Hey Reader,

There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes with working on a project where the people you need are never actually available.

• You schedule a meeting. They move it.
• You finally get them on a call. They have to drop after 10 minutes.
• You send a decision to them. It sits in their inbox for two weeks.

When key stakeholders are consistently unavailable, it’s rarely just about being busy.

Sign #2 is a real one because it appears as a logistical problem.

You think: “They’re just managing a lot right now. Once things calm down, they’ll be available.

Things don’t calm down.

They never do.

Availability is a choice.

When someone is consistently unavailable, they’re making a choice, even if they don’t frame it that way.

Here’s what I mean:

If something is truly important to someone, they make time for it.

• They don’t have to be asked twice.
• They don’t reschedule repeatedly.
• They’re not constantly “in another meeting.”

If they’re behaving that way, it means, consciously or unconsciously, they’re signalling that this isn’t actually a priority.

When a key stakeholder is constantly unavailable, it usually means one of three things:

1. They’re not prioritising this project.

Maybe they agreed to it because the boss wanted it.

Maybe they thought it was important at the time, but their perspective has shifted.

Maybe they’re protecting their own team’s capacity for what they think matters more.

Regardless, their actions are telling you the truth: this isn’t their priority.

2. They’re avoiding something.

Sometimes people go quiet because they don’t want to have a difficult conversation.

• Maybe they’re unhappy with the direction.
• Maybe they have concerns they’re not comfortable raising.
• Maybe they disagree with how the project is being run, but they don’t want direct confrontation.

So they disappear instead.

3. They don’t actually have the capacity.

This one is more straightforward.

They’re genuinely overloaded.

But here’s the thing: if they don’t have capacity and you need them, that’s a resource problem you have to solve now.

Not three months in.

Why This Is Dangerous

Unavailable stakeholders cost you time and momentum.

• You can’t make decisions without them.
• You can’t move forward without their approval.
• You can’t escalate issues without their involvement.

So everything slows down.

And because it’s “just a scheduling issue,” it doesn’t feel like a delivery problem.

But it is.

A project can’t move without active stakeholder engagement.

If the key people aren’t available, the project doesn’t move.

It’s that simple.

I worked on a project once where the operations manager was a critical stakeholder.

He approved the plan. He said he was committed.

But getting time on his calendar was nearly impossible.

Decisions that needed his input would sit for weeks.

We’d finally get a meeting, he’d have to leave early, and we’d have to reschedule to finish.

What should have taken three months stretched to eight.

Not because the work was complex.

But because we couldn’t get the key stakeholder engaged.

Eventually, we had to escalate to his manager.

And when his manager asked him directly: “Can you commit the time this project needs?” - he said no.

“I’m overloaded. I can’t give it the attention it deserves.”

That was the real answer.

We’d been getting the polite version (busy but trying) for months.

Once we had the honest version, we could actually solve it.

We found a different operational contact. Someone with actual capacity.

The project accelerated immediately.

How To Spot It Early

Week 1:

You’ve just scheduled the kickoff.

Notice: Do they confirm immediately, or do they move it without offering alternatives?

If they’re moving it repeatedly, that’s signal #1.

Weeks 2-4:

You need an approval or decision.

Notice: How long does it sit before they respond?

Is it hours? Days? Weeks?

If it’s consistently weeks, that’s signal #2.

By Week 5:

You’ve had a few interactions.

Notice: Are they proactively communicating with you, or only responding when you chase them?

If it’s always chase-and-respond, that’s signal #3.

By week 5, you should know if you have an available stakeholder or not.

What To Do About It

Step 1: Name it directly.

Don’t let this fester.

Schedule a conversation with the unavailable stakeholder.

Not to blame them. To clarify.

“I’ve noticed it’s been hard to get time on your calendar. Before we go further, I need to understand: Can you commit X hours per week to this project?”

Step 2: Listen to their answer.

They might say:

- “Yes, I can commit to that” (and then you hold them to it)

- “No, I can’t right now” (valuable information)

- “I can commit to Y hours, not X” (you negotiate a realistic amount)

- Silence or deflection (which is its own answer)

Step 3: Make it visible.

If they commit to specific hours per week, document it.

Share a calendar block or working agreement.

Make the commitment visible to both of you (e.g. via an email).

Depending on how crucial it is, you may want to include their boss or the wider project team on both sides.

For example, “[Person] has agreed to commit X hours a week to this project, so lets ensure we prepare any information, questions or decisions for that weekly slot so they can make timely decisions”

Step 4: Hold them accountable, gently.

When they miss a scheduled time, don’t just reschedule.

Check in: “I’m noticing you’ve had to move our meeting three times. Is this still workable?”

Give them a chance to be honest. If they keep missing it, escalate.

Step 5: If they can’t commit, escalate the resource problem.

If they genuinely don’t have capacity, you need to escalate this as a resourcing issue.

Not a personality problem. A structural problem.

“We need an operational leader committed to this project. [Person] doesn’t have the capacity. Who else can take this role?”

Here’s what I’ve learned: availability is respect.

• When someone makes time for you, they’re telling you they respect what you’re building.
• When someone is consistently unavailable, they’re telling you the opposite, even if they don’t mean to.

So the question isn’t: “How do I make them care more?”

The question is: “Is this the right person for this role?”

Sometimes the answer is yes, and the issue is a genuine capacity problem that needs solving higher up.

Sometimes the answer is no, and you need different engagement.

Either way, you’re better off knowing now.

Next Step

If you took the assessment and Sign #2 showed up on your project, this is your week to act.

Have the availability conversation.

Get clarity on capacity.

If they can’t commit the time, escalate it as a resource problem.

Don’t wait for them to magically become available.

They won’t.

But you can solve the structural problem if you name it.

Praying you have a blessed week.

Yom

P.S. Availability isn’t about being busy. It’s about priority. If someone is consistently unavailable, they’re making a choice. Once you accept that, you can actually solve the problem.

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