Project sponsorship

The latest edition of the APM Body of Knowledge defines a sponsor as the role that is “accountable for ensuring that the work is governed e ectively and delivers the objectives that meet identified needs”. They HOW TO BE champion the work and own both the business case and the realisation of the benefits and value resulting from the project, programme or portfolio. Ultimately, they are the person with A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE SPONSOR executive oversight for the work. Depending on the organisation, the role of the sponsor may correspond with line management responsibilities or be an appointed role. The APM Body of Knowledge describes the role of sponsor as ‘critical’ and ‘crucial’ in equal measure, and this is supported by regular surveys and reports by professional project management bodies that conclude that active and supportive sponsorship is a significant factor in delivering successful projects, programmes and portfolios – with the sponsor

Drawing on recent executive providing the leadership and political influence to ensure that the work delivers on its promises. education programmes From our experience in delivering executive education programmes focused on with companies to improve improving project, programme and portfolio leadership, we have seen a plethora of sponsorship of their projects, sponsorship challenges. These include not only a lack of definition in what is expected

Carl Gavin and Stuart Forsyth share their practical tips on how to get this critical role right

from a sponsor, but also poor behaviour on their part, including ignorance of the project or, at the other extreme, micromanagement.

Here, we o er sponsors practical advice on how to be active, engaged and e ective. From our experience, most sponsors want to be successful in their role, but a lack of clarity and support in their organisation has hindered them.

1Be a good role model. Senior leaders often do not realise the huge impact of what they say and do on the behaviours of those lower down the organisation. Being a behavioural role model and setting the right tone for the project team can influence how many others behave. For example, encourage open, regular and honest communication; use positive, constructive language, even when challenging poor project performance; and be tolerant of mistakes and encourage a culture of learning from such mistakes.

2Champion good sponsorship practices. How does your organisation communicate a common definition and understanding of the role of the sponsor? How are sponsors selected for projects? How are they trained? What is the authority given to sponsors? How does your organisation ensure that sponsors demonstrate the right behaviours? How is the impact of sponsors measured? If your organisation is lacking in any of these areas, champion their improvement. Persuade your fellow senior leaders of the need to establish clarity, and define and document the role of the sponsor and practices that support e ective sponsorship. 4 Get involved as early as possible. The early stages of a project or programme are critical to its eventual success – a common theme we hear from our executive education delegates is that ‘projects rarely go wrong, they start wrong’. Their eventual success depends on developing an understanding of the project or programme as much as practicable, as early as possible: the goals and objectives; the process for achieving them; the resources to be deployed; and how all of the elements of the project interact with one another. The sponsor has a key role to play in ensuring this ‘front-end loading’ is achieved, the business case is robust and viable, and thorough planning and definition has been done.

5Build and maintain e ective relationships. Regularly interact with your project manager and team, with the aim of building strong working relationships – aim to talk often and encourage a culture of open communication (see point 6, below). Be a supportive leader and coach; develop and help build the team. A good working relationship with the project manager, based on mutual trust, is essential.

6Receive ‘truth to power’. Stay up-todate on the status of the project – don’t wait until scheduled formal project reviews for updates on performance and possibly unwelcome surprises. Encourage informal reviews to help keep up with progress and understand any issues. Encourage honest reporting of project status and make it safe to ‘speak truth to power’. The flipside of this is the open and measured receiving of that truth. Be accessible and ensure that there are no adverse repercussions for raising issues and concerns. If project team members fear that doing so will be career-limiting, they won’t do it, and problems will remain hidden.

Dr Carl Gavin is a senior lecturer in project management at Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS), University of Manchester. Professor Stuart Forsyth is an honorary professor at AMBS, and director, advanced sensors, at BAE Systems Air

3If you cannot commit to active involvement, then don’t be the sponsor. If you are too busy, decline the role – a busy sponsor is often an absent sponsor, and an absent sponsor amounts to no sponsorship. Also, if you lack interest in the project, you will be unlikely to fully engage with it, so we advise declining the role. If being appointed as the sponsor is unavoidable, consider delegating the responsibility of the role – but not the ultimate accountability – to a ‘sponsor’s agent’, who can act on your behalf. 7 Provide the necessary resources. Champion the project in acquiring the resources it needs. Projects operating in a portfolio environment can suffer from pressures in securing capable resources, each project competing with others for resource. A key aspect of the sponsor’s role is championing the cause of the project within the organisation to ensure it receives the appropriate priority. This could be during project set-up or it could be in response to emergent issues during delivery. Either way, this aspect of the role is fundamental to project success.

COMMON SPONSORSHIP CHALLENGES

O The role of the sponsor is

often not clearly defined, with sponsors not knowing what is expected of them and project teams not knowing what to expect of their sponsor.

O Often sponsors are not very

involved in their assigned project or programme and do not know much about them – this is often due to the sponsor role being in addition to their day-to-day leadership responsibilities, and they simply lack the time to be an active and engaged sponsor.

O At the other extreme,

sometimes the sponsor is too involved in the project or programme and acts more like a higher-level project manager, interfering in the day-to-day project management – and in some cases we have seen, bypassing the project manager to instruct the project team members.

O Poor behaviours from

sponsors, such as receiving news about poor project performance badly.

O Some people are

nominated to be sponsors without their knowledge, or reluctantly accept the role, and in some cases reject the role and its accompanying accountabilities.

O There is often no formal

on-boarding and training of sponsors, and a reluctance in organisations to measure and address the performance and impact of sponsors.

O With the sponsor being a

senior leadership role, there is often an unwillingness by those less senior in the organisation to inform and educate their own bosses on how sponsors should act.

8Help the project team by anticipating surprises. In their anxiety to deliver, good people working hard to meet demanding goals can fail to spot the signs of failure. Sponsors operate at a level – and with a perspective based on business experience and commercial acumen – where they may spot early-warning signs that the project team doesn’t. Liaising regularly with stakeholders or spending time with customers, for example, can help identify potential issues. Encourage discussion of potential early-warning signs, be they based on hard data or ‘gut feel’, in the project team.

9Act when the project needs support. Even with the best practical planning, issues will emerge during project delivery. Use your seniority and influence to help fix problems and clear obstacles, particularly in those areas where the influence of the project manager and team does not reach; for example, managing senior internal and external stakeholders. Be the champion and advocate for the project, demonstrating a willingness to step in and help when needed. Acknowledging that project management is a stressful profession, we recommend monitoring the wellbeing of the project manager and team and acting decisively if you see signs of stress or burnout.

10Be accountable for the results. Own the business case, the planning, the delivery and the results. The sponsor can delegate responsibility for the project to the project manager, but not the ultimate accountability. Acknowledge and demonstrate this accountability by being actively involved in the project and ensuring its success.

Leadership has been researched extensively over the past decade, with the overwhelming conclusion that competent leadership is essential for successful projects. The sponsor holds a unique and critical leadership role: owning the vision and results; inspiring, motivating and supporting the team; and fostering collaboration and commitment with stakeholders – creating the environment where projects succeed and deliver on promises.