Project Sponsor
Holds budget sign-off, risk appetite, and the executive relationship with the board. Wants the outcome; doesn't want surprises.
Risk: High influence, rarely in the room — assumptions about their position are dangerous.
MULTIPLAYER SIMULATION · 6 ROLES · UP TO 36 PLAYERS
Six agendas.One approval.Your call.
A multiplayer simulation where every stakeholder in the room wants something different — and you need all of them to say yes.
- Format
- Multiplayer
- Duration
- 2–3 hrs
- Players
- 6–36
- Skill
- Influence
Quick answer
Stakeholder Management is Tryitowl's Metro Stakes simulation: participants balance committee politics, budget shifts, and private lobbying while a public project timeline keeps moving — practise influence without burning trust.
The most dangerous word in any project is "assumed."
66%
of projects fail due to inadequate stakeholder engagement (PMI)
2.3×
more likely to miss timelines when stakeholder alignment isn't established early
Q3
is when most stakeholder crises surface — long after Q1 decisions locked them in
Every project has a room full of people who were never asked the right question. This simulation is that room.
Most stakeholder management training teaches a framework. Map your stakeholders. Rate power vs. interest. The framework is sound — but it's often done in a spreadsheet, alone, before anyone has said anything difficult in the room.
Stakeholder Management puts six people in role, each holding a different agenda and real decision-making power. The situation isn't resolved by the right framework. It's resolved by how you read the room, how you build the case, and what you're willing to trade.
How the session runs
Structured phases keep energy and learning tight — from brief through play to debrief.
Phase 1
Everyone Reads a Different Version
Six stakeholders receive their briefs with different objectives and success criteria. None know exactly what the others hold. The simulation begins before the first vote — in what each person chooses to reveal.
Information asymmetry
Phase 2
Build Your Coalition
Structured time for bilateral conversations. Who do you need? What do you trade? The team that wins the vote often built the majority before the meeting started.
Negotiation + alliance-building
Phase 3
Everyone Decides
The proposal goes to a vote. Positions are visible to all. Then the debrief: what drove each decision, what was missed, and what would change.
Resolution + accountability
Sample stakeholder scenarios
- Option: Present the revised figure with full justification — accept that it may reopen the approval process.
Consequence: Transparent; may slow the steering committee but preserves trust with finance.
- Option: Present the original figure and absorb the delta from contingency without flagging.
Consequence: If the CFO discovers the discrepancy in Q3 reporting, trust in the project lead drops and the sponsor may distance themselves.
- Option: Request a bilateral with the CFO before the steering committee meets.
Consequence: Buys alignment time; shows respect for finance — often the highest-ROI path.
The six stakeholders
CFO
Holds the financial model and the long memory of what was promised last year.
Risk: Must be won over with data before the meeting, not managed in the room.
External Client
Holds success criteria and the relationship. Has non-negotiables that were never written down.
Risk: Will disengage if they feel managed rather than consulted.
Operations Lead
Holds execution reality — which timelines are feasible and which are political.
Risk: Will torpedo the vote if the plan ignores ground-level constraint.
Regulator / Compliance
Holds the rules nobody reads until something goes wrong.
Risk: Low voice, high veto — easy to forget to include.
Internal Champion
Nominally an ally — holds political capital and uses it carefully.
Risk: If you don't protect their position, they won't protect yours.
What gets measured in the room
Live feedback makes trade-offs visible — so debrief uses data, not impressions alone.
Stakeholder alignment score
0–100
Coalition strength
% of votes secured pre-meeting
Information coverage
Shared vs. held back
Influence budget
Points spent vs. remaining
Style patterns the debrief surfaces
The Broadcaster
Tells everyone everything. Loses leverage through transparency — trusted, but often outmanoeuvred.
The Fortress
Hoards information. Strong position, weak relationships — may win the vote but lose the next three.
The Dealmaker
Trades strategically — wins more than they lose with a replicable pattern.
The Reactor
Responds bilaterally without a plan — coalitions get built by others.
Facilitator debrief
- Which stakeholder did you most underestimate — and what told you, when?
- What did you choose not to disclose? What did that cost you?
- Where did your pre-meeting assumption about another player prove wrong?
- Who in this room recognises a stakeholder from the simulation in their real work right now?
- Name one specific conversation you'll have differently this week — committed.
Also in the experience
- Facilitator dashboard with live vote states
- PWA-friendly player experience for hybrid rooms
- Structured debrief prompts tied to decision log
- Sessions from 6–36 players, multiple rounds supported
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View simulation →Frequently asked questions
What is the Stakeholder Management simulation?▼
A facilitated Metro Stakes scenario where leaders manage multiple stakeholders with conflicting priorities, incomplete information, and visible reputational stakes. Decisions update influence maps and project health.
What skills does this simulation develop?▼
Stakeholder mapping, coalition building, transparent communication under pressure, and knowing when to escalate versus negotiate — mapped to competency indicators in debrief.
Who is Stakeholder Management training for?▼
Senior managers, programme leads, and transformation teams operating in matrixed organisations — especially before major governance or steering-committee cycles.
Let's talk about your team
Book a facilitated session — we'll match group size, format, and outcomes to the right simulation.