When a problem pops up, project leaders need to engage with stakeholders —and fast. Here are 3 pro tips when urgency is required: 1. Go in with a plan—and be ready to escalate, says Luis Felipe Villarroel Quinde, PMP, senior project engineer at Alicorp in Lima. “When you don’t reach out to higher levels of the company to try to solve the problem during urgent times, you’re not doing your job as a project manager,” he says. 2. Engage early: Keeping stakeholders in the loop from the very start creates a sense of ownership—and means they’re more likely to respond, says Anirud Srinivas, senior executive project manager at HCLTech in Tamil Nadu, India. 3. Don’t be a stranger: Put in the time to build true relationships with your stakeholders—whether it’s with a quick coffee break or a chat about industry trends, says Morgan Studer, PMP, engineering and new works project manager at Yposkesi in Paris. The payoff? The lines of communication are open, and people are ready to jump in if the...