The proverb – “he who hesitates is lost” could be true when it comes to last minute stakeholder engagement.
If we spend too much time thinking about engaging rather than planning and delivering it strategically, we can run out of time to gain meaningful and timely input that will yield positive results.
While leaving it too late doesn’t mean all is lost, it does potentially lead to:
- Fewer stakeholder engagement options
- Less meaningful engagement
- Greater difficulty in attracting people to engage, or making them feel like it’s a last minute decision to involve them
- Shorter timeframes in which to process data and information
- Greater stress on project teams to ensure their decisions are well informed
Strategic, meaningful stakeholder engagement that creates positive project outcomes takes time to plan and execute. It takes stakeholders on a journey and they feel seen, heard and understood.
