Just how important is sponsor contracting to successful transformational change? Don Harrison, IMA President and developer of AIM (Accelerating Implementation Methodology) will tell you that all failed transformational change can be traced back to poor sponsor contracting with the Authorizing Sponsors. 
Contracting translates change agents’ needs into a clear, specific agreement that can be acted upon, and measured against. In most cases, the contract is not a formal signed document, but rather an agreement between the change agent and the sponsor. Your sponsor’s ability and commitment to do what you need significantly impacts your project’s potential for success. Because of this, it is well worth the planning time required for you to identify your needs and develop the contract for your transformational change.
Sponsorship is Action and Position
Quality sponsorship is the result of a combination of factors:
- The cascade of Authorizing and Reinforcing Sponsors is in place at all levels and in all business areas that are impacted by the change
- The change team has clearly identified what it needs from sponsors
- Clear communication from the team to sponsors on what is required of them for project success
- Firm, specific commitments from the sponsors
- Ongoing dialogue between agents and sponsors on fulfillment of commitments
The sponsor contracting process enables sponsors and agents to engage in a candid dialogue about what sponsors need to express, model, and reinforce to ensure successful implementation of the change so that new behaviors are adopted on a sustained basis by the targets, and become a part of the way the organization does business. This is why it is so important that agents have trust and credibility with sponsors-- how else can this candid dialogue happen? Consider these questions as you plan the contracting process:
- What order will the Target groups be impacted by the change (all at once, one at a time, in phases, etc.)?
- Which Target groups will be most impacted or more likely to resist the change, thus requiring stronger Reinforcing Sponsorship?
- Where are the gaps or deficits in sponsorship?
Developing Sponsor Contracts
Contracts should be used for all Sponsors whose commitment is critical to the project’s success. While ideally contracts are prepared early in the project, it is useful to do them as a remedial measure when lack of sponsorship appears to be a barrier to the project’s success. Identification of sponsor “Asks” ideally should include three steps:
- An evaluation of how the Sponsor can help develop team deliverables
- Creation of (a long) list of express/model/reinforce goals
- Collapse of long list of goals into concise high-level goals
List 2 helps you identify what you will actually request of the Sponsor. While this list is comprehensive, it is also likely to be overwhelming to the Sponsor. List 3 provides the same request in a more palatable and succinct form.
Sponsor “Support” Means Nothing
One of the most common mistakes change agents make is to ask for and get a sponsor’s “support” for transformational change. What has that sponsor actually committed to? Absolutely nothing! Sound contracting increases the likelihood that you will get what you need; poor contracting sets you up for failure. What are the likely results when sponsor contracting is not used:
- Sponsors are unclear on what is expected of them during the change
- Sponsors are unable or unwilling to fulfill their commitments
- Sponsorship gaps or ‘black holes’ will surface
- No upward feedback mechanism will exist to enable sponsorship improvement
- Sponsors will be inconsistent in what they say and do regarding the change
Since achieving quality sponsorship represents 30-50% of the success for your transformational change, ensuring that change agents have the skills to contract effectively is critically important.
