Overcoming Sponsorship that Isn’t There

By Bob McGannon, PMP

Project managers often are forced to deliver their projects with a distinct shortage of good sponsorship decisions and support due to a lack of time, lack of knowledge or a lack of focus on the part of senior stakeholders. Though few projects will genuinely deliver what is promised without some degree of sponsorship, the astute project manager can take some actions to a) recognise these shortcomings and b) take appropriate action to overcome them. These approaches require a small dose of ‘being bold’ and require a bit of diligent ‘homework’. So, see if you recognise any of these instances where your sponsorship ‘isn’t present:’

• Lack of knowledge by the sponsor of what they are supposed to do

The best project managers are predictable – they set their direction, communicate that direction and follow it, alerting stakeholders of changes along the way. This degree of direction is only effective if accompanied with sufficient processes that serve as enablers of their prescribed direction. A fundamental piece of that process set consists of how the project manager interacts with key stakeholders – not the least of which is the sponsor. Every project needs to have sufficient processes in place for involving, informing and - in some cases - warning the sponsor. Sponsors are different – they have differing amounts of time, varying trust in the project manager and the team, and preferences for the level of detail contained in the information they receive. In short, a process needs to be discussed and agreed upon with the sponsor. The uneducated sponsor will then become acquainted with the managerial needs of the project and its management team. That process discussion should cover the following topics:

• Access to funding for the project
• Control and decision making for any business process to be changed as a result of the project
• Ability to secure and prioritise resources
• Compliance and measurement of performance standards after changes are implemented by the project
• Support and assistance with the management of key stakeholders

Through these process discussions, the sponsor’s education – or at least awareness level – concerning the items expected of a project sponsor will be enhanced. The project manager can then discuss and propose the level of decision making that will be delegated to the project management team and those decisions that are reserved for the sponsor. After these discussions, the experienced project manager makes absolutely certain that these sponsorship processes are followed with great consistency!

• Motivation of the project manager and project teams come in the form of aggressive deadlines and a message to ‘just get it done.’

continue>>