Stakeholders Management in Multi-National Companies

If you are looking for a job in product management, project management, or program management, I can almost guarantee that your role will require some level of “stakeholder management” skills.

In fact, if you currently have a corporate job, you likely can’t avoid the need to engage in stakeholder management.

But let’s be honest—many people struggle with it. How do we effectively engage our stakeholders?

After working at Google for seven years, I’ve witnessed both excellent and poor stakeholder engagement practices. This post aims to distill my learnings into a simple playbook. If you’re early in your career, I hope this playbook will give you a solid head start.

1. WHO: Know Your Stakeholders

Before diving into how to engage your project stakeholders, you first need to clearly define who they are.

We’ve all been there—we think we know who the key stakeholders are, only to forget to include a cross-functional executive who needed that critical email.

To avoid these pitfalls, it’s helpful to use tools and templates. One of the best tools to start with is the “Stakeholder Map.”

Investing 30 minutes upfront to create a stakeholder map can yield tremendous benefits throughout the project.

It doesn’t have to be perfect from the start. You can refine it along the way as the project evolves.

2. Be Honest About the Support You Need

Stakeholder engagement isn’t just a “dog-and-pony show.”

It’s not about showcasing how much work you’ve done or how well-thought-out your plan is.

Instead, stakeholder engagement is an opportunity to have meaningful discussions with the teams involved, increasing the likelihood of project success.

At its core, every project is about driving change—whether it’s improving a product, process, team, or organization.

The ADKAR framework, a popular tool in change management, can help you assess where your stakeholders are in the change process.

Here’s how you can apply it:

• Awareness: Do your stakeholders need to better understand the problem?
• Desire: Do they need more motivation or alignment to want to solve it?
• Knowledge: Do they need more education or tools to address the problem?
• Ability: Do they need a specific action plan to get started?
• Reinforment: Do they need to understand more on the govenance, feedback mechanism or risk managements?

This is crucial because your time with senior stakeholders is often limited. To make the most of it, engage them at the appropriate stage of the change process.

Imagine walking into an executive meeting, ready to present an operational plan, only to realize the executives are still unclear on the problem you’re trying to solve.

If the main blocker is stakeholder buy-in, the focus of your 20-minute meeting should shift to aligning on the problem statement and articulating the benefits to build desire.

By being honest with yourself and using the ADKAR framework, you can tailor your engagement to meet stakeholders where they are in the process.

3. Create Progressive Touchpoints

Stakeholder management isn’t just about high-profile meetings or executive forums.

The best stakeholder managers create a series of progressive touchpoints. These might include:

• 1:1s with direct managers,
• 15-minute office-hour chats with skip-level leaders,
• 30-minute coffee chats with cross-functional leads,
• or email briefings.

These smaller, informal touchpoints are just as important as the big meetings.

This is where your stakeholder map becomes invaluable. Use it to strategically plan your engagement touchpoints leading up to major meetings.

• Seek feedback early in smaller settings.
• Build alliances before presenting in larger forums.

Stay Agile and Resilient

Stakeholder management is rarely a linear process.

Projects often face setbacks, move sideways, or even backtrack. What matters most is the engagement.

Approach it with an open mind and a willingness to adapt. Even if the project doesn’t succeed in the end, meaningful engagement can lead to valuable discussions and lessons for your next attempt.

This playbook isn’t about perfection—it’s about progress. Start small, stay consistent, and refine your approach as you go. With time, stakeholder engagement will become a skill you can rely on throughout your career.