The Communicator


	Capturing Stakeholder Support for Your Projects By Dawn M. Timbario

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Having a problem getting buy-in from your project stakeholders? Feeling caught in the middle of an organizational tug-of-war? It's easy for project managers to find themselves at the center of corporate skirmishes. That's the nature of the job. However, there are ways to manage these tensions and still achieve project success.

Because project managers have no direct authority over their team members or stakeholders, they must lead through influence. Developing and using this influence is the key to motivating others and capturing stakeholder approval. While it may sound easy, it's not. Influence needs to be cultivated and nurtured. Without healthy doses of credibility, reciprocity and persuasion, you run the risk of compromising your ability to achieve the desired outcome.

For tips on building an influence base and gaining stakeholder support, read on.

Step #1: Specify the Project Outcome

Establish a goal to work towards and keep this in the forefront of your mind. Once you identify what you are trying to achieve, it becomes easier to develop a roadmap for how to get there. Also, assign meaning to this goal. Ask yourself, why is this outcome important? Describing the importance of the project will help motivate those people working on the team. In addition, sharing this information with stakeholders will get them thinking of the project in terms of the end result. The focus will be less on "the process" and more on "the reward."

Step #2: Create a Stakeholder Map

Now that the outcome of the project, and its importance, have been identified, it's time to reveal this information to those who have a stake in its success. Who does have a stake in the project? The client and the end user, certainly. Yet, there are several other people, or groups of people, who also have a vested interest in the project. A stakeholder map will enable you to identify these individuals.

Typical project stakeholders are: the project team, top management, the client, the accountant. It's also important to consider "who are the stakeholders' stakeholders?" These once-removed stakeholders would be: the project manager's manager, the team members' managers, corporate management, auditors, internal and external consultants, etc. Now that your stakeholders have been identified, you may want to give them the Quick Influence Test to determine their power over the project.

Step #3: Determine Your Power with Each Stakeholder Group

Project managers are able to exercise three types of power - authority, influence and appreciation. Project managers have authority over the project. This is their primary area of control. Influence is what project managers must exhibit in order to gain buy-in from the team and certain stakeholders. It's all about getting others to want to act on your behalf. Often, if people see how supporting you is in their best interest, they will succumb to your requests. This is commonly referred to as the "What's in it for me?" principle, or WIIFM (pronounced wif·em).

Appreciation is the third type of power. It can be a very difficult pill to swallow. That is to say, appreciation is an area where project managers have no control. Their hands are tied because the forces within this arena are much bigger than the project manager. You can compare "appreciation" to Mother Nature. When she deals humanity a blow - earthquakes, floods, hurricanes - it's beyond anyone's power to improve the situation. As a project manager, you can only attempt to prepare for these setbacks, as you have no control or influence over them.

Step #4: Analyze All Stakeholder Groups/Develop a Strategy

Do your stakeholders support or oppose your ideas concerning project processes and outcomes? Think about how the project would serve their own professional interests. If necessary, capture support through WIIFM. Supportive stakeholders often serve as cheerleaders for the project. They collaborate with and/or empower the team. Those stakeholders that oppose the project may need to have the benefits of the endeavor "repositioned and reframed" to them. Perhaps there's room for negotiation and persuasion.

Strong, unyielding opposition to your project should prompt you to question your personal influence status. Are you doing the right things to develop and exert your influence most effectively? Take this quick Personal Influence Audit to determine your strengths and weaknesses. You may also use this exercise to build an effective self-improvement plan.

Step #5: Implement the Stakeholder Strategy

Once you survey the environment for supporters and opposers of the project, it's time to implement your strategy for capturing stakeholder support. Focus on the outcome. Use the three methods of influence - credibility, reciprocity and persuasion - to further your cause. At times, you will find yourself butting up against a brick wall where scrapping the project seems to be the only possible solution. Before doing so, offer to share your power with stakeholders. By giving them some control over the project's decisions, you may gain their support; however, above all, remember that some things are within your control, some can be influenced, and others simply need to be appreciated.

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Credibility
Involves generating goodwill toward yourself and your ideas by demonstrating integrity, expertise and competence. It's being able to use that credibility at a later date to help you get what you want accomplished.

Reciprocity
Involves understanding your own power and interests, understanding your stakeholder's power, goals, desires, interests, and functional outlook. It also hinges upon building your own personal bank account of favors, and creating situations that enable you to offer something of value to appropriate stakeholders to obtain their commitment to your effort.

Persuasion
Involves doing your homework to fully understand the issues and audience, and once learned, tying the communication to organizational values, vision and strategies. Persuasion also centers upon crafting a message that resonates with the audience in a way that tactfully emphasizes your credibility, and using certain techniques to improve the effectiveness of your communication.

Quick Influence Test

Identify Stakeholders:	Who are the people involved with this decision or initiative?
Do Any Have Control?	Do any of the stakeholders have significant control over the outcome? If the answer is "yes," determine if they support you. If the answer is "no," analyze the balance of power.
Do They Support You?	If the majority support you, say "yes," (unless one of the people who doesn't support you happens to be the CEO). If the majority do not support you, say "no."
Take Action:	No influence necessary to get what you want.
Worth the Effort?	Is the initiative worth the risks involved in planning an influence strategy? Weigh the value of the initiative to the organization. If the answer is "yes," continue with influence planning, if "no," consider giving up.
Analyze Balance of Power:	If none of the stakeholders have control, determine who supports you and who doesn't. If the majority support you, take action, if not proceed with the steps outlined above.

Authority
The ability to produce a preferred outcome alone, rather than a different outcome based upon someone else's desires. You get what you want because you have control over the situation.

Influence
The co-production of a preferred outcome. The ability to sway others to see things your way or produce the desired outcome.

Appreciation
The capacity to be aware of, understand and value the production of an outcome over which you have neither control nor influence. Appreciation may lead to influence over time.

Personal Influence Audit

Credibility	Do my peers, direct reports, and bosses approach me for information, technical expertise or advice?	Yes	No
	When I give advice, do others follow it?	Yes	No
	Do I keep current of the latest trends within my industry and within my organization by reading relevant journals and networking with co-workers?	Yes	No
	Do I have a clear vision for the future of my department as well as my organization and do I communicate that vision?	Yes	No
	Do I follow up on promises or commitments that I make?	Yes	No
Reciprocity	Do I pay attention to what is valuable to my peers, direct reports and managers?	Yes	No
	Do I provide valuable resources to others whenever possible?	Yes	No
	Do I share important information freely with others?	Yes	No
	Do I provide positive reinforcement for a job well done?	Yes	No
	Do I generate goodwill by performing unsolicited good deeds for others?
Persuasion	Do I know my audience? Do I know who supports or opposes me, and who is neutral, undecided, or uninformed?	Yes	No
	Do I plan my persuasion strategy in response to my audience analysis?	Yes	No
	Do I do my homework? Do I know the facts before presenting my argument?	Yes	No
	Do I articulate the organizational vision when making a persuasive argument to others at work?	Yes	No
	Do I use persuasion techniques to make my pitch stronger?	Yes	No

Scoring Your Personal Influence Audit

You should have answered "yes" for every question. However, if you answered four of the five questions in each section correctly, you are on the right track.

Together with the feedback you received from the Multi-rater (360) feedback instrument, use this audit to create a self-improvement plan focusing on those areas where you are weakest.

You should periodically review these questions to make sure that you are doing the right things to develop and use your influence most effectively. Put your first review on your calendar for one month from now.

About the Author
Dawn M. Timbario is the Project Management Product Manager for Strategic Management Group, Inc. (SMG). Dawn.Timbario@smginc.com