perceived to be the enemy, our first instincts are usually to quell conflict and the associated discomfort.  Core team members and stakeholders alike dislike it.  To manage conflict we recommend the following 8-Step process:

1. Recognize it as necessary – ensure all team members recognize its importance to creativity and innovation
2. Point it out when invisible – many times conflict is allowed to boil under the surface.  When you see it, point it out and make it OK
3. Keep it in the open – conflict likes to go underground.  Don’t allow this.  Make it a healthy part of each core team meeting
4. Generate options / alternatives – brainstorm new options that consolidate opposing views / opinions / ideas
5. Hold critique / analysis until generation is complete – Remember, Prescription before Diagnosis is Malpractice!
6. Identify / List assumptions – challenging assumptions rather than positions allows barriers to stay down and consensus to be achieved / maintained
7. Consider consequences – once option generation is complete, then consider consequences of each option.  Challenge assumptions again!
8. Check for consensus – once viable options have been listed, check for consensus.  Consensus exists when everyone on the team agrees that:
• Their ideas / opinions have been HEARD,
• Their ideas / opinions have been CONSIDERED, and
• Everyone agrees to SUPPORT the selected option. 

Leveraging Conflict:  Encouraging / creating conflict early in the creative phases (Initiation and Planning Phases of the project) will do much to establish a healthy project environment.  Conflict is a necessary element of team formation (Storming Phase) and the absence of it will retard team development.  The project leader can do much to encourage healthy conflict by selecting team members with diverse interpersonal styles and perspectives.