Every project delivery will contain difficult stakeholders that have to be managed in a firm and polite way so not to disrupt the natural flow of the project.

Disruptive stakeholders can cause problems and can demand more attention than others but as a project manager the important skill needed is to balance the needs of disruptive stakeholders but not to the detriment of other stakeholders and the big picture which is the project delivery.

Some points below that can act as a guide.

• Remember all stakeholders are important in project delivery from operational to C-Suite, no one stakeholder should be getting more attention to the point of disruption.

• As a project manager you need to be careful to time manage each stakeholder so not to favour one over the other.

• Disruptive stakeholders can take many forms, the attention seekers who interject in every meeting, the stakeholder who constantly requests meeting schedule changes to the ones who are obnoxious and condescending.

• Project managers need to stay neutral, calm and focused on the ultimate aim, delivering a quality project.

• Make sure to control all scenarios as you deem appropriate so that the best path is taken to fit the project and not the individual.

• Try to make sure all stakeholders understand the fundamentals of project management.

• Make sure all stakeholders respect each other by controlling stakeholder engagement and meeting in a fair and equitable way.

• Just because someone shouts the loudest and rules by fear does not mean they demand more respect than other stakeholders , the opposite is true.

• Remember not all disruptive stakeholders are loud and aggressive, quiet and passive stakeholders can be just as disruptive to the success of your project.

• Try to manage the different personalities and traits of stakeholders effectively, egos and titles should not interfere in how you manage the project delivery.

• Remember stakeholders are people, we all have flaws and disruption at times may not be deliberate.

• Good communication and management can help prevent stakeholders becoming disruptive and aid a smooth project delivery 

• Project controls are key and in the event a stakeholders disruption is beginning to effect project delivery in a negative way make sure escalation protocols are clear to deal with such scenarios.

• Make sure before any escalation happens that you understand the reasons for the disruption, it could be internal politics or something completely outside your control as a project manager so only escalate when you are sure it will benefit the wider stakeholder group and project delivery.

• If the disruption involves more than one stakeholder then the damage to the project is even greater, try to act as a mediator if that is possible and manage the meetings and communications of these stakeholders more delicately as deemed necessary.