Communication and Stakeholder Management
Influence is engineered
The domain tests whether you can identify who matters, what they need, when, in what form, and what you will do when they resist. Communication is designed, not improvised.
Concepts to hold
- Stakeholder analysis. Map influence against interest. High influence and high interest: manage closely. High influence, low interest: keep satisfied with concise, decision-focused updates. Low influence, high interest: keep informed; they often surface operational detail. Low and low: monitor.
- Engagement level. Current versus required engagement (unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive, leading). The gap defines the action, not the sentiment.
- Communication plan. Audience, message, channel, frequency, format, sender, feedback mechanism. A plan without a feedback loop is broadcasting.
- Tailoring. Executives want decision, impact and risk; operators want sequence, exceptions and support. The same facts, differently shaped.
- Escalation. A defined path with thresholds - escalate on impact or authority limits, not on discomfort. Escalation is a service to the decision-maker.
- Resistance. Treat as information: it usually signals an unaddressed interest, a credibility gap, or a real design flaw.
Traps
Assuming more communication is always better - volume without relevance erodes attention. Treating the sponsor as the only audience. Confusing agreement in a meeting with commitment to act.
Rule of thumb: three questions per message
Who must act on this? What do they need to decide or do? By when? If a message cannot answer all three, it is an update, not a communication.
Worked illustration
A department head with high influence and low interest in detail receives a one-page monthly summary: status, top risk, decision required. The operational supervisor with high interest receives weekly working notes. Same facts, two channels, both planned.