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Six principles for building trusting stakeholder relationships

28/9/2020

15 Comments

 
A successful project manager and leader is so much more than someone who is capable of producing a plan and track its activities. To be a leader, you must keep an eye on the vision, be able to navigate the unknown and focus on people as much as you focus on tasks. 
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Your ability to build trusting and lasting relationships with your stakeholders is one of the key ingredients to becoming a successful project manager and leader. Read through the six principles below and ask yourself how you score on a scale from 1 to 10.

1. Seek first to understand before being understood
When you invest time in really understanding your stakeholders, the dynamics of the conversations and your relationships change. People become more open, receptive and more interested in what you may have to say when you actively engage and comprehend their situation. If you don’t listen properly, misunderstandings will invariably creep in and the quality of your relationships will weaken. Make every effort to really engage and understand the other person’s position. Make eye contact and ask into their feelings and opinions. Only when you fully understand their position should you speak up about your own topic and agenda.
 
2. Have empathy and think in win/win solutions
Empathy means being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel. View situations and responses from your stakeholder’s perspective and be committed to always finding solutions that will truly benefit all parties. The win-win idea is not based on compromise or on one of the parties giving up their position and need. It is rooted in the belief that synergies and mutual benefit can be drawn from every situation.

3. Set a good example as a project manager and leader
The quickest way to lose the respect of your stakeholders is to be a careless and unstructured project manager. On the contrary, your stakeholders will respect you for being an effective person who keeps taps on risks, issues, decisions and actions – including their own! Keep track of key decisions and hold stakeholders accountable for the activities they take on. Always turn up to meetings prepared and have the necessary information ready at hand.

4. Be honest and open about project progress 
Believe in yourself and be honest and open enough to say things the way they are. Never over-promise or feel pressurised to saying yes to unreasonable demands. Have the confidence and courage to talk openly about project issues and to ask for help when required. Your stakeholders will respect you for being honest and appreciate being given the chance to help out before the situation aggravates. You will score points for being realistic and for having your project’s interests at heart. Painting the picture rosier than it is helps no one.

5. Be proactive and take responsibility for your actions
Gain respect and admiration from your stakeholders by proactively resolving risks and issues in a resourceful way. When we are proactive we look for durable solutions and we take full responsibility for the consequences of our actions. We face the world with a can-do attitude and a mindset that we have the ability to change a situation for the better. You may have no control over what hits your project, but you do have control over how you respond.

6. Maintain a positive mental attitude 
Do your best to maintain a positive mental attitude. Be cheerful, friendly and smile. The positive energy you radiate will draw others to you and give your stakeholders the impression that you are in your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid to be funny or clever as most people are drawn to a person that can make them laugh. Use your sense of humour as an effective tool to lower barriers and gain people’s affection. Having said that, remember to always be respectful when you use humour. 

Questions for reflection
  • How can you become a better listener and build better relationships?
  • What can you do to be more proactive and more positive?
  • In which situations to you need to get better at asking for help?

If you liked this post, you may also like:
How good is your ability to build trust?
Top Tips for Providing Effective Feedback
Project Leaders have a positive and empowering mindset

How to create a strong team identity during kick-off

15 Comments
Steve H. link
11/4/2011 04:51:00

Excellent article. You are right on target with these points. I find injecting humor into your relationships to be very engaging.

Reply
Himanshu Bansal link
28/7/2011 16:17:46

I surely agree to your point. You need to listen first and then talk, you need to consider other's point of view to devise a solution and you need to raise red flag when required. All of that needs to be done using right tools and by maintaining the right environment i.e. keep the atmosphere light by laughter. It's a nice article.

Reply
Paul Slater link
5/12/2011 13:04:39

Susanne,

A great article and I like the idea of self-scoring - I wonder just how many do this at times?

The one thing I find though is that people are often comfortable with the stakeholders they are used to dealing with but unconsciously (or maybe deliberately!) avoid identifying and engaging with stakeholders who they aren't used to dealing with or who they perhaps know might cause difficulties.

Paul

Reply
Madison Search Engine Optimization link
4/10/2012 22:46:54

Just reading up on some of this lately, was interesting.

Reply
for details link
12/6/2013 06:19:07

The six main principles for building trust and to maintain a good relationship with the people who hold the stakes is the key of success of a project manager. This article has helped me lot in molding my career as a project manager, thanks for this information’s.

Reply
Susanne Madsen link
12/6/2013 06:42:15

Thank you for your comments! I'm pleased you found the blog to be of use. Please remember not just to read it, but also to put it into practice :-)

Susanne

Reply
Jennie
28/8/2018 00:59:02

Thank you so much. I have been asked to "Proactively invest in enhancing relationships with our stakeholders." While I want to support this, I had no idea, what it actually required me to do. Your article has helped me understand that there are specific things I can work toward developing to be able to meet this goal. Thank you!

Reply
Susanne Madsen link
28/8/2018 07:03:53

Hi Jennie,

How lovely that the article helped you. There are many other articles and resources on my website that talk about relationships, stakeholders and trust-building.

Warm regards,
Susanne

Reply
soni link
29/10/2020 12:19:21

This probably the best, and the most fantastic post i have ever seen, can't wait to dig deep inside your other blogs.

Reply
Jeremy Hara link
21/9/2021 08:01:54

What an exquisite article! Your post is very helpful right now. Thank you for sharing this informative one.

Reply
roanak faiz link
2/11/2021 13:11:50

i like the idea, a great article, you right on target this point

Reply
Michelle link
2/12/2021 19:55:34

Great Article! Thank you for sharing this is very informative post, and looking forward to the latest one.

Reply
Michael link
29/12/2021 14:37:23

Excellent article! Your post is essential today. Thanks for sharing, by the way

Reply
chandni
11/5/2022 09:05:17

i like the idea

Reply
Customer Management Relationship link
23/6/2022 20:14:11

Really nice article. vey helpfull and informative thank you

Reply

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    Susanne is a project leadership coach and the author of The Power of Project Leadership (now in 2nd edition). Read more..

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