Shveta Miglani’s Perspective on Career Success
Dr. Shveta Miglani has spent more than two decades helping leaders navigate complex organizations, build influence, and accelerate their careers. In her new book, Navigate Your Career, she identifies one of the overlooked yet transformative practices for professionals in transition: stakeholder mapping.
Whether stepping into a promotion, making a lateral move, or joining a new company, professionals often focus on proving their technical skills or delivering results quickly. According to Miglani, the real differentiator is the ability to understand and align with the people who shape success. Stakeholders determine priorities, influence visibility, and decide whether contributions are recognized. Without a structured approach to managing those relationships, even the strongest performers risk stalled initiatives and reputational setbacks.
Why Stakeholder Mapping Matters
Miglani points to today’s rapidly changing workplace as the reason this skill is more critical than ever. Recent studies show that nearly half of middle managers are considering leaving their roles due to stress and lack of support. At the same time, only 43% of employees believe their organizations handle change effectively. Misalignment with stakeholders is a key factor in that dissatisfaction. For professionals looking to thrive, mapping relationships early can mean the difference between credibility and irrelevance.
Frameworks That Professionals Can Use
Miglani often introduces a range of established models to give context and structure to stakeholder mapping, explaining why each may be useful in different career situations. The Power–Interest Grid, for example, helps classify stakeholders according to their influence and interest, showing where professionals should focus their attention. The Salience Model expands this view by considering power, legitimacy, and urgency, making it especially helpful in environments where priorities can shift quickly. For organizations that rely on ecosystems and customer value, a Stakeholder Value Network highlights who contributes to and benefits from an initiative, clarifying the flow of impact. The Power–Predictability Matrix goes further by suggesting how consistently stakeholders might act, allowing professionals to anticipate responses. Miglani emphasizes that these frameworks are not mutually exclusive; combining elements of them often produces the most realistic and actionable map.
How Miglani Advises Building the Map
Her recommended approach begins with curiosity—identifying leaders, peers, and customers who have a significant impact on success. From there, professionals should treat the map as a living document, revisiting it regularly to capture evolving priorities. Miglani emphasizes the importance of understanding each stakeholder’s definition of success, whether that means speed, quality, innovation, or efficiency, and then aligning work to those metrics. Communication styles also matter; some stakeholders prefer detailed reports, while others thrive on informal conversations. Sharing synthesized insights through workshops or alignment sessions not only strengthens relationships but can also reveal opportunities that might otherwise be missed.
Consequences of Neglect
Miglani is equally clear about what happens when stakeholder mapping is ignored. Delivering excellent work that is misaligned with decision-makers’ expectations risks going unnoticed. Overlooking or bypassing influential voices can erode trust and credibility, stalling career growth. By contrast, professionals who apply stakeholder mapping consistently position themselves as collaborators, problem-solvers, and leaders—even without formal authority.
A Leadership Practice, Not a Task
For Miglani, stakeholder mapping is not a tactical checklist but a leadership discipline. Practiced with intention, it signals the ability to think systemically, influence across silos, and build coalitions that drive results. This is how managers evolve into leaders who shape organizational outcomes rather than just deliver assignments.
In Navigate Your Career, Miglani equips readers with the tools and frameworks to apply stakeholder mapping strategically in their own journeys. Her message is clear: career success today depends not only on expertise, but also on alignment, influence, and the quality of relationships cultivated along the way. Stakeholder mapping is the compass that helps professionals move forward in the right direction.
For more insights, follow Dr. Shveta Miglani on Instagram @navigateurcareer or connect with her on LinkedIn.
Disclaimer: The views and insights in this article reflect the professional perspective of Dr. Shveta Miglani and are provided for informational purposes only. They should not be interpreted as career, legal, or financial advice. Readers are encouraged to assess their own circumstances and seek guidance from qualified professionals before making career-related decisions.
