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Introduction to Stakeholder Management

Written by Cindy GaoStrategy & Ops, LinkedIn, BCG

BizOps teams act as internal consultants who help shepherd key decisions. These responsibilities often require navigating relationships with senior stakeholders, so being able to manage those relationships is critical.

Also, bizops team members are often the most junior in the room, so expectations for being able to “fly at different heights” (deliver information differently to different audiences) are high.

How BizOps interviews Test for Stakeholder Management

Interviewers are looking for a few key things.

  • Strong EQ and communication especially when dealing with ambiguity, complexity, and challenge.
  • Ability to adapt communication to different audiences.
  • Culture fit. This is a big one, as consultants are often in-and-out, whereas bizops folks need to contribute positively to company culture for the long term.
  • Ability to build and maintain trust.

There are two main interview types to prepare for: general behavioral questions, and presentation rounds.

You'll definitely get general behavioral questions such as:

  • “Tell me about a time you handled a difficult stakeholder”
  • “Tell me about a time you disagreed with someone, and how you handled it.”
  • “Tell me about a time when an idea you proposed was not agreed upon.”

You're also very likely to get a presentation interview. You may be asked to present your takehome during your on-site, or give a short presentation following a case interview. If you're not directly asked to present anything during the case question, it’s still helpful to highlight key stakeholders you need to work with to deliver the desired outcome.

Regardless of what you're in for, it's helpful to practice adapting your communication for different audiences and making formal presentations. We'll review both.

Tip: It’s important to understand that there is a second layer of assessment at work -- recounting nuanced interactions is a test of your communication skills. It would be hard to convince someone that you convinced the CEO of a new initiative if your interview example is not delivered eloquently. So take the time to practice and hone these stories.

There's a third, more subtle opportunity to demonstrate your skills as well - when the interviewer invites you to ask questions about the company. In your questions, you can ask things like “typically, how do you work with teammates?” or “how do decisions get made here?” to show your curiosity not just about the context of the work but also the team dynamics.

In the next few lessons, we’ll explore a few tools to help you with stakeholder management. We’ll cover how to build and maintain meaningful relationships, how to communicate with stakeholders, presentation best-practices, and a few tips.

Let's dive in.

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