Stakeholder Analysis 101: The Power/Interest Grid
- stakeholders
- discovery
- frameworks
Every project has more stakeholders than meeting slots. The power/interest grid is a fast way to decide who gets deep involvement, who gets regular updates, and who you can safely keep at arm's length — without guessing or playing politics.
The two questions that matter
For each stakeholder, ask:
- How much power do they have to help or block this project?
- How much interest do they have in its outcome?
Plot everyone on a simple 2x2, and their quadrant tells you how to engage them.
| Quadrant | Power | Interest | Engagement style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manage closely | High | High | Involve in decisions, weekly syncs |
| Keep satisfied | High | Low | Brief summaries, protect their time |
| Keep informed | Low | High | Regular updates, invite feedback |
| Monitor | Low | Low | Light touch, update on request |
Power and interest aren't the same as seniority
A VP who never opens your status email has low interest, no matter their title. A frontline support lead who lives with the consequences of your project every day often has more real interest — and sometimes more informal power — than their org chart position suggests. Build the grid from how people actually behave, not from where they sit on the chart.
Build it before you need it
The grid is most useful before a disagreement, not during one. Put it together in week one:
- List everyone who can approve, block, or is materially affected by the project.
- Score each person's power and interest as high or low — don't overthink precision here.
- Place them in a quadrant and write one line on how you'll engage them.
- Revisit it after any major scope change; quadrants shift.
A note on "monitor"
Low power, low interest doesn't mean "ignore." It means don't spend your limited stakeholder-management time there by default. Keep them on a mailing list, and promote them to "keep informed" the moment something changes that affects them directly.
Used well, this grid turns a vague feeling of "too many people want updates" into a short, defensible communication plan you can point to when someone asks why they weren't in a meeting.