What Most People Miss About Stakeholder Engagement & the Role of Influencers
Community engagement is often treated as a process.
Plans are written. Stakeholders are listed. Communications are rolled out.
But in practice, that’s rarely where things succeed, or fail.
Engagement doesn’t fail because people don’t try
In most of the major programs I’ve worked on, from national infrastructure to local community projects, teams are committed, capable and well-intentioned.
Yet projects still stall. Resistance builds. Trust erodes.
Not because engagement didn’t happen, but because it didn’t reach the people who actually influence outcomes.
And importantly, that includes both external communities and internal stakeholders, the teams, partners and decision-makers responsible for delivery.
The gap: influence is misunderstood
One of the most common mistakes in engagement is assuming that stakeholders are defined by roles, titles or visibility.
They’re not.
Real influence often sits with individuals who don’t appear on formal lists, across both community and organisational environments.
As Malcolm Gladwell describes in The Tipping Point, ideas and behaviours spread through social networks, often driven by a small number of highly connected individuals.
The most effective engagement strategies identify and work through trusted connectors, people who already hold credibility within their networks.
Anyone who can influence or persuade others (internally or externally) is an influencer. Their role is not fixed. At different stages of a project, the same individual can either support progress or actively undermine it.
When aligned, they can help promote understanding, mobilise support and unlock access to broader networks. When misaligned, they can just as quickly create doubt, resistance and loss of trust — often at scale.
When equipped with clear, consistent information, these individuals can:
translate messages into language that resonates locally
extend your reach organically across communities and teams
surface emerging risks, sentiment and issues early
In practice, these people aren’t just communication channels — they are trusted relationship holders.
If they’re aligned, momentum builds. If they’re not (internally or externally) resistance can spread just as quickly.
By the time engagement starts, it can already be too late
A pattern I’ve seen repeatedly:
By the time a project team says, “we need to engage the stakeholders and community,” key decisions have already been made.
Internally, teams may not yet be aligned. Externally, positions may already be forming. Trust may already be compromised.
Engagement then becomes reactive, managing noise rather than shaping outcomes.
Effective engagement starts earlier, by aligning internally, understanding the broader environment, and mapping influence properly before going out.
What actually makes the difference
Strong engagement is not about doing more. It’s about being more deliberate across both internal and external environments.
1. Start early — before positions harden
Understand both the internal landscape and the community context before engagement begins.
2. Map influence, not just stakeholders
Identify who shapes thinking, inside your organisation as well as within the external stakeholder community.
3. Align internally first
Clarity across leadership, delivery teams and partners is critical. Misalignment inside will surface quickly outside.
4. Leverage and equip trusted influencers
You don’t need to communicate through every channel, and in many cases, you shouldn’t.
5.Use your broader network
Project teams, delivery partners and relevant government stakeholders, all hold valuable insight. Bringing this together early strengthens your approach
6. Build direct relationships
One-on-one verbal conversations matter, internally and externally. Trust is built through listening, not broadcasting or just online chats.
7. Keep your stakeholder view dynamic
Influence shifts over time. Your stakeholder map should evolve over time and revised regularly.
8. Keep communication clear and accessible
Plain English matters. Tailor communication to different audiences and don’t rely on one channel or format.
Engagement is not just communication
It’s easy to default to materials, fact sheets, updates, online messaging. But engagement (especially if in-person or online face to face chats) is ultimately about relationships, trust and alignment.
The most effective outcomes come from:
aligning internally first
engaging the right people early
working through trusted influencers
and creating space for genuine dialogue
Why this matters
Major projects are rarely perfect. They involve trade-offs, competing priorities and pressure.
When internal and external stakeholders are aligned, and the right influencers are engaged, engagement becomes a lever for:
better decisions
faster progress
more sustainable outcomes
When they’re not, even well-designed strategies will struggle to gain traction, and can bring delivery to a standstill.
