Change with Confidence: Answers to the 50 Biggest Questions that Keep Change Leaders Up at Night

Chapter 34

How Do I Manage My Stakeholders?

There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. The initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones.

—Niccolò Machiavelli

Stakeholders are leaders who influence the direction (and evaluation) of your change project. The leadership team and steering committee are internal stakeholders. Other leaders who report to them can also be stakeholders depending on their connection to the project. For example, an IT director may not be impacted by new sales software but influences the project because it's his or her team doing the work. Supporting ...