South Africa, Jan. 8 -- When a large multinational spent nearly eighteen months negotiating a major infrastructure deal in West Africa, it followed what many global firms still consider best practice. Its board chairman, a respected industry veteran with decades of industry experience was tasked with leading stakeholder engagement. The assumption was simple: seniority, industry expertise, and institutional gravitas would be enough. The deal ultimately collapsed. Not over technical specifications or financial terms, but over relationships that were never truly built.

A mid-level government official felt sidelined rather than respected. A local business leader acknowledged the chairman's credentials yet found the engagement culturally tone...