Collaborate with stakeholders
Collaborate with stakeholders
What you will learn
- Explain the Power/Interest Grid principle for classifying stakeholders.
- Identify the right engagement strategy for each quadrant of the grid.
- Distinguish engaging a high-influence stakeholder from a low-influence one.
- Connect stakeholder classification to the communications management plan (2.2).
Engaging every stakeholder at the same communication level wastes resources on some and dangerously neglects others. The Power/Interest Grid is a simple tool that classifies each stakeholder on two axes — their power over the project, and their interest in it — to determine the most fitting engagement strategy.
Power/Interest Grid quadrants
| High Power, High Interest | Manage Closely — intensive, continuous engagement, often the sponsor or a key client. |
|---|---|
| High Power, Low Interest | Keep Satisfied — periodic communication sufficient without overwhelming them with details they don't care about. |
| Low Power, High Interest | Keep Informed — regular updates despite their limited direct influence. |
| Low Power, Low Interest | Monitor — minimal communication effort, without total neglect. |
What matters on the exam
- A question describing a high-power, low-interest stakeholder expects "keep satisfied", not "manage closely" — don't conflate the two quadrants.
- Classification can change as the project progresses — a low-interest stakeholder can become high-interest as a phase directly affecting them approaches.
Power and interest are two different axes
Don't conflate "important" with "high power". A stakeholder can be highly interested in the project but have no real power over it (like an enthusiastic end user) — the engagement strategy for them differs fundamentally from someone with real authority regardless of their interest level.
Quick check
Answer in your head first, then reveal.
What is the engagement strategy for a high-power, high-interest stakeholder?Reveal the answer
Manage Closely.
What is the engagement strategy for a high-power, low-interest stakeholder?Reveal the answer
Keep Satisfied.
Is a stakeholder's classification fixed throughout the project?Reveal the answer
No, it can change as the project progresses.
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Your next step
Read the lesson, then mark it complete
Sources
Used to verify the facts. The writing is original to Passuit.