S2: EP3: How to Handle Difficult Stakeholders During Change Using 4 Communication Styles

Struggling with difficult stakeholders during change? When someone doesn't engage with your change communications, it's easy to assume they're being difficult, or that you're getting it wrong. In this episode of Decoding Confidence, Advita Patel explores another possibility: people aren't difficult, they're different.

Drawing on conversations at the Unite conference, the latest workplace research and the DISC framework, Advita shares practical ways internal communications and HR professionals can influence leaders, build trust and adapt their communication style without changing who they are.

In this episode:

• Why we make quick assumptions about stakeholders when we're busy
• How Daniel Kahneman's System 1 and System 2 thinking shapes workplace communication
• How leading with the "why" transformed Advita's relationship with a director
• The 4 DISC communication styles and what each stakeholder needs from you:
  • D, Dominance: lead with the decision, impact and bottom line
  • I, Influence: connect through people, energy and vision
  • S, Steadiness: offer time, reassurance and clarity about what will stay the same
  • C, Conscientiousness: share evidence, detail and rationale
• 6 practical tactics for influencing leaders when change moves fast
• What to do when a stakeholder still isn't engaging
• Why better conversations work better than sending more messages

Memorable quotes:

• "People aren't generally difficult, they are just different."
• "Saying more isn't the answer, but getting better at the conversation is what is going to work."
• "A stakeholder not engaging is rarely a verdict on your ability or your experience."

Try this: Choose one stakeholder you find challenging. Think about their communication style and your own, then change one thing about how you approach them next time. You can also simply ask: "What's the best way to keep you updated on this?"

Resources and links:

• Decoding Confidence Book by Advita Patel 
• Take the Confidence Quiz: decodingconfidence.scoreapp.com
• Explore your DISC profile with Advita 
• Connect with Advita on LinkedIn 
• CIPD Good Work Index 2026
• Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2026
• Gartner change adoption research, October 2025
• Gallagher 2026 Employee Communications Report
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman