The stakeholder is anyone in an organization who has a vested interest in the project or work at hand. (it could include: clients / buyers / users / management / government / etc.). But why do stakeholders sometimes resist in sharing information? As there are many possibilities I would stress at least two that could be useful to share.
- In many cases the stakeholders simply want to be heard and to voice their objections. Understanding these objections can often provide a clear path toward resolution of sharing information. Listening can also help project managers identify misunderstandings about project and realized change. So a critical step for any project manager should take is to listen.
- Remove barriers to stakeholders. Barriers may relate to many different areas, for example family, personal issues, physical limitation, money, health, etc. As a project manager you should identify the barriers clearly. Fully understand the situation with this stakeholder. What may appear to be resistance in sharing information to the project may be disguised barriers that the stakeholder cannot see. If you have done then determine ways that the business may be able to address these barriers. I am pretty sure that a small changes I mentioned can make a big difference for both project manager and stakeholder.