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 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:
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:
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:
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.