There are various occasions when you as a Project Manager or a Business Analyst might encounter situations where you may feel a stakeholder is resisting sharing the information. While our initial interaction may force us to look at the stakeholder as someone who loves hoarding information but on deeper analysis, effective communication and a good relationship can help us overcome such challenges. There could be a lot of reasons why some stakeholders resist sharing information, the top three are:
- Job Security – Some individuals in an organization may feel that sharing the tricks of the trade which they learned over the years will make them less effective in the future so they do not disclose all the information at once.
- Culture of the organization – If an organization runs on principle like Knowledge is power and should be shared for one’s advantage than the organization is leaning towards a toxic environment.
- Negative Stakeholders – While you may need critical bits of information for your project, the success of your project might negatively impact these stakeholders and they do not want the success of your project. There could be a lot of political reasons which make them not to share the information.
To summarize, while there could be many personal, professional reasons why one may not share the information, the organization should instill a culture that promotes collaboration and a healthy work style. Leadership should keep a check on the culture and try different programs in the organization which promotes a feeling of oneness and one family.