Stakeholders: Your Secret Weapon in Transformation

When most people hear the word “stakeholders,” their first reaction is either:

“Ugh, too many opinions.”

“Slows everything down.”

“Death by meetings.”

And hey, fair. If you’ve ever worked on a big transformation, you know that stakeholders can sometimes feel like a necessary evil, a group you have to manage, update, and keep happy so they don’t block progress.

But what if we flipped that thinking?

What if, instead of being the people slowing you down, your stakeholders became the secret weapon that makes your transformation actually succeed?

Here’s the thing, the best transformations don’t happen because of perfect plans, cutting-edge tech, or flashy PowerPoints. They happen because the right people are engaged, bought in, and making things happen.

And that means stakeholders aren’t a roadblock, they’re your best chance at making change stick.

Why Most Teams Get Stakeholder Engagement Wrong

Most organisations treat stakeholders like an obligation rather than an asset. They:

• Loop them in too late, when decisions have already been made.

• Flood them with info, expecting them to sift through and care.

• Forget to show impact, assuming they’ll stay engaged just because.

This leads to one of two things:

1. Stakeholders disengage because they don’t feel heard or involved.

2. Stakeholders block progress because they weren’t part of the journey and now they’re sceptical.

Either way, the transformation slows to a crawl, and suddenly, the same people you thought were onboard are the ones pushing back.

Real Talk: If stakeholders are resisting change, it’s usually because they don’t trust the process, not because they’re against the outcome.

The Secret to Turning Stakeholders into Allies

If you want stakeholders to help drive transformation instead of resist it, you need to:

1. Engage them early (before decisions are made).

2. Make them feel part of the journey (not just recipients of change).

3. Show them what’s in it for them (because let’s be honest, that’s what people care about most).

Sounds simple, but let’s break it down into real, practical steps.

Step 1: Identify the Right Stakeholders (Not the Loudest Ones)

Not all stakeholders are created equal. Some have power but don’t care much. Others are deeply invested but have no decision-making authority. You need to know who actually matters.

A simple way to map this out is to categorise them by:

• Influence: Can they speed things up or slow things down?

• Interest: Do they actually care about what’s changing?

Pro Tip: Don’t just include the “official” stakeholders. The unofficial influencers, the ones people actually listen to, can make or break your transformation.

Step 2: Engage Them Early (Like, Before You Even Start)

One of the biggest mistakes teams make? Waiting until the transformation is already in motion before engaging stakeholders.

By then, it’s too late. People don’t like being handed a decision, they want to be part of making it.

Before making big calls, ask them:

• “What’s the biggest challenge you see in this space?”

• “What’s worked (or failed) in the past?”

• “What would success look like for you?”

This isn’t just about collecting opinions, it’s about giving them ownership so they actually care about the outcome.

Real Talk: If stakeholders see themselves in the solution, they’re way less likely to fight against it later.

Step 3: Communicate Like a Human, Not a Corporate Robot

Most transformation updates sound like this:

"As part of our ongoing digital enablement initiative, we are streamlining efficiencies across core business functions to enhance scalability and agility.”

Translation: “We’re doing something. Please don’t ask questions.”

The problem? Nobody talks like that in real life. If you want stakeholders to engage, ditch the corporate fluff and speak their language.

• If they care about cost: “This will save us X dollars a year.”

• If they care about efficiency: “Right now, it takes 10 steps to do this.

• We’re cutting it to If they care about culture: “We’re fixing a process that’s been frustrating people for years.”

Make it clear, relevant, and (if possible) interesting.

Step 4: Turn Updates Into Conversations (Not Just Reports)

Stakeholders don’t just want progress updates, they want to feel like they still have a seat at the table.

A few ways to make that happen:

• Short, sharp updates (less is more).

• Ask for feedback: and actually listen.

• Involve them in problem-solving (instead of just reporting problems).

If they feel like their voice still matters, they’ll stay engaged and support you when it counts.

Pro Tip: If the only time stakeholders hear from you is when you need approval, you’re doing it wrong.

Step 5: Show Impact, Not Just Activity

At some point, every transformation effort runs into stakeholder fatigue, people get tired of hearing about progress with no visible results.

To keep momentum, stop talking about tasks and start showing outcomes.

• Bad update: “We’ve held 20 workshops and interviewed 50 employees.”

• Good update: “We identified three major blockers and fixed one already, people are saving 3 hours a week.”

Nobody cares how many meetings you had. They care what changed.

Final Thoughts: Stakeholders Are Your Best Asset...Use Them Wisely

Most teams see stakeholders as a necessary hurdle, something to manage, rather than leverage. But the best transformations don’t just get approved by stakeholders, they get powered by them.

So, if your transformation is feeling slow, painful, or stuck in resistance, ask yourself:

• Are your stakeholders truly engaged, or just informed?

• Are they part of the journey, or just getting updates?

• Do they feel heard, or are they just reacting to change?

If the answer isn’t what you want it to be, you know what to do.

At RUNIE Consulting, we help teams turn stakeholders into allies, make transformation stick, and avoid the classic traps that slow everything down. Because the best change doesn’t happen to people, it happens with them.