# Stakeholder Comms > >- - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-michaelsvanbeek-personal-agent-skills-stakeholder-comms` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [michaelsvanbeek](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/michaelsvanbeek) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** MIT - **Upstream author:** [michaelsvanbeek](https://github.com/michaelsvanbeek) - **Source:** https://github.com/michaelsvanbeek/personal-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/stakeholder-comms ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-michaelsvanbeek-personal-agent-skills-stakeholder-comms ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # Stakeholder Communication ## When to Use - Preparing an executive briefing or leadership update - Managing expectations when timelines slip or scope changes - Negotiating priorities with product managers or peer engineering leaders - Escalating a blocking issue through the org - Delivering difficult messages (missed targets, team changes, resource constraints) - Building influence and visibility for your team across the org - Presenting technical decisions to non-technical stakeholders --- ## Communication Principles 1. **Know your audience** — Tailor depth, language, and framing for the recipient 2. **Lead with "so what"** — Why should this person care? Start there. 3. **Be direct** — State your point in the first 2 sentences. Context comes after. 4. **Propose, don't just present** — Come with a recommendation, not just options 5. **Quantify** — Numbers build credibility. "3 customers impacted" > "some customers affected" 6. **Close the loop** — Every communication should end with a clear next step or ask --- ## Communicating Upward (Manager, VP, Exec) ### What They Care About - **Business impact**: Revenue, customers, retention, time-to-market - **Risks**: What might go wrong and what's the plan? - **Decisions needed**: What do you need from them? - **Confidence level**: How sure are you about your plan? ### Format: Executive Briefing ```markdown ## [Topic] — [Date] ### Bottom Line [1–2 sentences: the key message. Put the most important thing first.] ### Context [2–3 sentences: enough background for the reader to understand the situation] ### Options | Option | Pros | Cons | Effort | My Rec | |--------|------|------|--------|--------| | A | ... | ... | ... | ← | | B | ... | ... | ... | | | C (do nothing) | ... | ... | ... | | ### Recommendation [Which option and why, in 2 sentences] ### Ask [Specific: "I need a decision by Friday" or "Approve option A so we can proceed"] ``` ### Tips for Upward Communication - **Don't bury the lede** — If the project is off track, say so in sentence one - **Frame problems with solutions** — "X is at risk. Here's my plan to address it: Y" - **Respect their time** — Executives get hundreds of messages. Be ruthlessly concise. - **Use their language** — Business metrics, not story points. Customer impact, not code complexity. - **Pre-wire important decisions** — Socialize with your manager before presenting to the VP --- ## Communicating Laterally (Peer EMs, PMs, Designers) ### What They Care About - **Dependencies**: What do they need from your team? What do you need from theirs? - **Shared priorities**: Are you aligned on what matters this quarter? - **Capacity**: Can you take on their request? Can they take on yours? - **Coordination**: Release timelines, migrations, shared component changes ### Format: Cross-Team Alignment ```markdown ## [Topic] — Cross-Team Update ### Context [What's happening and why does it affect both teams?] ### Our Plan [What we're doing and our timeline] ### What We Need From You [Specific, timeboxed asks] ### What You Can Expect From Us [Deliverables and dates] ### Open Questions [Things we need to resolve together] ``` ### Tips for Lateral Communication - **Be transparent about constraints** — "We can do X but not until Sprint 7" is more useful than "maybe" - **Negotiate, don't mandate** — You don't have authority over peer teams, only influence - **Document agreements** — Follow up Slack conversations with a written summary or email - **Proactive > reactive** — Tell peers about changes before they discover them --- ## Communicating Downward (Your Team) ### What They Care About - **Context**: Why are we doing this? How does it connect to the bigger picture? - **Impact on their work**: What changes for them? - **Recognition**: Is their work valued? - **Honesty**: Are you being straight with them? ### Tips for Downward Communication - **Share context generously** — The "why" matters more than the "what" - **Be transparent about uncertainty** — "I don't know yet, but here's what I do know" - **Celebrate publicly, coach privately** — Wins in Slack, feedback in 1:1s - **Don't sugarcoat** — Teams respect honesty about challenges - **Repeat important messages** — Say it in Slack, say it in standup, say it in the 1:1 --- ## Escalation Framework When you need to escalate an issue: ### Before Escalating 1. **Attempt to resolve** at the current level first 2. **Document** the issue, its impact, and what you've tried 3. **Notify** the other party that you plan to escalate ### Escalation Message ```markdown ## Escalation: [Issue Title] ### Situation [What is happening — factual, no editorializing] ### Impact [Business impact: customers affected, revenue at risk, timeline delay] ### What We've Tried [Steps already taken to resolve] ### What We Need [Specific decision or action from the escalation recipient] ### Timeline [How urgent: "Need a decision by EOD" or "Blocking until resolved"] ``` ### Rules - **Stick to facts** — No blame, no emotion, just the situation - **Quantify impact** — "3-day delay affecting 200 customers" not "this is really bad" - **Propose a path forward** — Don't just throw the problem over the wall - **Follow up** — After the escalation resolves, close the loop with all parties --- ## Difficult Conversations ### Delivering Bad News 1. **Be direct** — "We're going to miss the deadline by two weeks" not "we might have a slight delay" 2. **Own it** — Don't blame external factors reflexively. If your team could have done something differently, acknowledge it 3. **Bring a plan** — Bad news + recovery plan is 10× better than bad news alone 4. **Give advance notice** — Get ahead of it. Finding out through a missed deadline is worse than hearing about it a week early ### Pushing Back on a Request ```markdown "I understand the importance of [their request]. Here's the trade-off: taking this on would mean [what we'd have to deprioritize]. My recommendation is [alternative approach]. If [their request] is the higher priority, I'm open to adjusting — I just want to make sure we're making that trade-off intentionally." ``` --- ## Anti-Patterns | Anti-Pattern | Problem | Better Approach | |-------------|---------|----------------| | Burying bad news | Erodes trust when discovered | Lead with the most important/difficult item | | Presenting problems without solutions | Makes you a messenger, not a leader | Always propose a path forward | | Using team jargon with execs | They don't understand and won't ask | Translate to business language | | Escalating without trying first | Burns political capital | Document what you've tried before escalating | | Vague asks | "Provide more support" vs. "Approve 1 additional headcount" | Make every ask specific and actionable | | Over-communicating | People tune out | Match detail to audience; less is more for execs | ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [michaelsvanbeek](https://github.com/michaelsvanbeek) - **Source:** [michaelsvanbeek/personal-agent-skills](https://github.com/michaelsvanbeek/personal-agent-skills) - **License:** MIT Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-michaelsvanbeek-personal-agent-skills-stakeholder-comms - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/michaelsvanbeek - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.