Beyond Technology: How Stakeholders Shape Every Project 

I remember an incident from early in my career when a stakeholder was furious. Three months in, they felt unheard. I could see the frustration in every email, every terse call. This, despite our team following processes to the T. That’s when I learned that stakeholder management isn’t about perfect processes, it’s about showing up differently. Showing up exactly how the stakeholders and clients need delivery teams to.

I started sending them updates not just when milestones hit, but whenever I sensed they needed reassurance. Small gestures, constant communication, genuine care for what kept them up at night. Six months later, they became one of our strongest advocates.

If there’s one truth I’ve learned in my 23+ years navigating IT delivery across ERP, EPM, project portfolio management with Primavera, ITSM, and now Business Intelligence, it’s this: projects don’t succeed on technology alone. Stakeholders make or break them.

I’ve partnered with some of the largest global clients, led multi-million-dollar engagements, and managed teams across continents. From AOL, Oracle, GE, Pearson to Ricoh, Qubix, Version1 and now SplashBI, the common thread is clear. Technology is only as strong as the people who believe in it. That’s why how we manage stakeholders is the real driver of success, transformation, and long-term trust.

At SplashBI, where I currently serve as a Senior Project Manager, stakeholder management is not just a practice. It’s at the heart of everything we deliver. It’s how we turn analytics into action, and data into decisions.

Let me share how we do it here, and a few lessons I’ve picked up along the way.

More Than Just Calls and Reports

Stakeholder management isn’t about endless meetings or flashy dashboards. For me, it comes down to three essentials:

Understanding what really matters – Adoption, budgets, or executive confidence. The biggest revelation? Stakeholders aren’t just roles on an org chart. They’re people with real pressures, fears, and hopes for what this project might mean for their career, their team, their stress levels. Understanding that emotional landscape is as crucial as understanding technical requirements. If I don’t know their priorities, I’m not managing stakeholders. I’m just ticking boxes.

Turning tech into tangible business value – At SplashBI, charts and dashboards don’t change businesses. The decisions they inspire do. Recently, we thought we’d nailed an HR dashboard for a client. Technically perfect, visually impressive. But when we saw how their actual data looked and listened… really listened… to how they needed to use it daily, we redesigned it. That’s when charts became resources they could no longer work without.

Keeping it human – Data is serious business, but people need connection. I’ve built trust through empathy, transparency, and yes, the occasional willingness to completely rebuild a dashboard when I realized our ‘perfect’ solution didn’t match how their team actually worked.

How SplashBI Adds Stakeholder Value

At SplashBI, we don’t just deliver technology. We deliver confidence, clarity, and collaboration.

Here’s how:

Client Management – We co-create solutions instead of just gathering requirements. Proof-of-concept projects help clients see possibilities they hadn’t even imagined, making them part of the journey, not just the audience. The most common challenge I see? Everyone wants BI insights yesterday, but meaningful analytics take time. I’ve learned to manage this by making the journey visible and showing progress in ways stakeholders can feel, not just in Gantt charts they’ll never read.

People Management – Stakeholders aren’t only executives. They’re also the analysts, end users, and leaders looking for ROI. By training, mentoring, and enabling teams, we make sure everyone sees value from day one. I’ve learned that stakeholders are also human. Emotional intelligence is crucial for building these lasting partnerships.

Commercial Management – Budgets and timelines will always be under scrutiny. What builds trust is how we manage them through clear communication, proactive planning, and a genuine focus on outcomes, not just deliverables.

My Stakeholder Playbook

Over the years, across insurance, manufacturing, technology, and beyond, I’ve seen that success comes from a few timeless principles:

• Empathy before strategy – People first, processes second. My colleagues know I’m naturally collaborative, always considering everyone’s emotions in the room.
• Transparency builds trust – Stakeholders forgive problems but not surprises. That project with the disappointed stakeholder early in my career taught me that constant, caring communication can turn the angriest client into your biggest champion.
• Speak their language – A CFO hears value differently than a project manager. One project, many perspectives.
• Celebrate the small wins – Every milestone builds confidence and momentum.
• Show up when it matters – Going that extra mile during a crisis, providing updates that offer reassurance, not just status reports.

Why Stakeholder Management Matters Now More Than Ever

Business Intelligence is no longer about static reports. It’s about empowering organizations to make better, faster, and smarter decisions. At SplashBI, we help clients go beyond data to uncover insights that transform strategy. None of this happens without aligning people, expectations, and priorities.

The biggest challenge I see repeatedly in BI projects? Timeline expectations. Everyone wants insights yesterday, but building trust, understanding real needs, and delivering meaningful analytics takes time. The art is in making that time feel valuable and the journey feel collaborative.

That’s why stakeholder management is not an add-on it’s our foundation.

Closing Thought

If I had to capture it in one line, it would be this: ”Stakeholder management is like conducting an orchestra. You don’t need to play every instrument, but you do need to keep them all in harmony.“

After 23 years, I’m still learning new rhythms. What keeps me energized is that welcoming, friendly approach that colleagues recognize in me, combined with the genuine satisfaction of helping stakeholders turn data into decisions that matter.

At SplashBI, I get to help our clients and their teams turn data into music worth listening to. And honestly, there’s no better sound than a stakeholder saying, “This actually makes sense now. This changes everything.”

And at SplashBI, those are lines we hear often!