Stakeholder Map

Last Updated on 2024-05-30 by Kassandra

A stakeholder map is not needed for every project or initiative – but it’s helpful to at least have a general one!

If you’re looking to save time and ensure the right people get involved early on, this is definitely a must have.

What Is A Stakeholder?

You can consider someone to be a stakeholder when they have interest, concern, or direct impact on a particular organization, project, or issue.

They can be an individual or group, and may have interests in one or more areas – including but not limited to financial, social, environmental, and strategic elements.

It is essential to identify, engage, and manage appropriate stakeholders effectively.

Since they can have significant impact on the successful outcome of an initiative, it is imperative you create a plan of engagement. One way to do so is through a stakeholder map.

Potential Categories

Not all stakeholders are the same.

Here are a few categories to consider when determining who needs to be updated and when.

1. Internal – people who have direct interest in the success of a project, group, or initiative
2. External – no direct influence but could be affected or influence decisions
3. Primary – directly tied to core objectives & activities
4. Secondary – not directly involved but interested in or affected by outcomes
5. Key – have significant influence on success and may be critical to operations
6. Latent – may not be immediately relevant but could be under certain circumstance, such as budget approval

What Is A Stakeholder Map?

Before we discuss what a stakeholder map is, it would benefit you to understand what a priority map is.

A priority map is a way to visualize & prioritize tasks, goals, people, etc.

So a stakeholder map is simply a priority map for people.

Why Use A Stakeholder Map?

Too often people are so frantic to get things done, they dive right into work without a thorough plan.

Sure, you might be low on time. But the little bit of extra work you do beforehand can really make or break things down the road. Who would want to avoid saving time and frustration? Not me!

So here are a few reasons I suggest creating a stakeholder map before doing any work on a project:

• This kind of personnel mapping clarifies identity of your stakeholders. You know up front and whenever things come up who your key players are & how they prefer to be informed.
• You are able to easily categorize each stakeholder type. This allows for better planning knowing the impact of your stakeholders on your initiative.
• By prioritizing your stakeholders, you are able to assess their importance & impact on a project.
• You will gain clarity on communication needs and expectations in relation to the different stakeholder levels.
• By laying it all out & confirming with leadership, you are less likely to exclude important personnel and waste time trying to figure it out later on.
• This map will make it easier to develop stakeholder engagement strategies.

How To Create One?

The one provided by Pip Decks is where I first found out about this.

Check out the video below for more details.

More recently, I shared how I set up a stakeholder map from a Miro template.

If you would like to learn more about the upcoming workshop, be sure to contact me on LinkedIn.

Additional Resources

Here are other articles that may assist you on your journey.

1. Strategy Execution With Duke’s Fuqua School of Business ASEP Certification
2. Improve Meeting Efficiency With Lean Updates
3. How To Be A Community Manager
4. How To Create A Simple Marketing Plan

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