# Stakeholder Map

> Plot everyone a change affects by how much power and interest they have.

Chapter IV, Communication · 4.07 · Origin: Aubrey Mendelow (1981) · Time: 20 to 40 min · Solo or group

**Use it when** a project depends on people with different power and interests.

Interactive workspace: https://kogu.tools/tools/stakeholder-map

## Abstract

Most projects involve a few people who could stop them and many more who just need to know what's happening. If you treat them all the same, you end up over-briefing some and surprising others. A stakeholder map puts each person or group on two scales: how much power they have over the outcome, and how much they care about it.

The position on the grid suggests how to work with them. People with high power and high interest need regular, close contact. Powerful people who don't care much mostly need to stay satisfied. People who care but have little say should be kept informed, and you can check on the rest now and then.

## Method

1. **Name the change.** Write down the project or decision you're mapping. Stakeholders only exist relative to something specific.
2. **List the people.** Include anyone who's affected or who could slow it down. Split a group in two if its members want different things.
3. **Place each one.** Rate their power over the outcome and their interest in it. Count informal influence too: a long-serving engineer can matter more than a director.
4. **Note where they stand.** Mark each as a supporter, neutral or opposed, and jot down what they care about.
5. **Plan the contact.** Decide how often you'll talk to each one. Start with the powerful people who are opposed or undecided.

## When to use it

- You're starting a project that crosses teams or needs sign-off from several people.
- A change keeps meeting resistance and you can't tell where it's coming from.
- You need a communication plan and want to spend your time on the right people.

## Common pitfalls

- Mapping only the people you already talk to.
- Treating a whole department as one stakeholder when people in it disagree.
- Making the map once and filing it. People's power and interest change as the project moves.
- Ignoring people with little power but lots of interest. They're often the loudest later on.

## References

- Mendelow, A. L. (1981). Environmental scanning: The impact of the stakeholder concept. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Information Systems, Cambridge, MA.
- Johnson, G., & Scholes, K. (1999). Exploring Corporate Strategy (5th ed.). Prentice Hall.
- Eden, C., & Ackermann, F. (1998). Making Strategy: The Journey of Strategic Management. Sage.