Managing Stakeholders (Advanced Management Simulation)

Our Advanced Management Simulations series are “digital simulation” workshops that allow participants organized in competing teams, to manage a complex project from initiation through to operation. It gives teams a chance to experience how their decisions in all the key project management disciplines combine to determine the final outcomes.

The Managing Stakeholders simulation workshop provides realistic scenarios in a complex project context for the participants to deal with. This workshop is using a sophisticated yet easy to use computer simulation tool, and facilitated by our experienced Project Management Mentor.

It has been well documented that the difficulties associated with managing complex projects are very often “human”, as opposed to technical. Numerous research reports and project reviews point to reasons such as: lack of senior management support, bad communication between relevant parties, lack of consensus on objectives, etc., as the primary causes of project delay and failure. The ability to maximize “buy-­‐in”, co-­‐operation and approval from key stakeholders is increasingly a critical skill for the 21st Century Project Manager.

Intended Audiences

This simulation workshop is intended for anyone who needs support for their initiatives from multiple stakeholders:

• Project and programme managers
• Project team members
• Consultants
• Business /Account managers

Participant Outcomes

Participants gain a number of insights and skills in:

• How to develop more strategic, pro-­‐active and efficient approaches to managing their stakeholders
• How to develop advanced stakeholder analyses
• How to develop detailed communication strategies and how to use their networks in order to influence stakeholder attitudes and opinions
• How to balance commercial objectives against the different and conflicting interests of a variety of stakeholders;
• How to define and manage for overall project success

Organization Outcomes

• Increased likelihood of sustaining or improving long term relationships with key stakeholders (e.g. major customers)
• Increased likelihood of projects achieving the right objectives

Simulation Workshop Duration:

1 day (8 hours)

Workshop Structure & Teaching Method

This simulation workshop is based around a sophisticated simulation that models how a typical group of stakeholders behave during a complex project. The simulation allows participants (in competing teams) to experience, in an accelerated timeframe, the dynamics and pitfalls of managing a multiple stakeholder situation. These experiences are then debriefed and the lessons learned are applied to the participants’ own real-­‐world situations. This experiential method is crucial for a skill area where there are no “right answers” or simple recipes for success.

In the context of a simulated major natural resources project, participants must plan, develop and implement an effective strategy in order to achieve the key objectives of the project, whilst trying to maximize support for it from a diverse group of external and internal stakeholders:

In addition to the simulated case, a specific and representative client case study, usually presented by a client executive, is often then used to illustrate the topic further.

Accelerated Experiential Learning

• Reduce the risk of mistakes in real projects
• Help ensure that the RIGHT projects get implemented
• Improve the implementation of organizational changes, strategic initiatives and major projects
• Sustain long-term relationships with key stakeholders

---