Do your Leaders say they support a transformational change, but then don’t have the time to participate in critical meetings? Is it like pulling teeth to get Leaders to make a decision? Is your organization plagued by infighting and politics between Leaders? 
If you answered “yes” to any or all of these questions your change project might be in trouble. But, the good news is you are not alone. In our change management consulting we see these same issues day in and day out. The bottom line is that too often, Leaders aren't clear about what their personal role is during a change. Many Leaders think implementation is the responsibility of Change Agents, and they can sit back and just assume it is happening without their involvement.
But any good Change Agent knows active, quality Sponsorship is the single most important success factor for project implementation. Thus, if you are a key member of a business change project, you’ll need to dedicate the majority of your time throughout all phases of the project to generating a network of reinforcing Sponsors.
But, what makes a successful Sponsor? Here is our list of the top 10 traits every Sponsor should possess:
- Time and energy. It takes time and energy to be a good Sponsor. If Leaders have a laundry list of priorities and the transformation is not number one or two on the list, you can be pretty certain that the change will not be implemented successfully.
- Commitment. The pace of implementation is directly related to the Leader’s willingness and ability to demonstrate their personal commitment to the change. A good Sponsor must express, model and reinforce the change with his or her own direct reports throughout the lifecycle of the project.
- Consistency. Leaders must have alignment in what they say, do, and reinforce. In other words, what the Leader says, what the Leader does, and what the Leader reinforces (application of rewards and consequences with direct reports) has be consistent in order for a project to be successful.
- Credibility. Sponsor credibility is essential. Their direct reports need to believe in them, and believe the Sponsor believes in the change. The higher the level of trust, the greater the speed of implementation.
- Responsible for their own actions. While it may be common practice for Leaders to delegate implementation responsibility, the fact is that there are six essential tasks that can't be delegated to Change Agents. Sponsors must:
Establish and communicate the Business Case for ActionParticipate in Goal SettingAllocate ResourcesConcentrate Their Energies on Their Direct ReportsAlign and Apply the Reward and Recognition Systems for Their Direct ReportsMonitor Progress Constantly - Educated on their role. Sponsors need to visibly "Express, Model, and Reinforce" their commitment to the transformation. However, if the Sponsors aren't aware of these expectations, then why should we expect them to change their behavior?
- Treated as a target FIRST. You can’t assume a Sponsor will lead the change, just because they are in a Leadership position. Sponsors need the same questions answered as Targets--“What's in it for me” and “What does it mean to me?”
- Able to cascade. Sponsors must cascade the "Express/Model/Reinforce" behaviors down to their own direct reports. Sponsorship has to occur at every level of the organization, starting with the Leader who is authorizing the transformational change.
- Managerial courage. Transformation requires difficult decisions and actions. If Leaders at the top don’t have the courage to act change won’t happen.
- Willingness to do things differently. If Leaders behave in the same ways they always have, they are sending an important message to the organization, and it’s not the message they probably intended. Leaders must set the tone for the transformation by what they say, what they do, and what they reinforce.
Senior Leaders must understand that transformation begins with them! An individual is not a Sponsor solely as a result of his or her position on the org chart; it is Action and Position.
