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Ron Rosenhead, coauthor Strategies for Project sponsorship. I recently spoke with the authors and coauthors of Strategies for Project sponsorship. Peter Taylor shared his tips for building professional relationships with project sponsors. Vicki James shared her tips for getting the best out of your project sponsor. Ron Rosenhead shares stories about sponsorship and discusses the challenges that project sponsors face today.
Here’s what he had to say.
Ron, what would your situation be if you were a sponsor for a project today?
The most difficult task is to ensure that project sponsors understand and effectively perform their roles. This book is a “primer” for the sponsor, which aligns with our Sponsorship checklist that lists 17 project sponsor responsibilities.
When we wrote the book, we identified nine types of challenging project sponsor situations. We provide tips on how to deal with them. One of nine is the absent sponsor. This happens if there is no assigned sponsor or if you have never been able to meet them.
Our research shows that many sponsors are not more than just sponsors. Sponsors don’t have enough involvement in the projects they sponsor.
This sounds like a challenge for project managers and sponsorship generally. Do you have a story about a sponsor that was successful?
OK! These stories were submitted by project managers, who replied in kind to our Call for Stories.
My career began in the early days of my career when I worked on a project with a micromanager who was very intense. The preference for due dates by the sponsor should have been a sign that he was going to get more involved.
I found myself spending more time collecting materials to keep him informed as the project progressed. He was reviewing each line of work product, and I was having long meetings with him every morning to discuss the project status. Further complicating matters was the fact that the sponsor reversed and then re-reversed decisions made weeks before due to his change in mind.
Although it was inappropriate for the sponsor to have any involvement in these decisions and work products, I did not feel that I had the authority to over my direct supervisor. As the situation became more complex, I sought out the guidance of senior project managers and tried to explain to the sponsor the risks he was taking to the project. The sponsor was then told by a senior project manager contract manager to back him down. The sponsor wanted it his own way. The sponsor wanted it his way. Team morale plummeted.
I learned the valuable lesson I had to intervene earlier in my relationship with a micromanaging sponsor, and to adhere to the Project Charter’s roles & responsibilities starting from day one.
Here’s another way:
Our client was a state agency working on a fixed-price contract. The project’s sponsor was a state director. He was very knowledgeable about policies and procedures, and had a great vision for what could be achieved. He spent hours explaining design and policy details to project managers, business analysts, and developers. He even helped them with their daily tasks. He was a key contributor in the success of the project.
I was fortunate enough to be able to work with such a great sponsor. He is the benchmark against which I judge other sponsors.
This illustrates the diversity of sponsors project managers must deal with and the very different outcomes. Thanks, Ron!
Amazon.co.uk – Project Sponsorship Strategies
Ron
Ron Rosenhead is well-known because of his pragmatic approach to life, and project management. More than 25 years of experience as a trainer/consultant for the
