Most of us can identify our stakeholders, make sure we really understand their needs and desires are, and scope out a general approach for prioritizing and dealing with each stakeholder. To become really effective at stakeholder leadership, you’ll need a specific plan of action, based on what they need or want from you and how you will satisfy that need or want.

Now, I’m guessing that this is pretty easy to figure out when you’re thinking about your number-one stakeholder. You can probably do it in your sleep.

It’s the stakeholders on the periphery who are more challenging. These might be people you haven’t even spent much time with. But suppose you’ve gotten into some problems on a project and this one stakeholder’s concerns have to be addressed. If you haven’t thought much about this stakeholder, you may be in for a bumpy ride.

When you’re trying to make specific plans for satisfying a stakeholder’s needs, there are three key issues to consider:

Form. What form of information do they need to receive? Is it a report, is it you swinging by and speaking to them. Also, are they expecting some kind of blueprint or document or physical deliverable?

Periodicity. This is really just a fancy way to say how often you have to meet with them. How often do they have to see results from you? Do you need to submit a report at the end of every day, or every week, or every month? How often do they need to make contact with you?