Managing Project Stakeholders

The Managing Project Stakeholders Course gives project managers, programme managers, and project professionals a comprehensive, practically grounded capability in stakeholder management — covering stakeholder identification and categorisation, management planning, communication strategies, conflict resolution, situational leadership, and negotiation through a structured five-day programme that combines frameworks with hands-on practice.

Stakeholder management is consistently identified as one of the most critical and most underdeveloped project management capabilities. Projects fail not because of technical complexity alone, but because key stakeholders are not identified, engaged effectively, aligned to objectives, or managed through conflict and resistance with the right leadership and communication approach.

This course addresses every dimension of that challenge from power and interest mapping, engagement lifecycle planning, and communication channel selection, through conflict resolution using the Thomas-Kilmann model, situational leadership, virtual stakeholder management, and win-win negotiation simulation. Case studies, role-plays, and group exercises are embedded throughout every day.

The Managing Project Stakeholders Course is built for project professionals who want to develop the interpersonal, analytical, and leadership capability to manage stakeholder relationships with greater effectiveness, confidence, and positive project outcomes.

The Managing Project Stakeholders Course is designed to develop comprehensive stakeholder management capability from identification and prioritisation through planning, communication, conflict resolution, leadership, and negotiation.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Define project stakeholders from APM, PMI, and practical perspectives and identify internal and external stakeholder groups
• Apply the stakeholder engagement lifecycle and use Power and Interest Matrix and other categorisation dimensions for stakeholder prioritisation
• Apply emotional intelligence and trust-building skills to stakeholder engagement
• Build a Stakeholder Management Plan including stakeholder personas, engagement levels, and success criteria
• Develop stakeholder communication plans using change impact grids, resistance mapping, and appropriate channel selection
• Manage virtual stakeholders effectively using appropriate tools and approaches
• Identify sources of stakeholder conflict and apply conflict management styles using the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
• Apply mediation, negotiation, and escalation techniques to resolve stakeholder disputes
• Apply situational leadership models to match leadership styles to stakeholder needs and maintain engagement during setbacks
• Apply win-win negotiation techniques including coalition building strategies through hands-on simulation and outcome analysis

The Managing Project Stakeholders Course is designed for project managers, programme managers, PMO professionals, and project team leaders who want to develop a structured, practically applied capability in stakeholder management across the full project lifecycle.

This course is suitable for:

• Project managers responsible for stakeholder identification, engagement planning, and relationship management across complex project environments
• Programme managers managing multi-stakeholder environments across multiple interrelated projects
• PMO professionals developing stakeholder management standards, communication frameworks, and engagement governance
• Project sponsors and senior leaders who want to understand the stakeholder dynamics that determine project success
• Change management professionals who manage stakeholder engagement during organisational transformation
• Team leaders and department heads who manage project stakeholders alongside functional responsibilities
• Technical professionals who work closely with project stakeholders and want stronger interpersonal and leadership capability
• Graduate project management professionals building a structured foundation in stakeholder management theory and practice

The Managing Project Stakeholders Course is delivered through an engaging, skills-focused learning approach where stakeholder management frameworks are reinforced through practical application at every stage. The course moves progressively from stakeholder identification and categorisation through planning, communication, conflict management, leadership, and negotiation — with case studies, role-plays, group exercises, and a hands-on negotiation simulation integrated throughout.

Delegates are encouraged to apply stakeholder management tools and frameworks to their own real project stakeholder challenges, making the learning immediately relevant and personally actionable.

Delivery methods include:

• Instructor-led sessions covering stakeholder fundamentals, engagement lifecycle, planning, conflict management, leadership, and negotiation frameworks
• Power and Interest Matrix and categorisation exercises applying stakeholder identification and prioritisation techniques
• Stakeholder Management Plan development sessions applying classification, personas, engagement levels, and success criteria
• Communication planning workshops applying change impact grids, resistance mapping, and channel selection to stakeholder communication design
• Hands-on negotiation simulation applying win-win techniques, coalition building, and outcome analysis to realistic stakeholder negotiation scenarios

• AZTech Certificate of Completion for delegates who attend and complete the training course
• The applicable PMI Professional Development Units/Contact Hours will be reflected in the Certificate of Completion