Stakeholder Analysis Getting a better understanding of your stakeholders Any transformation or change effort includes managing stakeholder expectations for involvement, communication and decision-making. In this case, we broadly define “stakeholders” as anyone that must participate for the change effort to succeed – that includes leaders, the project team, people that are impacted by the change and the larger organization. Taking this broader definition helps you see the whole ecosystem and what each group/role needs to participate. Why is this important? Losing sight of your stakeholder’s perspective can result in unwanted surprises. You risk alienating people that are important to the change which can spread in a negative way to the larger organization. Where did this come from? We created this process once we understood the power of applying empathy in a deliberate way as part of a change project. A Stakeholder Analysis can help you influence stakeholders to support the change and understand what it takes to do that well.

The Larger Process A Stakeholder Analysis is part of a larger process intended to focus on the people that have the most influence on the outcome of a project. By paying attention to these important stakeholders you’ll have a better understanding of how to best engage and involve them. 1 2 3 4 Decide what subset of stakeholders to focus on Identify the stakeholders that are influential among the people that are impacted by the change. Think about both formal and informal leaders that others often look to for reaction before they themselves take action. These are likely the people to pay close attention to. Lead a stakeholder analysis conversation It’s often useful to involve project leaders or project team members in the analysis conversation. You could also decide to involve only 2-3 people. The people you select to participate are the folks on the team that will work together to manage stakeholder expectations. Identify the actions needed based on the analysis Once you’ve had the analysis conversation, now is the time to sit back and look at what the analysis is telling you. Where are your biggest stakeholder support risks? What steps can you take easily to appropriately involve stakeholders? Where is it worth putting some additional focus? Periodically revisit the analysis to see what has changed Over time things will change – stakeholder support will change, stakeholder influence will change, some stakeholders will leave and some new stakeholders will join. By periodically conducting this analysis you’ll make better informed decisions and reduce unwanted surprises.

The Stakeholder Analysis Questions These are the questions answered in a Stakeholder Analysis conversation. To conduct the conversation, we recommend using an Excel spreadsheet that everyone can see – whether everyone is physically in the room together or participating virtually – to document what’s said. We’ve also used stickie notes and whiteboards to capture thoughts from the analysis conversation participants. The point is to document what’s captured so the group can look at it again in the future. The most important thing to do is to make sure everyone agrees on the wording captured. That’s not because the wording itself will be used in other ways (like messaging) but because by agreeing the group internalizes the characterization of each stakeholder’s perspective. Stakeholder Name What’s the stakeholder’s role? What’s unique about their role? What’s their interest in the change? What would they say about the change today? What would you like them to say about the change? What would they do ideally to support the change? What would most help them support the change?

4 3 2 1 One last point The point of this exercise is to identify useful insights into your stakeholders’ points of view – and then deciding if it’s wise to take an action of some sort to grow their support. Don’t expect to get it right all of the time because you are not them. By attempting to put yourself in their shoes you begin to understand why they think and feel the way they do, which, of course, goes a long way toward building good relationships with your stakeholders.

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