Hi everybody!
Dr. White here!
The founder of the Business Analysis Doctor
When performing business analysis, monitoring stakeholder engagement is critical for the
success of the overall project or initiative.
When dealing with difficult stakeholders, or challenging situations it can be very frustrating,
and if not handled appropriately can lead to poor performance and low team morale.
A “difficult stakeholder” can mean many things to a business analyst in relation to
a situation.
Some of the potential challenges BAs may have with a stakeholder might be:
Poor engagement or missing meeting, Stakeholders being diverted to other commitments,
Conflict with other stakeholders, Poor collaboration,
Resistance to change or the solution, Delays in feedback or approval,
Or just failure to meet commitments
Here are 7 tips to deal with difficult stakeholders.
The first 2 tips are activities that should be done proactively, in order to prevent challenges
with stakeholders or reduce the tension when approaching difficult stakeholders.
Tip number 1 - Building relationships
As BAs, one of the most valuable skills that can impact your career is the ability to build
relationships.
It’s critical to build relationships with project stakeholders for every initiative
you are involved in, especially, the key stakeholders.
This should be done proactively but organically.
Building relationships may include, gaining trust, report and learning about the interests
and concerns of each stakeholder.
Not only will this improve the overall working relationship, but it will make approaching
problems or conflict much more effective.
Tip number 2 - Gaining Agreement on Commitments
Identifying and agreeing on the commitments and schedules of each active stakeholder,
should be done as early in the initiative as possible, in order to help level set on
the expectations of the group and the outcomes of their input.
There may need to be some negotiation involved in getting an agreement, however, if this
is done in advance, it can reduce the potential for poor stakeholder engagement.
Depending on the formality of the business analysis approach, these commitments may be
documented formally or informally.
Tip number 3 - Address the issue shortly after it is identified
A mature project team fosters open communication and feedback.
As business analysts, we should resolve issues that have been identified, not avoid them.
Avoiding conflict can fester tension and resentment amongst the team, which can lead to negative
consequences and induced negative interactions.
While it’s important to address problems quickly, you also do want to give yourself
some time to think about how and when you want to approach the situation, prior to confronting
the stakeholder.
For instance, some problems should be addressed in private versus in a project meeting, as
it could lead to the stakeholder feeling attacked and embarrassed.
Tip number 4 - Be objective
When dealing with difficult stakeholders from a BA perspective, being objective involves
removing personal feelings toward the stakeholder from the situation and focusing on the goal
of the initiative.
Sometimes, when stakeholders are being difficult or resistant, it can feel like a personal
attack against you.
Just remember that most of the time it has nothing to do with their personal feelings
towards you but more so with the circumstances of their current situation.
Now you need to focus on the goal of the initiative or the activity.
This is where gaining agreement on commitments will come in handy.
When stakeholder challenges arise, it’s often helpful to give the stakeholder a gentle
reminder of the commitment that was made and why it was made.
The stakeholder may not be fully aware of the impact of their behavior, so when approaching
the stakeholder, find a straightforward way to inform the stakeholder of how the team
or project is directly affected when they are not cooperative or fail to meet commitments.
When doing this be sure to have an assertive but respectful tone so that the stakeholder
does not feel as if they are being blamed or reprimanded.
Tip number 5 - Consider the stakeholder’s perspective
In most cases, difficult stakeholders are intentionally trying to cause problems.
It’s often helpful to try to get to understand the root cause of the stakeholder’s behavior
either prior to addressing the issue or while you are approaching him or her.
When confronting the stakeholders, let them know that you are concerned about them and
whether or not there is anything preventing them from meeting their commitments or whatever
the issue may be.
Another component of this technique is to cater your approach to the preferred communication
style of the stakeholder.
After working with individuals for a while you being to learn their preferred communication
style.
This is also something that a BA can elicit early in the project when developing a stakeholder
communication plan.
Building relationships can help make this activity more effective.
Tip number 6 - Collaborate
Once you’ve gotten some insight into some of the issues causing the challenges with
a particular stakeholder or group, offer your assistance to them to see if there is anything
you can do to help remove or address the roadblocks preventing them from meeting their commitments
to the business analysis work.
If you have established rapport with the stakeholders, they will be more receptive to collaborating
with you to meet their commitments.
It’s often possible to resolve stakeholder challenges with win-win solutions.
Tip number 7 - Know when to escalate
While business analysts are often seen as leaders in the sense that we enable change
and innovation, generally the role has little authority over other stakeholders.
When issues with difficult stakeholders arise, it’s generally a best practice to address
the situation early and directly with the stakeholder prior to escalating to others.
No one likes to feel as if they are being tattled on, however, if you as the business
analyst have exhausted all of your efforts and the stakeholder doesn’t show any improvement
in their behavior, the issue could pose a risk to the overall project which falls into
the responsibility of the project manager or team leader.
In some extreme cases, it may be necessary to get the sponsor involved to remedy the
situation but as long as you have addressed the situation to the best of your ability,
then you have done your part.
Well, those are your seven tips for dealing with difficult stakeholders.
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And also, if you're looking for business analysis certification training, be sure to visit our
website at thebadoc.com/courses.
Until next time bye now