by Pat Gray

Created on: December 13, 2011   Last Updated: January 27, 2012

Unfortunately, almost every project will have at least one awkward stakeholder, and managing and engaging that stakeholder can be a full time job. If you're faced with the challenge of engaging an awkward project sponsor, team member or member of upper management, here are several strategies that will help:

1) Listen and understand

The first step to engaging and managing an awkward stakeholder is listening to their concerns and understanding their point of view. When you know where they're coming from and what they need - or what they think they need - you'll be better able to get their full and useful participation in the project.

2) Rules, boundaries and limitations

Establishing some clear and well documented rules for the project, including what's expected of the project stakeholders can go a long way to ensuring all the project participants are engaged and involved. As these rules have been agreed to in writing at the start of the project, there should be no debate when you gently remind the problem stakeholder(s) of their responsibilities.

3) Recruit allies

While every project has problem stakeholders, fortunately, the majority of project participants are compliant, helpful, engaged and more interested in the project's success than it's failure. Chances are, at least one of your supportive stakeholders will be willing help you engage the problematic stakeholder.

4) Improve lines of communication

In many cases, awkward stakeholders are being awkward because they feel left out. Improving communication, even if it seems excessive to you and the other stakeholders, may help them to relax enough to participate in the project.

5) Keep them busy

Idle hands (and minds) are the devil's playground, and keeping your problem stakeholder busy will allow them to feel involved and useful, and may keep them out of trouble too. Getting a stakeholder more involved in the actual project work has the added benefit of letting them experience what real project work is like, which in turn may make them more sympathetic to the problems of a project manager and project team.

6) Cut 'em from the herd

For a really awkward stakeholder who is resistant to other tactics, isolating them from the project and other project participants - in a politically correct way, of course - may be the only solution to engaging them without disrupting the rest of the project. This may not be possible with the project sponsor or your manager, but can be very useful with a team member who's good at doing, but who has no people skills.

7) Expand your skill set

For any project manager, managing your stakeholders, is as important as managing the project itself. If you haven't worked on your people skills, remember that being a diplomat, politician, mediator, referee - and occasionally a benevolent dictator - are all a part of being a project manager. The ability to slip into any and all of these roles will make it much easier to deal with awkward stakeholders.

Dealing with awkward stakeholders is just part of a day's work for project managers, and although it isn't generally our favorite part of the job, remember that turning around a difficult project participant can be as rewarding as completing a difficult project.

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