It is best to start building the sponsor's active attitude towards our project already in the initialization phase. Then, as a project manager, we have a unique moment of making a first, positive impression on our sponsor and creating the ground for a healthy, fruitful relationship. Then we can start to properly fine-tune this cooperation by involving our sponsor in joint initiation work.
It is important to establish general principles of cooperation and collect information about the degree of personal involvement in the project expected by the sponsor when starting the project.
We know that projects are unique. There will be those in which without strong commitment from the project sponsor, we will not be able to complete the planned work. There will also be cases in which the sponsor openly tells us that he has a project manager to "take his mind off" the project and run it completely independently, reporting only the status on a set regular basis. It may also happen that we will be running a project in which the sponsor turns out to be too active, assuming (consciously or not) our role as project manager. It is the responsibility of the project manager to properly assess the optimal level of commitment from our sponsor and try to achieve it.
I deliberately write here about making an attempt. We know that in the relationship with the sponsor, we are not the ones who impose or determine the rules of the game. However, we can skillfully exert influence and convincingly encourage our sponsor to adopt the expected attitude. The key to this, of course, is proper communication and analysis of information. The sponsor is one of the most important stakeholders of our project. As with other stakeholders, the key to success in this relationship is its proper planning and consistent maintenance.
Warto więc na samym początku odpowiedzieć sobie na pytanie, jakiego zaangażowania sponsora potrzebuję, aby poprowadzić projekt z sukcesem. Czy moja pozycja, autorytet w organizacji są na tyle rozwinięte, że nie będę oczekiwał silnego, regularnego wsparcia od sponsora? Czy może bez jego wsparcia trudno będzie mi kogokolwiek w organizacji zainteresować projektem, nie mówiąc o zaproszeniu do współpracy? W jakich aspektach projektu będę potrzebował wsparcia sponsora? Czy będzie on dla mnie autorytetem technicznym, dziedzinowym? Czy może będzie pełnił rolę prestiżowego ambasadora projektu? Czy będzie mi niezbędny do pozyskania wartościowych członków zespołu zarządzającego projektem z innych departamentów organizacji? Jak często będę potrzebował jego decyzji? Czy oczekuję jego wsparcia w planowaniu projektu? Jak środowisko, w którym projekt będzie realizowany, determinować będzie moje zapotrzebowanie na angażowanie sponsora? Dobrze rozpocząć od stworzenia profilu „idealnego” dla naszego projektu i środowiska sponsora. Pamiętajmy też o tym, że jak wiele innych elementów w projekcie, nasze „zapotrzebowanie” na wsparcie sponsora może się zmieniać. Dobrze więc jest być przygotowanym na różne scenariusze i zapowiedzieć sponsorowi, że i w tej sferze występować będzie dynamika.
Having an idea of our "ideal" sponsor for this particular project, we should prepare to convincingly present our expectations to the actual sponsor. And here it will be very helpful to collect information and observations about our sponsor's preferred style of operation. To what extent does it correspond to our ideal? This is a typical analysis of the discrepancy between the expected state and reality. Our further strategy of influencing the sponsor will depend on its results. If the comparison results are favorable, we should prepare a strategy to influence the sponsor to maintain the attitude we expect. If the discrepancies between the expected and actual attitudes are significant, we should develop a strategy to influence the behavior of our sponsor.
We have already launched the functionality related to commenting on our entries. I encourage you to share with me your observations on building a relationship with a sponsor. Have you ever actively built a relationship with your sponsor? What results did you achieve? What actions brought the expected results? What would you warn other project managers against because it clearly didn't work?
