Program Management

CHAPTER 5Effective Engaging

This chapter focuses on understanding the importance of engaging stakeholders and program teams around the program’s direction and the expected integrated set of steps that have to take place in a coordinated fashion toward the achievement of program’s outcomes. Programs’ success is directly correlated to effective stakeholders’ engaging. Understanding the landscape of the extended groups of program stakeholders is critical.

Program managers should reflect on examples for how tiers of stakeholders can be categorized and designed. They should learn how to analyze and engage stakeholders. This learning becomes the foundation for exploring the design of the fitting engagement strategies. In addition, and due to the very fluid nature of programs, one should develop an appreciation for sensing the engagement changes necessary across the program life cycle.

Key Learnings

• Resilience capabilities and the Elon Musk example (what examples do we see in this case in leading massive programs?)
• How engagement strategies vary across the program life cycle? Adaptability component
• Understanding organizational viruses that impede engagement (creating the engaged community of stakeholders is a must)
• Battling organizational viruses with proper engagement antidotes (how to deal with the viruses?)

5.1 ADAPTING ACROSS THE LIFE CYCLE

One of the critical capabilities that support the program manager’s success in adapting to the changing needs for engaging stakeholders ...