Preventing Project Collision: Seven Steps to Keeping Your Sponsor On Board

Everyone knows the importance of turning a worthwhile effort into a well-planned project and driving it to completion. Despite the best intentions, however, the road a project travels can become rocky and sometimes end abruptly at the edge of a cliff. Usually that's because your sponsor has stopped focusing on the final destination or has even jumped off the bus.

A less-than-successful project—regardless of the reason—can adversely affect a project manager's career. Keeping your sponsor on board is critical to success. Following are questions to ask and steps to follow when you "take the wheel."

Who Is a Sponsor?
A sponsor stands to gain or lose the most. Almost always, a sponsor controls the budget and writes the checks. And always, a sponsor is the one whose commitment and organizational muscle keep the project on track

Why Would a Sponsor Disembark?
There are a number of reasons. If the value of the project isn't clear, a sponsor's commitment may be half-hearted from the beginning. The sponsor may go through the motions but be ready to bail at the first sight of a pothole. More often, a sponsor with the appropriate level of budget, commitment and influence initiates a project, then delegates direct oversight and takes a backseat.

What Happens When A Sponsor Loses Commitment and/or Contact?
Without ongoing communication and feedback, a sponsor may direct resources to other projects or activities.

How Can I Keep My Sponsor Involved?
Assuming all other aspects of the project are well-managed, the following seven steps will help to ensure success.

1. Meet with your sponsor up front, person-to-person. A phone interview is the second-best option, and e-mail is a distant third. Ask “who, what, when, where, why and how" to understand project vision, perceived benefits, expected results, timeframe and resources allocated. Resources include budget, team and the level of your sponsor’s commitment. In addition, you should establish from the beginning how your sponsor wants to be involved. Some want brief written status reports. Others want face-to-face meetings. If your sponsor has delegated responsibility, ask the same detailed questions of the person the sponsor has appointed as a stand-in.

2. Put the proposal or statement of work in writing. Use your sponsor’s or delegate’s exact words when possible. Don’t skip this step! Ideas look different in writing, and this effort will clarify the situation for your sponsor and the team as the project progresses.

3. Get agreement. If possible, meet again in person to review and edit the proposal. Before starting work, make sure your sponsor—and/or delegate—reads the proposal and signs off. Approval can be a word and handshake, but a signature or initial is best.

4. Ask how your sponsor wants to be involved. As already mentioned, find out how often your sponsor expects an update or wants to take an active role. Equally important, clarify what form reporting and involvement needs to take to keep your sponsor engaged. (At a minimum, your sponsor should appear in person at the kick-off and at major project milestones.) Make sure your sponsor knows how critical involvement is to success, and what that involvement “looks like.”

5. Write communication with your sponsor into the project action plan. When dealing with a delegate, spell out communication with the sponsor as part of his/her action plan and make certain that it happens on schedule.

6. Communicate both good and bad news. Let your sponsor know about milestones met, progress made, insights experienced, resources saved and exceptional team performance observed. Find opportunities to make your sponsor or delegate a hero. As appropriate, thank your sponsor and/or delegate in public.

7. Communicate as often as appropriate. In general, the higher priority the project and the shorter the timeline, the more frequently you should communicate. Lengthy “bread and butter” projects offer greater communication challenges. Schedule regular check-ins, focusing on progress and on communicating the project's value proposition.

What if A Sponsor Loses Commitment?
The best course is to call for a rest stop that will allow you to make repairs and move on. If the project is just beginning, you should clarify expectations around sponsorship before taking on the project. (You’ll have a good sense of this after you complete steps 1, 2 and 3.) Mid-project, it may be better to call a halt rather than stay the course. By putting on the brakes to preserve resources and avoid collision, you’re demonstrating your leadership and integrity. If the project must continue despite your warnings and you must lead it, you'll have gone on record with your professional forewarning.

Lack of effective communication is the single biggest threat to project success. Assuming all other success factors are in place, these critical questions and seven steps will help ensure that projects reach their intended destination and that you'll enhance your excellent project management "driving" record.

Author Bio

Tresa Eyres (rhymes with “dares”) is founder of Eyres Consulting (www.EyresConsulting.com), a San Francisco-based training design and development company. She has spent more than 25 years helping clients improve productivity and profitability through skillfully-targeted and effective projects and training programs. She has earned her stripes in industries ranging from trade associations to high-tech and is co-author of three business books about the SNAPP™ approach to project management. Contact Tresa at 415.564.5763 or Tresa@EyresConsulting.com.

“If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.”
— Lewis Carroll, English logician, mathematician, photographer, and author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland