The Power-Interest Stakeholder Matrix

None of us are an island. Whatever project or decision we’re involved with will more than likely impact some others in our ecosystem. Whether at work or at home, taking into account those other stakeholders is useful and sometimes even critical for a successful outcome. Doing a Stakeholder Analysis helps with the identification of:

• Stakeholders' various interests

• Potential risks and misunderstandings

• Mechanisms to positively influence other stakeholders

• Key people to be informed during the execution phase

There are many different options for conducting this stakeholder analysis.

Some of the commonly used dimensions include

• Power

• Influence

• Interest/Need

• Support/Attitude

Today we will share a 2X2 Matrix using Power and Influence as the factors to consider.

This matrix asks you to assess where each stakeholder fits relative to these two factors.

People with high power and low interest, known as Latents, just need to be kept Satisfied.

For Promoters, people with high power and high interest, use care to manage them closely; their happiness is key.

Those we call Apathetics have low power and low interest; just keep an eye out, monitoring.

Finally Defenders of the project often have low power but high interest; keep them informed as they may speak positively about your project.