Project success relies in part on vigorous sponsor engagement in the planning and execution processes. Sponsors should be more than people your team contacts with requests for resources and other support. Instead, they should be active partners, collaborating closely with the project team to move the initiative through its lifecycle.
Building partner relationships takes time. If you aren’t sure it’s worth the effort to turn your sponsors into true project allies, consider some of the benefits your team can reap when your high-level supporters become highly committed partners.
Access to valuable resources through shared skills and expertise
Your project team likely has deep experience in moving initiatives from planning through to execution and completion, but there are still some skills your sponsors may be able to add that would improve your outcomes. For example, a software rollout project might benefit from the insights offered by one of the organization’s senior-level developers, even if you’re already engaging directly with the solution’s development group. A seasoned expert can often help the project group understand strategic issues and the potential for pitfalls if they aren’t navigated with care and tact. A senior developer’s previous experience may also highlight more acute issues, such as why it would be prudent to run an additional focus group to ensure the new software is fully ready for rollout. Or they might offer first-hand knowledge of similar technology projects where industry benchmarks didn’t tell a useful story without additional context. Sponsors who are partners will readily facilitate access to targeted skill sets and expert resources to help make the project a success.
Better customer satisfaction with shared perspectives and expectations
The best supporting partners want the project team to understand not just what they expect the project will deliver, but also why those results are important to the business. For example, a sponsor who is deeply involved in strategic planning efforts around production capabilities—and who is also willing to share those details when it appropriate without jeopardizing sensitive information—can help explain the tremendous value to the organization of increasing the firm’s manufacturing capabilities. When you’re racing against competitors that are also ramping up their own facilities, your partner’s perspectives can be instrumental in convincing other stakeholders to commit to the project and open the door to gaining consensus around new ways of solving problems and driving innovation. Your project partners can position the team for more productive brainstorming sessions, as everyone has the necessary clarity to understand what the team wants to accomplish and the obstacles that may be standing in the way.
Better engagement with shared information
A sponsor who understands and embraces their role as a partner on the project will be more likely to engage in robust communication channels that facilitate timely discussions and enable two-way information sharing. When sponsors are deeply invested in the initiative’s outcome, they are often eager to answer questions, provide additional details without any prompting, and even help track down important data to keep the project on track for success. Elements which are sometimes kept aside except on a need-to-know basis—funding challenges, internal staffing obstacles, or difficulty securing cooperation from other functional areas, for example—will likely be communicated to the team earlier and with fuller disclosure, empowering project participants to come together to work on possible solutions. Regular, clear, and consistent communications also help to boost the team’s productivity, and highly engaged project partners know this. When your sponsor delivers important information in a timely manner and encourages stakeholder participation, your team can move more quickly to take the right actions and maintain the project’s progress.
Turning project sponsors into active partners provides numerous benefits, from accessing valuable expertise to improving communication and driving better project outcomes. By fostering a collaborative relationship, your team can work more effectively and increase the chances of project success.
PMAlliance, Inc uses a team of highly experienced and certified professionals to provide project management consulting, project management training and project portfolio management.