Abstract
Have you ever managed a project where the project sponsor was disengaged, unrealistic or overly demanding? Or have you ever tried to get by without a project sponsor only to have the project go down in flames? Most every experienced project manager has at some point in his or her career encountered an onerous project sponsor, which either made a project more difficult to execute or caused it to fail altogether.
This paper focuses on ten key attributes that a great project sponsor possesses and how the project manager can coach a project sponsor to better represent his or her project. The paper is based on real-life experiences of both great and not-so-great project sponsors and outlines tried-and true techniques used to help project sponsors be more effective at ensuring a project's success.
Introduction
Some years back I was appointed the lead program manager on an initiative to consolidate a number of disparate order management systems into a single system which supported all of the company's order management needs. There were about five program managers working with me who each dragged in their respective customers to participate in the project. The project was sponsored by the IT organization with no sponsorship from the business owner. The project lumbered along for about two months with the customers continually questioning why they were working on a project that wasn't on their manager's radar. The business owner finally had enough and called IT management and the lead program manager (me!) into a meeting. The meeting started off with the manager saying to IT, “Who told you to do this project?” Now, I'm no rocket scientist, but it was pretty clear at that point that this was not to be one of my shining project management moments. While the meeting was very uncomfortable, I learned an extremely important lesson: absolutely, without a doubt, secure sponsorship on a project at the beginning, or suffer the consequences.
For any project, it's crucial to get an appropriate level of project sponsorship. I've never seen or managed a successful project that didn't have an appropriate level sponsor leading the charge. Optimally, your project sponsor should have decision making authority over the in-scope project areas, while staying close enough to the work in order to understand the implications of any issues raised. If your sponsor is at too low of a level, they're unlikely to be able to make decisions that will stick and will have to get authorization from their management before committing to decisions. If your sponsor is too high of a level, decisions will be made, but you're probably not making the best use of management because others at lower levels could have handled the decisions.
Identifying an appropriate-level project sponsor is a great first step in ensuring a successful project. The project sponsor also needs to exhibit some key attributes to help the project navigate the turbulence and nail a three-point landing. Through my experience, I've zeroed in on ten key attributes a great project sponsor should possess to better ensure a project's successful completion.
The Top Ten Attributes Explained
#1 – Clearly understand the problem to be solved
Project sponsors need to be responsible for a clear, straightforward articulation of the problem to be solved. The problem itself can be generated a number of ways, as follows:
The organization is trying to stop the hemorrhaging of an existing problem – In stopping the hemorrhaging, the organization is attempting to address a problem to either cease the problem from occurring or reduce the impact of the problem. For example, an order processing organization that hand-enters orders into a system cannot keep up with incoming orders, causing orders to be entered into the system 48 hours after the order is received at the order processing organization. Now, some managers may view this as a good problem to have (since more orders means more money!) but delinquent entry also means dissatisfied customers and ultimately lost sales. Nonetheless, the problem statement focus is an order creation cycle time reduction from 48 hours to possibly four hours.
The organization is trying to improve upon something that may already be working – In improving upon something, the organization is taking an opportunistic approach to making something that already works run better. For example, an accounts payable organization that processes invoices by hand may be able to process invoices satisfactorily and pay its bills on time, but the cost of processing the invoice can be reduced through automating the invoice capture and payment process. The problem statement focus is a reduction in the processing costs per invoice from $x to $y.
The organization is trying to prevent a problem from occurring – In preventing a problem from occurring, the organization deploys mitigation measures to stop an impending problem from happening. Some great examples of this were the millions of projects conducted during Y2K. In most every Y2K project, the organization was working to ensure that on January 1, 2000, absolutely nothing was different than on December 31, 1999. The problem statement focus was ensuring there would be no impact to business operations after January 1, 2000.
Regardless of the genesis of the problem, the project sponsor needs to ensure the problem statement contains three components: the problem, the measure to inform the team when the problem is fixed, and the date the problem needs to be fixed. In looking at our invoice example above, stating the problem as “We need to reduce the cost of processing invoices” is an incomplete problem statement because there is no indication of when it needs to be done or by how much it needs to be done. A better articulation of the problem statement would be “We need to reduce the cost of processing invoices by 50% by July 15, 20xx.” One area a problem statement should not focus on is the means in which the problem is resolved. For example, saying “We need to reduce the cost of processing invoices by 50% by July 15, 20xx through use of system ABC” combines a problem statement and a proposed solution and locks the team into a solution regardless of whether a better solution exists.
#2 – Ensure the solution fixes the problem
Clear and precise articulation and communication of the problem is a great way to start a project. But for every clearly defined problem there needs to be an associated solution which addresses the problem. The project sponsor is ultimately responsible for ensuring that any proposed solution truly addresses the problems the project team is attempting to solve. There are three considerations a project sponsor needs to keep in mind to ensure the solution addresses the problem:
The solution focuses on root causes, not symptoms - Think back to our invoicing example. Let's say the project team believes the best way to improve invoice processing time is to automate the existing processes that create invoices. That solution may bring some value to the organization, but then let's say the existing invoicing process contains a significant number of non-value-added processes which can be eliminated through some good old fashioned process re-engineering prior to applying automation. The end result would not only be a better automated process, but one which has been stripped of non-value-added activity. Had the inefficient processes been automated, the solution would be focusing on symptoms of a problem, not necessarily the root causes of the problem. Re-engineering the processes prior to automation drove more of a root-cause driven solution.
There are no “pork-barreled” solutions included in the core solution – It's easy for a project team (including the project sponsor) to try to solve multiple problems with the proposed solution. Now, I'm all for efficiency, but the project sponsor needs to be cautious of ballooning the project's scope and complexity by asking the project team to “just do this little thing” during the project. If the project warrants an increase in scope due to impending business conditions, then by all means increase the scope, time, and budget accordingly. The project sponsor needs to keep close tabs on this and ensure the project doesn't become too unfocused or unwieldy for the project team because the team is trying to do too much.
The project sponsor can clearly envision and articulate how the organization would benefit by implementing the solution – In my view, it's not enough for the sponsor to concur with a solution. The project sponsor needs to clearly see how the solution will be implemented, how the solution will address the stated problem, and the tangible benefits the organization will realize as a result of implementing the solution. Passive acceptance of the solution will only mean the project sponsor can blame the project manager that the solution didn't solve the problem. This one falls squarely on the shoulders of the project sponsor.
#3 – Know where “good enough” is
A project sponsor needs to have accountability not only to his organization, but also to the overall organization for which he works. As such, the project sponsor needs to maintain a fiduciary responsibility to properly utilize organizational assets. The project sponsor needs to know the “good enough” line. To me, good enough means identifying “must need” project requirements then delivering only what is required to meet “must need.” As managers, we have had terms like “excellence,” “exceeding expectations,” and “total customer satisfaction” drilled into our heads and many of us (myself included) have taken these terms and concepts to a point where we would rather over-deliver upon requirements than risk not meeting an organizational need. To me this is just plain lazy. “Good enough” means you've truly taken the time to understand the organization's need, devised a solution to meet the need, and gotten there using as few resources as possible.
Working to “good enough” means the project sponsor ensures the following:
The project team doesn't waste organization resources by over-engineering a solution – As noted above, the important thing is to understand the need, devise a solution that meets the need, and then get there in the shortest amount of time. In taking this approach, I am not advocating that a project team just do “Band-Aid” solutions and quick fixes. Sometimes quick fixes are appropriate, but at other times more long-term solutions are called for. That decision should reside with the project team and the project sponsor based on the urgency and importance of the organizational need. Define the need and deliver to the need in a straight line.
The project team doesn't over-simplify things thereby under-allocating resources to fix the problem – In thinking “good enough,” it is easy to take the mantra to an extreme and under-deliver on a solution. Over-applying “good enough” actually yields a solution which is “not good enough” and fails to meet the organizational need. “Good enough” works both ways; it protects against under-delivering as well as over-delivering a solution.
#4 – Build the right team to solve the problem
The project sponsor is a crucial member of the project team. A key responsibility of the project sponsor is to build the right team with the appropriate skills to deliver the needed solutions. Building the right team starts with a strong project manager who hopefully has a good relationship with the project sponsor and is trusted by him. Then, depending on the nature of the project, the right people with appropriate skills are staffed on the project. This isn't to say that every project team has to be staffed with 100% of the optimal skills to succeed; I've done plenty of projects where we've invested in some project team members to build some “on the job” skills. It is important, though, to ensure skill gaps are more of an exception, rather than having most of your project team members in “growth jobs.”
To build a strong team:
Appoint a strong project manager capable of driving the solution – Simply put, a weak or inexperienced project manager, left to his own devices, will in the highest likelihood mean a poorly executed project. Now, project managers need to learn how to manage projects somewhere, and I'm a strong believer in on-the-job training. What can create a problem, though, is when an inexperienced or weak project manager is sent out to do a project without a more senior project manager serving in a program manager or a mentor role. It's OK to throw a weak or inexperienced project manager into the deep end of the pool, so long as a more experienced project manager is there with a life preserver.
Secure the right resources the project manager needs to get the job done – At times the project manager may have the available staff required to get the work done. There are times, though, that a team member with the appropriate skill set needs to be re-assigned from another project, moved from a job in another organization, or purchased from a vendor. The project sponsor needs to determine if the project is important enough to re-assign or purchase the required resources, then help the project manager acquire the resources needed to get the job done.
Ensure that resources aren't over or under-allocated to the project – Identifying resources to be used on the project is an important first step. The next step is ensuring resources aren't over- or under-allocated to a project. Resources can be under-allocated either through under-estimation of work required on the project or by asking a team member to work on multiple projects, thus spreading him too thin. Over-allocation occurs when a project manager becomes overly zealous with his or her resource request; he is in panic mode due to a project going bad, or when a project manager hasn't done enough homework on understanding the true resource need. Project sponsors should take some time to understand resource requests and ensure the request is reasonable for the project.
Removes non-performers or poor-fits as necessary - Yup, it happens. Sometimes projects get a poor performer or a person with skills that don't mesh well with the project. If the gap is big enough for the team member to be removed, the project sponsor needs to support the project manager and help replace the team member. This is the project manager's first responsibility, but the project sponsor may need to provide additional support if a resource from a different organization is needed to replace the poor performer, or if the project manager needs to buy the resource from a third party. In any event, the project sponsor needs to remove the unfit project team member and help the project manager get a timely replacement.
#5 – Hold the team accountable for results
I firmly believe that each team member needs to clearly understand what they need to do, the deadline, and how his work fits into the big picture. I also believe the team isn't only accountable to the team leader; they are accountable to each other, because if any one role fails, the entire team fails.
The project manager needs to hold each team member accountable for delivery, but the project sponsor should reinforce the accountability with not only the project manager, but the team as well. As a project sponsor, I needed to support my project manager and ensure the entire team (including the project manager) was expected to do the job being asked of them and if they weren't doing the job they would need to explain why.
Project sponsors can hold the team accountable several ways:
Meet with the team on an appropriate regular basis for status updates – The idea here is not to do the job of the project manager. The project manager needs the latitude to manage the team and to clear up problems before kicking them up to the project sponsor. I do believe, though, that it is good and healthy to get the project team in a room with the project sponsor and let the team discuss the status of the project to the sponsor. Not only does it help with reinforcing the project manager, it also demonstrates commitment to the project on the part of the project sponsor.
Ask the tough questions, particularly of poor performers – True, the project sponsor is expected to inspire, motivate and direct. The project sponsor is also expected to ask difficult questions, call out poor performance, and ensure the team is delivering to the organizational need. This means at times having to get aggressive and making people uncomfortable. Rather than shy away from the responsibility, the project sponsor needs to embrace this responsibility and perform the job well.
Keep the team focused on dates and deliverables – Again, I'm not expecting the project sponsor to do the job of the project manager in focusing the team on dates and deliverables. There are times, though, when the project manager needs to be refocused because he or she has lost sight of critical dates and deliverables. The project sponsor needs to be active in driving the required focus if he sees the team taking their collective eye off the eight-ball and keep them driving to the project schedule. If there are legitimate reasons for the change in focus due to a critical project issue that the team has encountered, then by all means adjust schedule and cost if business needs warrant. Just make sure the decision is deliberate and not something that happens because of missed delivery dates.
#6 – Know the big issues and what is needed to resolve them
I've never managed a project without at least one gargantuan issue which required me to enlist the help of my sponsor to help drive resolution. The best project sponsors are those who can engage on an issue, quickly help devise a strategy for resolution, and then do his or her part to drive resolution. As a project sponsor, I loved getting “Lonnie go do's” from the team. These were the really thorny, political issues which the team relied on me to trail blaze a resolution. They sometimes were as easy as making a phone call or dropping by an office, but made a significant impact to the team in helping them get the job done.
Be an engaged project sponsor who drives the big, meaty issues:
Understand the outstanding big issues facing the team – Whether through regular status updates or specific escalations, a good project sponsor knows the big issues on the team. The sponsor doesn't need to know every issue or be engaged on issues the team can handle on its own; that is the job of the project manager. The sponsor and manager do need get into a rhythm on what type of issues should be escalated, and the sponsor needs to be prepared to mobilize when called upon.
Know what is needed of the project sponsor to help resolve the issues – Being available to help with issues is a great first step. It's also important for the project sponsor to know what needs to be done once an issue is escalated. This is the responsibility of the project manager. When articulating an issue for the project sponsor, the project manager needs to be very explicit about what he wants the sponsor to do, when it needs to be done, and who else needs to be involved. Just as any team member, the project manager needs to manage the project sponsor on resolution of the issue and hold the project sponsor accountable for the commitment.
Hold the team accountable to timely resolution of issues – Just as with key milestones, the project sponsor should reinforce accountability and hold those assigned to issue resolution accountable to deliver. It's important to also note that the project sponsor needs to not accept “lazy escalations” from the team. I've had a number of times as a project sponsor where I needed to reject the team's escalation request because the team was escalating a problem they could solve on their own. Just because the sponsor makes himself available for escalated issue resolution doesn't mean he should do the work of the project team.
#7 – Be the advocate, coach, influencer, and battering ram
The best project sponsors aren't those who just sit in an office making sure the employees are doing their jobs. They help, encourage, coach, and pave the way for the project team. As a project manager, I placed very high value on relationships with project sponsors I could bounce ideas off of, brainstorm solution alternatives, or get help with tough issues. As a project sponsor, I actively tried to play that role with my project managers. The rationale here is simple; two heads are better than one. One of the project sponsor's roles is to help the project manager succeed, so it's important the sponsor plays the part.
As a project sponsor, you can help the team deliver by doing the following:
Be a partner to the project manager by helping to think through tough problems – As a project manager, it isn't a sign of weakness to ask a project sponsor for some help on thorny problems. Very much the contrary, it's just good, common sense for the project manager to get input from multiple sources before deciding on a course of action. The project sponsor is a great source and can provide great counsel to the project manager.
Evangelize the project to peer executives and others in the organization – Depending on the project, some internal sales activity may be necessary to help the acceptance factor across the organization and to secure support from other organizations. Asking the project sponsor to endorse the project and to articulate the benefits to peer executives can help secure the support needed. Depending on the organization's culture, the endorsement can be as simple as sending an email to peer executives (which the project manager can draft for the project sponsor).
#8 – Make the thoughtful, tough decisions
There are few things that frustrate me more than an indecisive manager. I've had a number of managers in my career who would utter five words which were like the kiss of death for me to get my job done: Let me sleep on it. Rather than taking an evening to muddle through decisions, he would take much longer than needed or would simply avoid the decision altogether out of fear of the backlash from peers or his manager. Ugh.
The best project sponsors are able to make the thoughtful, difficult, or politically unpopular decisions that the project team needs to keep things moving. They have the courage to do the right thing for the organization and to stand behind the decision. More specifically, to be the best project sponsor:
Don't drag your feet on making decisions – An effective project sponsor understands the urgency of a decision and works to make the decision within an appropriate timeframe. I'm not talking about shoot-from-the-hip type of decisions. The decision is still thoughtful, but is made within a timeframe to keep the team moving.
Don't be afraid to make a good business decision that may be unpopular – The most important thing for the project sponsor to adhere to is making the best possible decision for the organization and not letting the popularity of the decision unduly influence the decision itself. Project sponsors are expected (and paid) to make the best decisions for the organization as a whole, recognizing that some of those affected by the decision may not be as happy about the decision. Just ask any project sponsor who had to remove a project manager from a project because the he wasn't well suited for the job.
Be willing to make a good business decision that may mean personal loss in stature in the organization – Whenever I have seen a project sponsor (or any manager for that matter) make a decision which meant a loss in control or stature for him or her, my respect for that manager would shoot through the roof. I've rarely seen a competent manager put organization over self and lose out in the long run. Putting organization over self truly underscores a sponsor's ability to make decisions that are best for the organization.
#9 – Ensure the project finishes strong
The most frustrating projects I have worked on were those that seemed to be going great, then just as they were about to wrap up, fell apart because the team got lackadaisical at the end. Any baseball manager would shake his head in disgust over an apparent victory, which was lost in the bottom of the ninth inning because of sloppy play. The same holds true in projects. The project manager and project sponsor each have a responsibility to keep the team motivated, energized, and focused until delivery is complete and the project is over.
Finishing strong means the project sponsor should:
Keep the team focused on delivering until the bottom of the ninth is over – There is plenty of time to celebrate after the project is completed. Until it's done the project sponsor needs to ensure an apparent victory becomes an actual victory. Assuming victory is, well, you know, what happens when you assume, right?
Resist the urge to take on additional work at the last minute - I have seen this time and time again. A project team gets comfortable with delivery and decides to take on a couple of “nice-to-have” tasks that appear simple on the surface. Then something breaks along the way and the simple “nice-to-have” now becomes a fire drill to address. The project sponsor should keep the team focused on its original mission and resist the urge to squeeze a few extra things into the project at the end.
Keep resources in place to ensure success – Keeping resources on a project longer than necessary can be a waste of money for an organization, but rolling resources off the project too early could be equally costly. A project sponsor or manager may be experiencing pressure to re-assign resources to other projects. It's important to be a team player and not hoard resources, but the project sponsor and manager should ensure the team doesn't re-assign resources too soon to jeopardize successful delivery.
#10 – Know when to pull the plug
Sometimes even the best run projects with the strongest project teams get the plug pulled. Regardless of the reason, a project sponsor needs to have an awareness of when a project either isn't going to meet its stated purpose or is no longer in the best interest of the organization. For many project managers and project sponsors, this is an incredibly difficult thing to do since it is admitting defeat. The best project sponsors are able to look beyond the personal ties to a project and focus on what is best for the organization first and foremost. As a project sponsor, you should:
Recognize when a project isn't going to deliver the results as originally expected – Regardless of a change in the organization's environment or an over-zealous project benefit justification, sometimes the anticipated project benefits change between the start of the project and sometime afterward. The best project sponsors are able to periodically look at the anticipated project benefits and ensure the benefit justification still holds water, and then make a conscious decision to stop the project if the benefit statement no longer makes sense.
Know when higher priority projects supplant the current project – It could be that everything about the project is just fine and it is still able to achieve its originally justified benefits, but the organizational environment changes resulting in bigger fish to fry. There most certainly are costs to stopping a project, but the best project sponsors take those costs into account when deciding to stop the project.
Don't be afraid to cut losses and stop a failed project – Stopping a failed project means throwing work away and acknowledging that money and time have been wasted. Yup, that's what it means, but that's one reason the project sponsor makes the big bucks. The important thing to realize is that, while history cannot be re-written, the future has yet to be written, so throwing good money after bad on a project is even worse than swallowing some pride and shutting down the doomed project.
In Summary
Project sponsors are a crucial component of any project and can either ensure its success or seal its fate as a doomed project. Sponsors need to be active, aware, engaged, available, and willing to help the project manager and project team deliver results to the organization. It's a risk that can be easily mitigated on any project and can absolutely make the difference between success and failure.