The Stakeholder Dance vs Real Progress

All progress is not created equal.

Some progress looks great on paper or impresses your stakeholders. Other stuff actually gets your project done.

The sad part? Sometimes they’re not the same.

In theory, this is a simple problem. All you have to do is tell your stakeholders that they’re wrong and that they should trust the process instead of micromanaging you.

But then you wake up from theoretical project dreamland to an inbox full of angry stakeholders.

Now what? You’ll have to choose between moving the project forward and performing the stakeholder dance.

Crazy, but true.

Let’s unpack this tricky issue and see what other options you have.

Why are they disconnected?

Let me start by saying you’re not alone. I see this all the time with clients.

It’s like a racing car: wheelspin and smoke look cool, but pros know that this means you’re lacking traction.

So you’re losing while the crowd cheers.

Funny how that works.

Before we can manage the issue, we need to know where it comes from. All projects are different and context matters. But I see 3 common themes:

1. They don’t know what they want

During the initial phase of your project, your stakeholders gave input on what they were after. The problem to be solved, or the opportunity to capture.

Those initial ideas slowly matured into a project plan with a scope and deliverables. Right..?

I’ve seen time and again that stakeholders can’t articulate what they want, but are oh so keen to tell you what doesn’t look like progress. If you don’t have an agreed definition of done, you’ll never agree on what progress looks like.

And if you don’t agree on what progress is, you’re left showing people what they want to see instead of getting stuff done.

2. Mismatch in expectations

Managing expectations is half your job done. If stakeholders expect something different than what you expect to give them, you have an issue.

Expectations can mean almost anything:

• Intermediate deliverables

• What progress looks like

• Where they are involved

• How you communicate

It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to see that if any of those expectations are different between you and your stakeholders, no amount of true progress will impress them.

Address that before resorting to performing the dance they expect to see.

3. Lack of trust

This is both the most common one and the hardest one to fix. If stakeholders trust you and your team to deliver, why would they even bother asking questions about progress?

Sounds simple, but it’s far from easy. You can build trust step by step, and lose it in seconds. Read more in this previous issue about building trust.

If there is trust with some stakeholders but not with others, you’ve got a game of chess on your hands. Individual stakeholder management is hard but worth it in some cases. Want more? Check out this previous stakeholder management deep dive.

Don’t fall for it, most of the time

Project management is managing expectations. That often means that you’ll have to educate stakeholders on what to expect and what progress looks like.

Because in the end, impressing them with real progress is possible.

They “just” have to see it the right way. And once you set those expectations and you meet (or better yet, exceed) them - you’ll have happy stakeholders that value true progress, not a stage performance.

That doesn’t mean that you’ll sometimes have to do something that feels unnecessary. That’s just the harsh reality of the job. Sometimes it’s a battle worth picking, other times it’s not.

If it feels like it’s happening too frequently or it’s bothering you and/or the team, you need to address it.

For current projects, you now have 3 different angles to explore. If that doesn’t cut it, have a conversation about it with your sponsor or manager. That’s what they are there for.

For future projects, you have some education to do. What’s realistic, how will you communicate, when are stakeholders consulted vs informed - just to name a few.

Part of the educating is getting your foot in the door early enough, and that’s a potential future topic. The stories of projects where something is impossible before it even starts are all too common.

I’m curious if this is a topic worth digging into, or if this is mostly relevant for large corporations. Help me out with the poll below, or shoot me a reply

Wrapping it up

If you find yourself separating true progress from stage performance to please stakeholders, hit pause.

Why is this happening, and is it an issue worth solving? I bet 90% of cases will fall into one of the above categories.

Don’t automatically choose the path of least resistance. Finding the cause and resolving it will give your team a lot of breathing room, and it’s a great opportunity for you to manage up.

If you have similar experiences or questions like these, hit reply and tell me more! I love talking to readers like you and hearing about real-world challenges. I read everything myself, and you’ll always get an answer.

Speaking of real-world challenges… I’m tired of project management material built for large corporations that only “works” in theory.

With all the book-smart stuff in the world, 70% of projects still fail. This newsletter started as an experiment to do something about this. Sharing what works in the real world, after spending more than a decade in the PM trenches.

And now we’re taking that to a new level. I’m building a project management course, and I’d love to share more with you. Sign up for the waitlist today and you’ll have a chance to contribute to the content, secure some bonuses for early adopters, or even win the course for free.

I’m drawing a new name out of the hat on Friday. Register your interest here and maybe you’ll get lucky like Trish, who won last week!

Cheers,
Jasper