How to fix poor sponsorship

20 May

Written By Ed Pike

Poor sponsorship shows up in many different ways: From withholding support, or resources, and deliberately creating barriers to absence or passive involvement, which can be hard to address.

The word ‘sponsor’ is used to mean many different things, which gives confusion over clarity.

We brought together some of the best change minds to get to the bottom of the what, why, who, and how of poor sponsorship.

This paper is what they had to say.

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The role of a sponsor

We started at the beginning, with defining the role of a ‘sponsor’ which is not an easy task. Sponsors are expected to be multi-dimensional super-heroes

Their role encompasses

Leadership: including taking the ultimate accountability for the success of the project.
Strategic Vision: great sponsors bring a clear vision for the change, and align their initiatives with the organisational strategy
Advocacy: using political power and influence to gain support, negotiate, provide ‘air cover’ for, or authentically championing the change
Resource provision: clearing roadblocks, ensuring that the change has the resources, budget, executive time it needs to succeed.
Coach and Mentor: beyond leadership, offer advice, feedback and support the team, challenge where it is needed to enable growth
Outcome Focused: bring a laser-like focus on the business outcomes and the benefits for the organssation.

A ‘sponsor’ is a critical factor in the success of any project or change initiative.

Signs that sponsorship is poor

When it is bad, it is really bad. A project that lacks sponsorship lacks direction and resources. It feels as though you are hitting your head against the wall.

Here are the signs you have a problem

Resource Withholding: Your budget, your people or your data are late or simply missing.
Barrier Creation: Your sponsor inadvertently (or deliberately) creates barriers to your success.
Self Serving Agenda: Your sponsor uses the project for their own agenda, not delivering your outcomes
Disconnect from Reality: Your sponsor is poorly connected or does not understand what they have taken on.
Lack of Vision and Accountability: Your sponsor cannot clearly articulate your vision, and fails to own their role, the project and your outcomes
Avoids Tough Decisions: Your sponsor fails to confront issues, and avoids tough conversations and decisions.
Mixed and confusing messages: Leading to confusion through the project and others stakeholders.
Undermining trust and transparency: Lack of transparency about project challenges or decisions, or a failure to build trust with the team.
Absent Leadership: Frequently absent from project meetings, disinterested and difficult to get hold of
Passive involvement: Your sponsor attempts to delegate their leadership, is passive in meetings and shows little or no interest or engagement with the project, or its objectives.

Download the paper for a Sponsorship Checklist which helps you to regularly check the level of sponsorship you are getting.

Root Causes

To work smarter, not harder, you need to address the root causes, rather than the effects that are visible.

We have identified four mega causes, which map onto a 2*2 matrix

Internal vs. External: Factors within the project or organization's control (internal) and those that originate outside of it or are influenced by broader industry or market conditions (external).
Structure vs. Behavior: Factors relating to organizational structure, processes, and roles (structure) or those related to individual actions, skills, and attitudes (behavior).

Review the matrix regularly to spot emerging root causes, especially those that are external and where focus may be lost by the sponsor.

Who is accountable

The results of this assessment surprised the team at Irrational Change. The attendees firmly put the blame (80%) with the leaders, the sponsors themselves and those who assigned them

Our research shows that few leaders have clarity of what is expected of them, and even fewer have had any training on how to lead a project, or a change. Both activities that the project and change teams should take accountability for.

How to Fix Poor Sponsorship

Fixing sponsorship takes a holistic approach with a mixture of soft and hard interventions, whether that is trust building, or shifting the rituals and routines within the project and SteerCo.

We identified five groupings of tactics, one stands out above all else: Building Trust and Open Communications

Role Clarity and Expectations

Define and Communicate roles: clearly articulate from the start, and remind regularly
Model Good Sponsorship: Walk the talk. Reward when this is done well.
Set Clear Metrics: Start with what good, and bad look like. Be specific.

Support and Develop

Build Trust and Open Communications: Start here. Establish a trusted advisor relationship, with a safe space for open dialogue.
Provide Resources and Support: Actively coach and mentor your sponsors to help them navigate their role
Educate: Upskill your sponsors in their role as a change agent and leader (where appropriate), share the latest and best practices

Engage and Align

Ensure Commitment: Guage the commitment early, build if necessary, and understand why it is slipping.
Be Active: Engage sponsors in meaningful tasks which keep them active participants of the change. Avoid letting them become passive.
Engage Stakeholders: Help sponsors build relationships and advocate with stakeholders

Collaborate and Adapt

Adapt to the Sponsor: Tailor your approach based on the sponsors own style, concerns and availability. Make it easy for them to be a sponsor, without them delegating their work to you
Culture of Sponsorship: Normalise the way sponsors show up in your organisation to mitigate any gaps.

Continuous Improvement

Regular Progress Updates and Feedback: Make this a habit, mitigate any risk of a sponsor being surprised.
Recognise and Celebrate Success: The small things matter, acknowledge the sponsors contributions, continued engagement and improvements
Address Challenges Proactively: Deal with discomfort and address challenges directly and quickly, as they arise. The longer you leave it, the harder it becomes

If this feels familiar, download the full changeXchange article which includes