The Importance of Stakeholder Management

Posted by Jonesy on July 20, 2015 in Project/ Program/ Portfolio Management | Leave a comment

“If a project is successful and no one knows about it, is it really successful?” -Erin M. Jones

This is a cautionary tale about stakeholder management. Specifically, about how I led a successful project that was not viewed that way because I failed to properly define and engage my stakeholders.

A few years ago…

I was asked to lead a project to deliver files through our media supply chain from receipt through playout to the air channel. This initiative had been attempted several times over the course of the previous decade, each time falling short for different reasons.

I have had plenty of experience managing complex technology projects in the supply chain space, but none that faced the challenges presented in this particular project.

1. The technology in this space was advancing so rapidly that by the time the solution was designed, there were new products on the market that could solve the problem.
2. The change management around this initiative would impact the roles and responsibilities for departments across the company.
3. As a result of #1 and #2, there were politics at play. Although the project was sponsored by my department VP, there were several other executives who would be responsible and accountable for the design and implementation of the solution. They each had their own ideas about how to solve this high profile challenge.

We did it! 

We achieved what no other team had been able to do – we successfully automated a file from receipt through edit through playout to air. We had an amazing team with the right architects, developers, and engineers on the project team who were collectively the key to the design and implementation of the solution. I kept the team focused on delivery and ahead of schedule for our defined milestones. I mobilized resources and leveraged team leads to define detailed test plans. I led the team to outline activities and transitions between teams.  I held regular project team meetings and updated leadership to keep the teams engaged and informed.

This was such a big deal for the company. And yet all of our hard work went unnoticed. I didn’t expect a ticker tape parade, but the mixed response to the team’s accomplishment was confirmation that I missed key components of project delivery that ultimately undermined how successful this project would be perceived across the company.

The Missteps

1.) I did not identify and properly engage all of the stakeholders.

Admittedly, when I look across most of the challenges in my projects, it is usually related to missing a stakeholder or not clarifying their role and engaging them appropriately.

I should have spotted my stakeholder engagement issue in our first couple of meetings. Our kickoff – during which we presented the goals and the proposed solution – was met with chaos. The follow up meeting was a mutiny. Although the concept was very simple and everyone was on board that the effort was important and had to be done, the team was not on board with the proposed solution. They and their leadership had a lack of clarity in the mission and the technical solution.

I did not define the roles that leadership would need or want to play in the mission, goals, and implementation of this project. If you recall Challenge #3, these leaders would be accountable for operationalizing this solution. I took all direction from my divisional leader, who was sponsoring the project. In retrospect, I should have identified other leaders and defined their role in determining the solution and understood their communication requirements to ensure the project had the correct level of support across the company.

2.) I failed to manage the Project Sponsor’s expectations.

Oh yeah, this is a big one. If there is ever a reminder to think broadly and strategically while also keeping a team focused on delivery – this is it! I had open channels and an opportunity to clarify his expectations, and instead, I operated off of (what I later found out were incorrect) assumptions.

The Project Sponsor made his goal clear – delivery in production by Q3. I was so focused on the Project Team’s engagement and believed that by presenting a challenge to have them solve in the form of a mission and project goals, and allowing them to build their own schedule and milestones, that they would hold more accountability in the project delivery. I still believe this is a key tool to successful project delivery and would not change this part of the approach.

The team deployed the solution in production by Q3 in a pilot that delivered a low-risk program on a specific network. I watched the program on TV while I worked out in our company’s gym. No glitches. No issues. Absolute perfection!

I sent out an email to the team and leadership, congratulating the team on delivering a complex, cross-functional solution that would transform the way the company does business. I noted that there was more work to do, but that I wanted to pause to celebrate this achievement.

I followed up with the Project Sponsor and he commended the team’s accomplishments. He fully appreciated the technical and organizational complexity of the solution.

However…

He also expressed disappointment that the solution was not fully operational in production. He expected that we would be in more of a Launch phase, as opposed to the Pilot with ongoing validation in progress.

Boy did I miss the mark! Had I known that the Project Sponsor’s expectation of “in production” meant fully tested operational, I could have communicated that to the project team. Alternatively, I could have managed the Project Sponsor’s expectations for what could be delivered by Q3 and what it would take to fully deliver on his expectations.

But here I was – leading a team with a major W in our column – and the Project Sponsor did not see it that way. Like the tree that fell in the forest, no one knew about it. There was no one to champion the team’s accomplishments. Our project had succeeded in ways that no other had… and no one knew about it…

Now what…

The team continued with ongoing validation and has since delivered over 100 programs through this solution. Hooray!

What do I do differently? I am acutely aware of stakeholder identification and engagement as well as managing expectations to try to avoid the mistakes of the past. I make sure to identify all impacted stakeholders and I am more vocal in confirming expectations. I develop RACI’s and communication plans to make sure I have appropriately engaged with stakeholders.

Tools: Here’s an example of the Stakeholder Analysis and Communication Plan that I have used to help keep stakeholders engaged: Stakeholder Template. Enjoy!

Feedback

I am interested in hearing more from you! Do you have any additional recommendations? Has this ever happened to you? What were your pitfalls? Please share in the comments below or email me at leadanddeliver@gmail.com or comment below.