Map stakeholders on a power/interest grid and tailor your engagement: high power and high interest need close management, high power and low interest need regular updates, and low power supporters can be valuable allies.
Strong answers describe: stakeholder identification techniques, power/interest grid mapping, tailored engagement strategies for each quadrant, regular reassessment as the project evolves, and managing the politics of competing stakeholder interests. Best candidates treat stakeholder management as an ongoing activity, not a one-off exercise.
Foundational PM skill. Candidates who do not systematically identify stakeholders get blindsided by unexpected opposition. Those who map and manage proactively prevent political surprises.