When you look at what is needed in order to have a successful project, focus tends to fall on the Project Managers. The Project Managers is one of the most important assets to a project; however we should highlight the position of the Project Sponsor in terms of successful project management.
The Sponsor is said to hold one of the most important roles in terms of project success or failure. An effective Sponsor should be responsible for the following:
1. Goals
The Sponsor should ensure that the business need is valid and correctly prioritised within the project.
2. Communication
Clearly communicate on aspects of the project with stakeholder groups and senior management.
3. Keeping to Schedule
They are heavily involved in ensuring that the project is kept to the original schedule along with the Project Manager. In order to manage the schedule the Sponsor and Project Manager should meet frequently and review the timeline.
4. Changes
A project can experience changes at any time. The Sponsor needs to ensure that these changes are properly managed to ensure that they don’t have any negative impact on the project.
5. Resolve Issues
Some issues are out of the reach of the Project Manager such as decisions on changes and conflicting objectives. The Sponsor takes control of these issues and ensures that they are solved efficiently and effectively.
6. Support
The Project Manager needs consistent support during a project. The Sponsor is available to provide this support in the form of mentoring, coaching and leadership. They also support the Project Team especially in terms of scope clarification, progress management and guidance.
In the Project Management world some people may believe that the Sponsor is there to just report the Project Manager’s updates to the rest of the organisation. However in reality the Sponsor holds a much more active role in the life cycle of a project and is the owner of the final product.
Having someone that can reach all of these responsibilities is worth holding onto. Carrying out a project without an effective Sponsor increases the risk of the project failing, unfortunately the Project Manager will be answerable to a project failing.
