[Quick Tips] How to handle stakeholder venting without losing your own calm

Did you know that when you became a project manager role, you also accepted an unpaid internship as the team therapist? No? News to you?

I’m only half joking because here’s the truth - creating a safe space for people to vent and complain and get all that angsty energy out will help build a bond between you and your stakeholders.

And when you need to throw the SLA book at someone or implement a new process that you know will annoy people, it’s really helpful for them to see you as an ally vs. an obstacle to doing their jobs.

Now, the really key part here though is that you never want these kinds of exchanges to turn into an endless misery fest.

Tactics to prevent this

🧠 Set a mental time limit for how long you will allow the venting before changing the topic

🧠 Come prepared with pivots to steer the conversation into constructive territory

🧠 For truly unhappy, repeat offenders, consider escalating to a manager or someone else with the authority to address some of the underlying reasons causing the angst