Stakeholders

management &
Working in Virtual
Environment
Agenda
 Introductions & Goals
 Stakeholders defined
 Stakeholders Management Process
–Identify Stakeholders
–Plan Stakeholder Management
–Manage Stakeholder Engagement
–Control Stakeholder Engagement
 Working in virtual environment
 Questions and answers

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 Course objectives
Knowledge
What will a student learn in this module?
• Fundamental techniques to manage
stakeholders
• Skills of a successful project manager
Skills
What will a student be able to do after
this module?
• Be able to manage stakeholders in any
type of a project
• Be able to take advantage of the most
useful presentation and
communication techniques in PM
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Agenda
 Introductions & Goals
 Stakeholders defined
 Stakeholders Management Process
–Identify Stakeholders
–Plan Stakeholder Management
–Manage Stakeholder Engagement
–Control Stakeholder Engagement
 Working in virtual environment
 Questions and answers

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Stakeholders defined

• Stakeholders are people who:

• Have an interest or role in the project
• Are involved in and/or affected by the project’s outcome

• Stakeholder management is a critical success factor

in completing your project on time and within budget

• Stakeholders expectations:
• Product or service to be delivered
• Length of time to do so
• Quality
• Project cost
• Installation and ongoing support
• Benefits
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Stakeholders defined

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Identify Stakeholders

Process to identify people, groups, organizations that could

impact or be impacted by a decision, activity or outcome of a
project,
while analyzing and documenting relevant information
regarding their interests, involvement, interdependencies,
influence, and potential impact on project success

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 Analyze Stakeholders – Classification Grid
• All four classification parameters can be used
in a classification grid like this

• The most common combinations:

• A: High
• Horizontal: Interest Keep Manage
• Vertical: Influence satisfied closely
• B:
• Horizontal: Power Influence
2 1

• Vertical: Influence 3 4

• C: Monitor Keep
• Horizontal: Interest (minimum effort) informed

• Vertical: Power Low

• D:
• Horizontal: Impact Low High
• Vertical: Influence
Interest

• You may benefit from any combination - analyze how your

combination for Keep satisfied and Keep informed will serve
your project best 9
Analyze Stakeholders – Expert Judgement

• Advice from people with relevant expertise can help you

identify and analyze stakeholders more accurately. These
experts may have:
• specialized training in a relevant area
• specialized knowledge about the a project’s stakeholders

• Typical roles to involve as experts are:

• Senior Management
• Key Stakeholders
• Project Managers
• who have worked on similar projects
• Subject Matter Experts
• in fields related to the project
• Industry Group Consultants
• Associations
• of a professional technical character related to the project
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Plan your stakeholder management

Planning of stakeholders management is a process of developing

appropriate management strategies to effectively engage
stakeholders throughout the project life cycle, based on the analysis
of their needs, interests and potential impact on project success.

• You created your list of stakeholders in the Initiating Process group

• Now it’s time to plan how to manage your stakeholders
• Complete the following information
– Why the person is important to the success of the project?
– What is that person’s current attitude?
– What would we like them to do?
– What is the key message required for that person?
– How will we deliver the message?
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– When and who will deliver the message?
 Plan your stakeholder management
Tools and Techniques

• Expert Judgment
• Meetings
• Analytical Techniques
The engagement level of the stakeholders can be
classified as follows:
• Unaware. Unaware of project and potential impacts.
• Resistant. Aware of project and potential impacts and resistant
to change.
• Neutral. Aware of project yet neither supportive nor resistant.
• Supportive. Aware of project and potential impacts and
supportive to change.
• Leading. Aware of project and potential impacts and actively
engaged in ensuring the project is a success.
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Team exercise:
Stakeholder management template

• Project name: family and friends journey to Hawaii

• Project goal: to spend 2 weeks in July on Hawaii island
• Participants: you and 3 more people – you pick
• When? Leaving 1st of July, back on 17th
• Funds: you have 3000$ per person, to cover accommodation
and flight. Other travelers need to help you with arranging
the journey

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 Team exercise:
Stakeholder management template

Stakeholder Management

Project Name Start Date

Project Manager Tel No End Date
Project Sponsor Tel No Version #

List of Stakeholders Role Degree of Support Degree of Influence Influence Strategy

• Who are the stakeholders for your
project?
• What role do they have?
• How supportive are they of your project?
• How influential are they in your
organization?
• Why is that person important?
• What is the current attitude?
• What would we like them to do?
• Key message/Tactics (How?)/
When? Who will contact?

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Manage Stakeholder Engagement

Process of communicating and working with

stakeholders to meet their needs / expectations,
address issues as they occur, and foster
appropriate stakeholder engagement in project
activities throughout the project life cycle.

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Control Stakeholder Engagement

Process of monitoring overall project stakeholder

relationships and adjusting strategies and plans
for engaging stakeholders

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Working in Virtual
Environment

By Fahad A Shah
 Agenda
1. What is virtual team
2. Differences between virtual and collocated team
3. Pros/Cons of virtual team model
4. Managing project in virtual team environment :
 Leadership in virtual team
 Communication in virtual team
 Cultural differences in virtual teams
 Motivation in virtual team
5. Questions and answers

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 What is virtual team?
Virtual team (known also as: remote or distributed team)
are the group of individuals who are working across time,
space and organizational boundaries.

Types of virtual teams:

Different type/different place
Same time /different place
Different time/same place
Same time/same place
Any time/any place
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Pros/Cons of virtual team model
BENEFITS
• cost savings
• time savings
• distance is no longer a problem
• possibility of working in over the sun
model (regular shifts in different time
zones to support customers 24/7)
• allow to work smarted
• extending network of professional
relationships
• wider pool of resources available
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ISSUES
• cultural differences
• local working practices
• trust over distance
• no physical contact
• location and time differences
• communication
• reporting lines (dual reporting)
• different development opportunities
• different motivation tools/factors
• common objective/hidden agenda
• hidden costs
 Leadership in virtual team
Know Yourself !! – make a fair summary of your strengths and weaknesses to asses your own
management style and adjust it to the current situation

Know your project team:

• Get familiar with your project team - introduce yourself and ask the team to do the same. Be
sure you recognize difference between male/female and if possible share photos
• Have a regular conversation with your teams - if this is possible based on number of team
members and time have a separate call with each individual on regular basis
• Use the phone as often as possible and if possible video conference technology – it is better
to hear the individual and it is the best to have eye contact with him
• Do not speak with the team only about project concerns – ask them about their life,
hobbies, cultures, families, weekend and holiday plan. In collocated environment you have
many chats over the coffee machine and during lunches – you need to find substitute for this
in your virtual environment
• Be authentic – people at the other end of the phone need to know yours intentions are
honest

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 Leadership in virtual team
• Get the team buy – in – as a project manager you need to be sure that the whole team is
on the same page in terms of scope and goal of the project. Also as a project manager
you need to sell your project to the team
• Build trust in your team – Remember – first good impression is no longer the case when it
comes to virtual team. Building trust is a long process and must be build step by step.
• Engage your team – remember that leading a project means you need to work with the
team. Be sure they are taking part in decision process and can speak freely during a
meeting
• Encourage you people to take part in the project – some people could by shy due to the
different reason and it is your task a a leader to make them active
• Make team independent – you are not always there for a team. The best way for the team
to show their maturity is the period then they can work independly without a leader
direction/support

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 Leadership in virtual team
• Prize you team – in virtual environment it is even more important. Be sure that you are
putting your best people as an example for others and provide necessary feedback for
their line management at the end of the project
• Be facilitator not „mother” – remember that the project is a group of professionals who
are paid to do the job. You cannot be manipulated by someone’s moaning over the sea
and your need to keep healthy balance in your team
• Use simple language – as most of the communication is going via you a project manager
try to use simple language without idioms and meaty expression. You are working with
many people who are not native and by using simple language you can avoid
miscommunication and misunderstandings
• Integrate your team – you will not have any chance to go with your team to a pub or do
any integration meeting in physical way. Try to use as much as possible any technology
that you have to integrate your team in any way possible. Knowledge sharin session
could be good example here.

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 Leadership in virtual team
• Control your voice –
tone of your voice can define your
personality over the phone and influence your team
attitude and motivation. Try to adjust it to the situation
and audience.

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 Communication and
Knowledge
sharing in virtual team
Communication planning
When/How often ? What ? Who ?

When information should be

realeased ? Is it one time What is going to be Who is receiver or event
communication or reocurring communicated ? participant ?
event ?

Why ? How ? Responsibility

Why receiver needs info ?; what

What will be the best method to Who is the owner of the
will change after info will be
communicate ? communication ?
provided ?

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 Communication and
Knowledge sharing in virtual
team
Virtual communication tools

 Phone or build in telephony:

Pros: quick; direct; can be use in everyplace
Cons: expensive compare to other tools; no evidence

 Teleconferences:
Pros: get a lot of people on the same time; substitute of collocated meeting
Cons: hard to manage; costly

 Videoconferences:
Pros: great for team building; more accurate to control the meetings
Cons: Expensive equipement

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 Communication and Knowledge
sharing in virtual team
 E-mail:
- Pros: most popular; easy to use; cheap; impersonal; evidence
tracking
- Cons: can prolong communication; Impersonal

 Instant Mesanging:
- Pros: quick war room; can last “forever”; allows multitasking
- Cons: allow to ignore people; misleading in terms of evidence

 Screen Sharing; Live meeting rooms:

- Pros: allow to see a screen of chair person; good for knowledge
sharing
- Cons : possibilities of lags

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 Communication in virtual team
– meetings grand rules
Time
Set a limit and stick to it – attendees appreciate boundaries
Schedule recurring meetings – gives people time to prepare and adequate notice

Purpose / Content
Always state the reason for the meeting in the invitation to provide scope
Provide an agenda ahead of the meeting and encourage team input to create
Stick to the agenda (which assists with Time above)

Participation
Ensure that all required participants are invited in advance
Appoint a chair person to manage the meeting process
Ensure all participants are aware of their roles (and your expectation of them)

Control / Follow Up
Take minutes (appoint a minute taker)
Distribute minutes to all participants
Follow up on open actions from the meeting with the Owner and document
responses
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How can you motivate people?

Allow them to make decisions Show appreciation for

and encourage creativity on their outstanding
the job. contributions.

Ensure they have the Provide them

resources to do their As an IBM manager,
demonstrate these feedback to foster
jobs. their development.
behaviors when
dealing with team
members
Ensure they understand how
their work contributes to IBM's Leverage IBM's global size,
strategy. scope and diversity to help
them become better.

Try to implement Create an enjoyable

their good ideas work environment.
quickly.

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 How can I discover what motivates
my team members?
Simple, ask them!

Send a motivator ranking questionnaire.

Ground rules in VT motivation:

 it is a lot harder to motivate someone virtually – feedback is the
key
 note that things which are motivating you do not necessary
motivates others
 take into consideration cultural diversities. Factor which motivate
someone from UK do not necessary motivate someone from India;
etc
 use all communication tools to provide your feedback – but be
smart about time and audience
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 Motivation do’s and don'ts
Do Don’t

Use "we," not "I." Confuse a motivated employee with a

workaholic.
Speak positively and constructively about
your company. Focus on the negatives.

Market IBM’s strategy to your colleagues. Make uplifting statements that are not
sincere.
Think, act and talk positively.
Keep your commitments. Try to dominate and control.

Honesty is always the best policy. Procrastinate in addressing conflicts

Provide constructive developmental between team members.
feedback.
Fail to keep a commitment.
Display patience, objectivity, good listening
skills.

Say "thank you."

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 Cultural differences in virtual
teams
What is culture – it is a way in which we do things, how
we behave as individuals and in Groups (Ian Fleming).
Visible Invisible

• Spoken language • Status

• Accents • Work ethics
• Hierarchy • Gender norms
• Working hours • Importance of family
• Religious holidays • Morals
• Work/life balance • Religious customs
• Commitment Level • Politics
• Greetings • Dress code

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Q&A

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Thank you!

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