🎯 Stakeholder Management Strategies

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Scale Your AI

🔹 Head of Agile Development
Company: MSI (The Baldwin Group)
Location: Remote, US
Format: Full‑time (Remote)
Apply: Apply here
As a senior technology leader, you will build and scale a high‑performing Agile delivery organization across product engineering, platform and data teamsThe role defines and evolves the firm‑wide Agile operating model (team topology, cadences, metrics), establishes portfolio‑management governance, leads a team of agile coaches and program managers, and implements transparent delivery metrics while driving DevSecOps practices, CI/CD and automated testing. Requires 12+ years’ software‑delivery experience and 6+ years leading enterprise‑scale Agile transformations.

🔹 Director of Project Management
Company: FreedomPay
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Format: Full‑time (Hybrid)
Apply: Apply here
This leader oversees complex, high‑impact technical projects and manages a team of project managers, ensuring initiatives are delivered on time, within scope and Reporting to the AVP of Project Management, the role aligns technical execution with strategic objectives and is responsible for methodologies, resource allocation, risk management and continuous improvement of processes and team capabilities.

🔹 Director, Technical Program Management
Company: eBay
Location: Portland, OR
Format: Full‑time (Hybrid)
Apply: Apply here
At eBay, the Director of Technical Program Management drives strategic alignment and operational rigour across product and technology initiatives, partnering with executives to translate company objectives into actionable plans. Responsibilities include leading a portfolio of programs, building and managing a TPM/PMO team, establishing planning and reporting frameworks, and advising senior leaders while ensuring visibility, risk management, and cross‑functional execution. The role is based in Portland and designated as hybrid.

🔹 Transcend Director, Change Strategy
Company: Johnson & Johnson
Location: Titusville, NJ
Format: Full‑time (Hybrid)
Apply: Apply here
Part of Johnson & Johnson’s global ERP transformation programme, the Director of Change Strategy designs and implements change strategies to standardize processes and embed agility and continuous improvement. Duties include leading impact assessments, developing change plans, prioritizing initiatives, conducting readiness assessments, and partnering with senior leaders to cultivate a culture of transformation across Transcend. The role operates in a hybrid model based in Titusville, NJ.

🔹 Senior Director, Technical Program Management
Company: Walmart
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Format: Full‑time (Hybrid)
Apply: Apply here
Walmart’s Senior Director leads enterprise‑wide AI and emerging‑technology programs that transform customer experiences. The role partners with senior leadership to define strategic vision, translates business goals into scalable programs, establishes frameworks for prioritization and success metrics, and drives cross‑functional collaboration across product, engineering, and business teams while overseeing large multi‑track initiatives and championing change management. Position is based at the Sunnyvale home office with hybrid flexibility.

🔹 Director, Implementation and Program Management
Company: Homebound
Location: Dallas, TX
Format: Full‑time (Hybrid)
Apply: Apply here
At Homebound—a tech‑enabled homebuilding platform—you’ll lead technology and AI implementations to improve the speed, quality, and cost of homebuilding operations. This highly visible role bridges product and operations, overseeing change management, process optimization, and cross‑functional program delivery while launching proprietary technology, aligning stakeholders, and driving platform adoption across field and central teams. Requires 8+ years in technical program management or operations strategy, strong change‑management skills, willingness to travel frequently (with regular field immersion in Texas), and the ability to translate between field needs, technical teams, and executive leadership.

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Bots Take the Wheel

The Problem: You have 20+ stakeholders across different orgs. You can't remember who you last talked to, what their concerns are, or who's becoming a blocker.

The Fix: Automate stakeholder tracking so you always know who needs attention before they become a problem.

Real Use Cases:

TL;DR: Stop managing stakeholders in your head. Build systems that track interactions, requests, and engagement frequency. When you have 20+ stakeholders, your memory isn't enough—you need data.

Visionary Voices

Quote: "From the way she answered every question to the way she had analyzed the firm to the poise she exhibited in the very way she sat in the chair, Connie was determined to be the best at everything she did." (Ben Horowitz on Connie Chan, Source: Andreessen Horowitz)

Connie Chan joined Andreessen Horowitz in 2011 as a deal partner and became a general partner in 2018—making history as the first person ever promoted to GP from within the firm. After 12 years at a16z, she stepped back in 2024 to pursue new ventures while maintaining her board seats.

But what makes Connie's story particularly relevant to stakeholder management? She built her career navigating some of the most complex stakeholder landscapes in venture capital.

On Managing Diverse Stakeholders:
Connie is well-known across Silicon Valley for her deep knowledge of the Chinese consumer technology landscape and is often tapped as an expert to translate how trends may move from Asia to the West. This unique position required her to constantly bridge cultural, geographic, and business model differences—managing expectations across founders, limited partners, Chinese tech companies, and Silicon Valley executives simultaneously.

Her first board seat as a newly promoted GP? KoBold Metals—a mining company. "After a career as a consumer tech investor, her first deal as GP was a mining company."Talk about navigating stakeholder skepticism.

On Building Influence Without Traditional Credentials:
When a16z announced Chan's promotion to GP, it broke the firm's nine-year tradition of only hiring general partners who had been CEOs or founders. She didn't have the "traditional" operating experience that a16z typically required.

What she did have:

On Strategic Relationship Building:
Ben Horowitz described her investment style as "very different than our other partners," noting that "Connie approached investments in a very different way". She didn't just follow consensus—she built conviction through deep research and brought stakeholders along through compelling narratives.

Founders who worked with her consistently cite her unique strengths:

On Managing Up:
Connie credits Jeff Jordan as "the one and only" who "taught me how to evaluate ideas even before they're launched. He modeled how to work with integrity, competitiveness, curiosity and humility". She also learned communication from Margit Wennmachers, "the queen of marketing herself, who alongside her team helped me find my voice and gave me the courage to use it".

She understood that building relationships with senior stakeholders wasn't about politics—it was about learning from the best and delivering results consistently.

What You Can Learn From Her:

Where to Learn More:

Why She Matters to Delivery Professionals:
Delivery leaders constantly navigate stakeholder complexity—engineering vs. product, short-term vs. long-term, execution vs. innovation. Connie's career demonstrates how to build influence across diverse, sometimes conflicting stakeholders by:

If you've ever felt like you don't fit the "traditional" mold for leadership, Connie's story proves that results and relationships matter more than checking boxes.

Final Word:
Connie Chan's career shows that stakeholder management isn't about having the perfect resume—it's about building trust through expertise, delivering results consistently, and becoming the person everyone turns to for insights they can't get anywhere else.

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Professional Development

You cannot make all stakeholders happy. If you try, you'll burn out, deliver mediocre results, and satisfy no one.

Effective stakeholder management isn't about pleasing everyone. It's about:

Let's break it down.

The Problem:
Most people treat all stakeholders equally. That's impossible and ineffective.

The Solution:
Map your stakeholders by power and interest, then tailor your strategy accordingly.

The Matrix:

How to Use It:

Step 1: List all your stakeholders

Step 2: Rate each on two dimensions:

Step 3: Plot them on the matrix

Step 4: Develop strategies for each quadrant

Quadrant 1: Manage Closely (High Power, High Interest)

These are your critical stakeholders. They care deeply AND can make or break your project.

Strategy:

Example:
VP of Engineering who's accountable for the platform you're building on. High power (can kill the project). High interest (their team's roadmap depends on it).

Tactics:

Quadrant 2: Keep Satisfied (High Power, Low Interest)

They have the power to impact your project but don't care deeply about day-to-day details.

Strategy:

Example:
CFO who controls budget but isn't invested in technical details.

Tactics:

Quadrant 3: Keep Informed (Low Power, High Interest)

They care deeply but don't have decision-making authority.

Strategy:

Example:
Product Manager who's passionate about the feature but isn't the decision-maker.

Tactics:

Quadrant 4: Monitor (Low Power, Low Interest)

They're affected but neither care deeply nor have much influence.

Strategy:

Example:
Tangentially related team that might integrate later.

Tactics:

Pro Tip:
Stakeholders move between quadrants. Re-map quarterly.

Example:
A low-interest stakeholder suddenly becomes high-interest when their project depends on yours. Adjust your strategy.

The Problem:
Most people think they understand stakeholders but only know surface-level goals.

The Solution:
Dig deeper. Understand:

How to Uncover This:

A. Ask Directly (In 1:1s)

"What are your top 3 priorities this quarter?"
"What's your biggest concern about this project?"
"How does this project's success or failure impact you personally?"

B. Observe

C. Research

Example:

Surface-level: "The VP of Sales wants this feature shipped."

Deeper: "The VP of Sales is measured on Q2 pipeline. They have a board meeting in 6 weeks where they need to show progress. This feature unlocks a $5M deal they've been working for 9 months. If it doesn't ship, they look bad to the CEO."

Now you understand the urgency—and can manage expectations better.

The Reality:
Stakeholders will have competing priorities. That's not a bug—it's a feature of complex organizations.

Your job isn't to eliminate conflict. It's to navigate it.

Framework: The Conflict Resolution Playbook

Scenario 1: Two Stakeholders Want Opposite Things

Example:
Engineering wants to rebuild the platform (6 months).
Sales wants to ship features now (can't wait 6 months).

Strategy:

Step 1: Find the shared goal "We both want to win more customers and scale the business."

Step 2: Present the tradeoff clearly "Option A: Rebuild now, slower short-term wins, faster long-term.
Option B: Ship features now, faster short-term wins, technical debt compounds."

Step 3: Escalate to the decision-maker "This is a strategic tradeoff between short-term revenue and long-term scalability. [CEO/COO], what's the priority?"

What NOT to do:

Scenario 2: Stakeholder Keeps Changing Requirements

Example:
Product keeps adding "just one more thing" to scope.

Strategy:

Step 1: Name the pattern "I'm noticing scope has expanded three times in the last month. That's impacting timeline and team morale."

Step 2: Propose a process "Let's agree: No new scope this sprint. We'll create a backlog and prioritize for next sprint."

Step 3: Enforce boundaries When they ask for "one more thing": "I hear you. Let's add it to the backlog and discuss priority in next week's planning."

What NOT to do:

Scenario 3: Stakeholder Is Undermining You

Example:
A stakeholder is going around you directly to your team or bad-mouthing the project to others.

Strategy:

Step 1: Address it directly (in private) "I've noticed you've been reaching out directly to my team on [issue]. Can we talk about what's driving that?"

Step 2: Understand their concern Often undermining comes from feeling unheard or uninformed.

Step 3: Re-establish communication norms "Going forward, can we agree that if you have concerns, you'll bring them to me first? I want to make sure you're getting what you need."

Step 4: If it continues, escalate "I've tried to address this directly, but it's still happening. I need your help."

What NOT to do:

The Problem:
Senior stakeholders are busy, impatient, and don't have time for your 40-slide deck.

The Solution:
Communicate like an executive.

Framework: The Executive Communication Formula

1. Start with the decision or the ask (15 seconds)

Bad: "So, we've been working on this project for three months, and we've made good progress, but there are some challenges..."

Good: "I need a decision on whether to delay launch by 2 weeks or cut scope. Here's the context."

2. Provide 3 key points of context (60 seconds)

Bad: "Well, there are a lot of factors..."

Good:
"Three things you need to know:

3. End with your recommendation (15 seconds)

Bad: "So what do you think we should do?"

Good: "I recommend we cut the admin dashboard and ship on time. We can add it in v2 next month."

Total time: 90 seconds.

Senior stakeholders will love you for this.

Other Managing Up Tactics:

A. Send Pre-Reads Before Meetings

Don't make execs sit through context they could have read.

"Here's a 2-page brief. Come with questions."

B. Bring Solutions, Not Just Problems

Bad: "We have a problem."

Good: "We have a problem. Here are three options. I recommend option 2. Here's why."

C. Respect Their Time

D. Make Them Look Good

When they ask for status in front of their boss: "We're on track. [Your Boss] unblocked us on the budget issue last week, which kept us moving."

Why: You just made them look good in front of their boss. They'll remember.

The Reality:
Most stakeholder management happens without formal authority. You can't tell them what to do.

The Solution:
Build influence through:

A. Competence
Be so good at your job that people seek you out.

Tactics:

B. Reliability
Do what you say you'll do, every time.

Tactics:

C. Generosity
Help stakeholders succeed—even when it doesn't directly benefit you.

Tactics:

D. Strategic Visibility
Make sure the right people know about your impact.

Tactics:

The Result:
Over time, stakeholders come to you—not because they have to, but because they want to.

Use this weekly:

Weekly Stakeholder Audit:

Monthly Stakeholder Review:

TL;DR: Stop trying to make all stakeholders happy—it's impossible. Map stakeholders by power and interest, then tailor your strategy: Manage closely (high power/interest), Keep satisfied (high power/low interest), Keep informed (low power/high interest), Monitor (low power/low interest). Understand what stakeholders are really measured on—not just what they say they want. When stakeholders conflict, find shared goals, present tradeoffs clearly, and escalate to decision-makers. Build influence through competence, reliability, generosity, and strategic visibility. Communicate like an executive: lead with the decision, provide 3 points of context, end with a recommendation.

Wanna chat IRL? Connect with me on LinkedIn and we can set up some time.

The Delivery Career Decoder shows why you’re already qualified for more—and how to prove it.

I love feedback. If you have topics you want to see? Or thoughts or ideas on how to serve the community better, please hit reply or email [email protected].

Until next time,

The Business of Delivery

Quiet moves. Bold Careers.