Stakeholders are built into every organization. These are typically those who are concerned, involved, or who will be affected by your goals or projects. While their intentions are good, often they can be viewed as a roadblock to progress.

That’s why it’s so important to understand the stakeholder analysis process and make sure your goals will receive support. A stakeholder analysis allows you to map out and establish the level of communication needed with your stakeholders relative to their influence and interest in your goals or project. Such analysis will prime you for the advocacy you need or prepare you for the opposition you anticipate.

Stakeholder Analysis can help you in three key ways –

#1 Enlist the Help of Key People

By approaching key people for help early in your project, you can leverage the knowledge and wisdom of they have to help guide the project to a successful outcome. Identifying and enlisting these players through stakeholder analysis early on will also increase the chances you will earn their support for your project.

#2 Gain Early Alignment on Goals and Plans

Because stakeholder analysis will help you determine which people to involve in the project, you will be able to bring these people together to communicate the project’s strategic objectives and plans. A stakeholder analysis will help ensure everyone starts the project with a clear understanding of what success will look like and how they can contribute to that successful outcome.

#3 Address Conflicts or Issues Early

Without a stakeholder analysis, you and your team could be well into a project before you realize a key person in your organization does not see the value of your initiative. Such a person might actively work to thwart or derail your project. With stakeholder analysis, you would have likely identified this executive as potentially important to your project’s success.

HOW TO PERFORM A STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS

1. Identify your stakeholders. List all of the people who are affected by your work or who have a vested interest in its success or failure.

2. Prioritize your stakeholders. Assessing each stakeholders’ level of influence (power) and level of interest.The position that you allocate to a stakeholder on the grid shows you the actions you need to take with them.

3. Understand your key stakeholders. Ask questions about your stakeholders so you can form a definite plan on how to engage them. Some questions might be – What motivates this stakeholder? What other priorities do they have, and how can we align our project with those priorities? Will this stakeholder have a positive view of our project? If not, what can we do about it?

Here’s how your Stakeholder Analysis Table might look like –

Projects require participation, guidance, and approval from a wide range of people within the organization. If they don’t understand or agree with your objectives or plans, any of them can become obstacles to your success.

However, if you enlist the help and approval of these stakeholders early on, you can turn many of them into supporters of your initiatives. This is why it is a smart strategy to conduct a stakeholder analysis before launching any project.