Key Players are stakeholders who have a high influence on your project and a high interest in the project's success or failure. stakeholdermap.com

These stakeholders are integral to the success of the project so it is essential that you identify them early, understand their motivations and develop an engagement strategy to ensure that their requirements are captured and their needs met.

How to recognise stakeholders who are Key Players

Key Players will be influential people for example: senior staff who will direct the project or experts whose knowledge will be essential for the delivery of the project.

Anyone who is has the power to decide on the project budget should be in this category along with those who could stop the project or divert project resources.
Stakeholders who are truly Key Players should be few in number. If you have a high percentage of key players it is worth completing another stakeholder analysis to ensure they are genuinely high interest/high influence/high power stakeholders. This images shows a typical stakeholder graph following a stakeholder analysis.
Generally you would expect the following roles to fall into the key player category:

• C- level executives e.g. CEC, CTO, CFO
• Key Account Directors
• Project Sponsor/executive
• Project Board members - may include C level executives depending on the profile of the project
• Project Manager
• Quality Director/Head off
• Risk Management Directors
• Team Managers (managers of the people actually doing the work)
• Subject Matter Experts e.g. the lead developer on an IT project or a high profile management consultant bought in as an adviser

Questions to identify key players

Job titles are the only indicator of a Stakeholder's importance and interest. You can also find Key Players by looking at responsibilities and accountabilities. For example think about these questions:

• Who holds the budget?
• Who owns the profit and loss?
• Who owns the relationship with the customer?
• Who signed up to the business case?
• Who will report on the KPIs?
• Who will be providing resources, people and equipment?
• Who seems to have a keen interest? Is this a pet project for someone?
• Who will stand to lose their job if this project doesn't work out?
• Who will get promoted if this goes well?
• Who will build/is building their reputation on this?
• Who will report to the board/most senior committee on progress?
• Who will end up in court if this goes wrong?

It is usually pretty easy to spot these key players because they will often make themselves known to you. Their names will appear on sales paperwork, the account manager will refer to them in hand over meetings. They will be at the kick off meeting and will usually take a role on the project team.

How to engage with your key players

Effective engagement with key players is crucial for the success of any project. These influential stakeholders have the power to shape the project's direction, allocate resources, and ultimately determine its outcome. Developing a well-planned approach to involving key players from the outset can help mitigate risks, secure buy-in, and foster a collaborative environment.

Early Involvement and Consultation

Engage key players early in the project planning phase. Seek their input on project goals, objectives, and constraints. This not only helps align expectations but also leverages their expertise and insights, leading to a more robust and realistic project plan.

Clear Communication and Transparency

Maintain open and transparent communication with key players throughout the project lifecycle. Provide regular updates on progress, challenges, and any deviations from the plan. Addressing concerns promptly and proactively can prevent misunderstandings and build trust.

Tailored Communication Strategies

Understand the communication preferences and styles of individual key players. Some may prefer formal presentations, while others respond better to informal discussions. Tailor your approach accordingly to ensure that information is conveyed effectively and received positively.

Collaborative Decision-Making

Involve key players in critical decision-making processes, particularly when it impacts their areas of responsibility or interests. Seek their input, consider their perspectives, and strive for consensus whenever possible. This fosters a sense of ownership and commitment to the project's success.

Recognition and Appreciation

Acknowledge the contributions and efforts of key players throughout the project. Public recognition and appreciation can go a long way in maintaining their engagement and motivation, especially when facing challenges or setbacks.

Engaging key players requires a strategic and adaptable approach. By involving them early, communicating effectively, fostering collaboration, and recognizing their efforts, project teams can leverage the influence and expertise of these critical stakeholders, increasing the likelihood of successful project delivery.

Managing Conflicts among Key Players

Conflicts are almost inevitable when dealing with influential key players who have diverse interests, priorities, and power dynamics. Left unresolved, these conflicts can derail projects and undermine progress. Proactively managing conflicts through clear processes is essential.

Map Potential Conflict Areas

At the outset, analyze areas where key player priorities and interests may clash. For example, the sales team may want more customer-facing features, while engineering insists on addressing technical debt first. Identifying these potential flashpoints early allows for proactive management.

Establish Conflict Resolution Processes

Define a clear escalation path and decision-making process for when conflicts arise. Specify who has ultimate authority on different types of decisions. Consider creating a conflicts committee with representatives from key groups.

Facilitate Open Discussion

When a conflict arises, bring the conflicting parties together for a facilitated discussion. Ensure all sides can voice their perspectives. For example,

"Engineering, I understand your concerns about technical debt. Sales, can you explain the business impact of delaying new customer features?"

Focus on Interests, Not Positions

Encourage parties to explore underlying interests, needs, and motivations instead of getting entrenched in specific positions. This approach builds mutual understanding. For example.

"Let's explore the interests behind these positions: revenue growth for Sales and long-term sustainability for Engineering."

Refer back to your business or project objectives and goals to keep on track

Any solutions you find to a conflict must align with your business and project objectives. Use strategic plans or the Business Case to keep everyone on track..

"The Business Case and ROI are centered on reducing technical debt, so new customer features must not delay or conflict with that"

Propose Multiple Options

Develop multiple alternative options that address some of each party's key interests. Aim for a solution both sides can live with rather than a win/lose outcome.

"We could prioritize some customer-facing features while dedicating a sprint to technical debt reduction."

Find Trade-Offs

Identify trade-offs to resolve conflicts. Compromises may involve adjusting scope or timelines to balance interests.

"Sales can get their features with a reduced scope, allowing Engineering time to address some technical debt."

Bring in Neutral Third-Parties

If necessary consider engaging project sponsors or external mediators to provide an impartial view and facilitate compromise.

Reading and resources

• Stakeholder analysis templates in Word, Visio and Excel.
• Basic Stakeholder Analysis Method
• BPM Stakeholder Analysis
• Career Stakeholder Analysis
• Stakeholder Analysis - keeping stakeholders happy
• Stakeholder Analysis example
• Stakeholder Analysis Questions
• Stakeholder Salience
• Stakeholder Analysis Software
• Stakeholder Analysis Video