Before one of her past projects started, colleagues warned Annette Suh, PMP, that the sponsor was a toxic bully. They explained how the sponsor's infamous temper could scare people silent at meetings, crush team morale and cut into productivity. And sure enough, at the project's first meeting, the sponsor quickly became agitated. “He was screaming at me about how no one was listening to his ideas,” says Ms. Suh, now senior project manager, the Walt Disney Co., Seattle, Washington, USA.
Problem sponsors—whether they are monsters who flood the team with too many demands or wafflers who disappear when pivotal decisions must be made—remain prevalent. And they can wreak havoc on projects. One in four organizations say inadequate sponsor support is the primary cause of failed projects, according to PMI's 2018 Pulse of the Profession® report. For project managers, identifying and mitigating a sponsor's personality quirks and challenging behaviors can help navigate potential obstacles and prevent delays.
In the case of the angry sponsor, Ms. Suh found that empathy—not resistance—helped forge a better relationship. Instead of freezing in fear or matching his anger, she calmly asked how she could help him get his ideas heard. The tension in the room melted away once the sponsor felt acknowledged. “Before you can build trust with a difficult sponsor and get them to see you as a person, you have to see them as a person,” she says.
—Annette Suh, PMP, Walt Disney Co., Seattle, Washington, USA
Every sponsor's personality is different, which means the tactics that might get a micromanager to back off are radically different than what's needed to get a rubber-stamper to engage more strategically with the role.
Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, project managers must customize their engagement to help sponsors fulfill their role—and keep the project or program on track for success. Here's how to handle four types of difficult sponsor behaviors:
The Micromanager
Problem: Progress feels glacial—or stalled—because the sponsor has notes and suggestions on even the smallest tasks. Forget weekly status reports—this sponsor wants daily updates and doesn't think the project should move on until he or she has weighed in on each development.
Solution: If micromanagement rears its head early in the project, get the whole team in a room to review the governance and function of each role on the project, says Carlos Palomino, PMP, service delivery manager, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lima, Peru. Make it clear: Who will approve specific tasks? When do things need to be elevated to the sponsor? How often will the project manager and sponsor review roadblocks? “Getting that shared understanding down on paper makes it easier to point out an interference” during one-on-one meetings with the sponsor, he says.
Reminding a sponsor to stay in his or her lane doesn't have to feel like a reprimand, says Clement Chin, PMP, senior project manager, RAC Insurance, Perth, Australia. “When sponsors start weighing in on all the minor details, I remind them of the project roles and responsibilities,” he says. “But I also remind them that not getting involved in the small details means they get more time back in their day to focus on the big picture.”
—Clement Chin, PMP, RAC Insurance, Perth, Australia
Keep in mind: If the project sponsor wants to dig into more details than usual, it's worth asking why. There might be a valid reason for more frequent status reports or to surface more granular details about a particular part of the project.
The Poor Communicator
Problem: The team huddles after every interaction with the sponsor, trying to parse one-word answers and shifts in voice tone or decipher angry outbursts. Getting a straightforward answer can sometimes feel like pulling teeth.
Solution: Persistence and patience are key, Ms. Suh says. At a company where she previously worked, a small clutch of sponsors had their own budget lines to approve projects without executive oversight. When Ms. Suh was first tasked with tracking project details, she found most of the sponsors were tight-lipped and evasive. “The projects they were working on were actually really cool and would save the company a lot of money, but they just didn't want to communicate about them,” she says. So Ms. Suh scheduled in-person meetings with each sponsor and started with small talk to build some rapport. “To make a personal connection, I tried to find out what they do outside work, so we could build the trust where they'd share project details,” she says.
Once questions move into the project territory, Mr. Chin structures them like a funnel. “You want to start with open-ended questions before moving into probing questions to solicit more detail,” he says. “Then you can use closed questions to clarify the feedback given.”
Keep in mind: If lackluster communication continues to be a project hurdle, call in a third party, Mr. Palomino says. “I try to invite another high-level person or even a supplier to participate in the meeting.” Sometimes a bigger or varied audience can jolt the sponsor out of giving vague or insufficient responses.
The Rubber Stamper
Problem: Fast, easy approvals might seem like a reason to celebrate—unless they lead to the project veering out of strategic alignment.
Solution: When a sharp strategic eye is needed to pull a project back on track, it helps to remind the sponsor that the definition of project success extends beyond schedule, scope and budget. Have a discussion about what strategic alignment looks like in the eyes of executives and end users.
“When I work with a sponsor that's too easy to please, I highlight an ‘executive visibility’ bullet in my weekly or biweekly status report,” says Charisse Brossard, PMP, program manager, ADP, Washington, D.C., USA. “Are there potential risks that could draw executive attention? Are there key items that I want their engagement on? Sometimes it helps heighten their engagement to kind of stroke their ego by indicating I need their assistance in certain areas.”
—Charisse Brossard, PMP, ADP, Washington, D.C., USA
When long-term projects start to fall out of alignment, go directly to the sponsor and have a conversation about how the project is meeting company strategy, Mr. Chin says. If the project sponsor defaults to shorthand because he or she assumes it's clear, ask how the strategic alignment should be explained to people not working on the project. Such engagement can supercharge the sponsor's focus.
Keep in mind: Depending on the size and culture of an organization, it might be possible for the project team to bypass the sponsor to gain executive insights directly. “If you can get 10 or 15 minutes with someone in higher management once a month, it really helps to ensure the project is meeting strategic needs,” says Mr. Palomino.
The Missing Piece
Problem: The project manager spends way too much time trying to track down the sponsor and get onto an overcrowded calendar for project answers or necessary approvals. That AWOL status is causing serious strife.
Solution: “Be open to having meetings outside normal business hours,” Mr. Chin says. An overbooked sponsor is likely available beyond the usual 9-to-5 workday, so be willing to expand availability to adjust to the sponsor's schedule. Request a 15-minute window if possible, so it's easier to wedge in. “Or walk with the sponsor as they go between meetings and talk—fast!”
Recently, Ms. Brossard was working on a project with an executive sponsor who frequently traveled abroad during the project. “So I tailored my schedule to that sponsor,” she says, sometimes working later or early depending on the sponsor's shifting time zone. “Not everyone can do that, but if you can, you'll find the sponsor has the best response time and availability.” She coupled that flexibility with a healthy dose of routine and context: She set up biweekly meetings—in-person or via phone—to review project progress. And she shared bullet points ahead of time to make it easy for the sponsor to review the most critical decisions.
Keep in mind: If sponsor absenteeism is throwing the project off track, suggest a backup. “In the past, I've shared exactly how it's impacting the project and requested a second, designated person who has the power of decision making when the sponsor's unavailable,” Mr. Palomino says. Just be sure the deputy is tasked with updating the sponsor on any decisions so no communication falls through the cracks.
—Carlos Palomino, PMP, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lima, Peru
Swap Out
Sometimes, no amount of rehabbing can make a sponsor the right fit. When all other options have been exhausted, having a blunt conversation with the sponsor or seeking change via a higher authority (such as a director or vice president) to find a replacement becomes necessary, says Annette Suh, PMP, senior project manager, the Walt Disney Co., Seattle, Washington, USA.
“Sometimes, for the sake of the project, you have to escalate the issue if a sponsor is not the appropriate choice,” she says.
Here are a few common scenarios that might indicate it's time for a sponsor swap:
The sponsor lacks the right level of authority. For a high-stakes, high-visibility project that might normally have a director or vice president in the sponsor seat, Ms. Suh found herself working with someone deep in the trenches. “We needed executive oversight. So I brought it to my vice president and asked if we could get a higher-up in charge.”
The sponsor is never available. Occasional absenteeism happens—but having a project sponsor who's completely missing in action is a serious red flag. For one recent project Ms. Suh managed, the sponsor would disappear for more than a week at a time. When they eventually had their next meeting, “I asked him the really tough question: Are you the right person to be the sponsor?” He conceded that he wasn't, and he pulled in another director to take over the project.
The sponsor won't define success. If a sponsor won't or can't share the end goal for the project, it's time to find someone else who will, Ms. Suh says. “Without knowing where the project is supposed to go, you can't get there,” she says.