Dealing with the Shadow Stakeholder

DEALING WITH THE SHADOW STAKEHOLDER The Regressor Demon: Part 2

Before you read this, you’ll want to make sure you’ve checked out Enter the Regressor, to have a better understanding of the demon we’re hunting this month…

When you first read the client brief, it was as though it had been written specifically for you and your talents. And now you’re in the kick-off meeting, your maverick ideas simmering just beneath the surface, as you prepare to build an e-learning course that’s going to change the world (or at least the way Dave in Logistics views compliance training).

You look across the table at the client representative and ask the million-dollar question: “Are you the final point of contact for sign-off on this project?”

The client rep - let’s call him Gary - nods. “Absolutely,” Gary says. “I am the Alpha and the Omega of this SCORM package. There is nobody above me - I am the ‘Decider’.”

Gary is a filthy liar.

Gary isn’t lying because he’s a villain, he’s lying because our frenemy, the Regressor Demon, has been whispering sweet nothings in his ear. While Gary has convinced himself he’s the boss, the Regressor is already preparing its most effective weapon to ensure your online course never reaches the potential you have for it -  instead, keeping it safe, cheap, and tick-box friendly: The Shadow Stakeholder.

The Taxonomy of the Shadow Stakeholder

The Regressor demon knows that innovation is fragile. To kill it, the Demon waits until you’ve spent 40 hours perfecting a branching narrative before it takes possession of someone on the periphery of the project. This poor puppet - the Shadow Stakeholder - will then be used to undermine Gary’s position and tell you that they "don't really like the vibe." These could include, but aren’t limited to: 

• The "Legacy" Manager: Someone who’s been at the company since 1984 and thinks "interactivity" is a fancy word for a page-turner. To them, if it doesn't look like a 90s PowerPoint, it isn't "proper training."
• The Legal Eagle: They don't care about learning, they care about not getting sued. They will turn your punchy, conversational script into a 4,000-word block of legalese that not even my hot-shot solicitor wife would understand.
• The "Creative" Outsider: This is Gary’s Mum. She doesn’t work at the company but has alternative opinions on font kerning and colour theory that defy the laws of the design gods and will offend your audience’s eyes.

My personal encounter with the Shadow Stakeholder

I’ve been victim to the Regressor’s masterstroke many a time. I once pitched a branching VR experience. “Gary the Decider” loved it. I mastered the software (3DVista), filmed the 360° footage with an expensive camera, and bought a Metaquest headset to test the experience on. I even introduced an AI avatar to guide users along their journey. It was, as the kids say, Chef’s Kiss, easily, one of the best courses I’ve worked on. And at every stage of the development process, “Gary” smiled and nodded his approval. What could go wrong, eh?

We gave the course a soft launch, to iron out any minor niggles. It had already been tested internally, and “Gary” and his team client-side had signed it off. We were golden - the money was in the bank and this course would set us on a path to a Learning Technologies award, no sweat. 

We travelled to the client’s HQ to discuss the outcome of the soft launch, the plan for full launch and PR options. And that was the moment the Regressor let loose the Shadow Stakeholder. A lone user, outside of the organisation but friendly with the CEO and not afraid to voice her opinion. And what was this opinion? What could the Shadow Stakeholder possibly say to reduce this masterpiece of a learning experience down to a safe, cheap, tick-box friendly Rise course?
“I don’t like pink.”
Sorry, come again?
“I don’t like pink. I think the AI avatar is wearing the wrong coloured sweater.”
The CEO nodded in agreement.
Then “Gary” nodded too.
The filthy liar…

And with that, the whole course got picked apart. A swarm of hitherto unknown Shadow Stakeholders emerged from the woodwork; “Too fiddly”. “Too much video.” “Why is there a bird to click on?” And all because we didn’t lock down the true “Decider”, the CEO, early on in the project. The VR world became a photo gallery, the AI avatar became a text box, and my branching narrative was reduced to a series of multiple choice questions. Yes we got paid - and paid again for the reductive revisions - but having the guts ripped out of the course ripped the soul out of me. 

My optimism and excitement for project kick-offs is now much more measured, and I’m less likely to put my own time and money into prototyping something awesome unless I am 100% confident that “Gary” is telling the truth about his status as the “Decider”. And that is how the Regressor wins - incremental changes that reduce learning experiences to click-next courses, and reduce imaginative course designers to jaded and cynical worker bees.

We’re gonna need a torch

The Regressor’s primary goal is regression to the mean. When a Shadow Stakeholder enters the fray late in the game, they don't have the context of your previous eight weeks of work. They haven't seen the research. They haven't agreed to the concepts. They haven’t been brought into the light.

To a Shadow Stakeholder, your beautiful, innovative VR experience looks "risky." And because they have authority but no skin in the game, their default setting is to pull the project back toward the Click-Next abyss. It’s the only thing they understand - the L&D equivalent of a beige cardigan.

If you want to keep your course from being haunted by late-stage "I just had a thought" emails, you need a strategy that’s part project management, part psychological warfare.

1. Getting RACI

Don’t just take Gary the Liar’s word for it. Force the client to fill out a RACI matrix (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed).

• Accountable: This is where the real Decider lives. If Gary’s boss isn’t in the "Accountable" slot, you are in danger.
• Informed: Explicitly state that these people get a link when the project is finished, and their feedback is for the next version - not this one.

2. Money Talks

Your contract should state that sign-off at each stage (Storyboard, Prototype, Launch) is final. If a new stakeholder emerges after Launch sign-off, that’s a "Change Request." When we're battling the Regressor, "Change Request" is code for: "I’m going to charge you so much money for amends that the Regressor’s 'get-it-cheap' tactics will be a pointless exercise, forcing the Shadow Stakeholder to retreat." It doesn’t always work (as in my experience above) but at least if you have to re-work the project, you’ll be paid for it.

3. Lighting Up the Shadows

If you suspect there’s a Shadow Stakeholder, channel your inner exorcist and demand their presence. Tell the client that you'd love to get the CEO's input on the initial concept, so you aren't charging for re-dos further down the line. If they refuse, at least you’ve signalled that you know the Shadow Stakeholder exists and called their bluff on them being the final Decider. You've disrupted the Regressor's stealth mission.

Don’t let the Regressor use Shadow Stakeholders to turn your e-learning masterpiece into a PDF. Identify the real Decider, lock them into the process, and do everything in your power to keep Gary’s Mum and her opinions away from the CSS file.

Mark Gash is a creative content lead for elearning, who believes there has to be more to training content than just clicking a next button.
Connect with him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markgash