Leading Up: Engaging Your Sponsor to Secure and Resources and Drive Adoption

Leading Up: Engaging Your Sponsor to Secure Resources and Drive Adoption

Every project needs an effective sponsor, yet many project managers struggle to get the time, attention, and support they need from the executive who sponsors their work. Sponsors are busy, have competing priorities, and may not fully understand what the role requires. When that happens, projects stall, resources dry up, decisions are delayed, and the people affected by the change are left unconvinced.

A strong working relationship with your sponsor is one of the biggest factors in project success. Project managers who know how to engage, guide, and influence their sponsors get the resources and decisions they need, and they also gain a visible leader who helps drive adoption of the change the project creates. This workshop will focus on best practices for working effectively with your project sponsor, including:

• Understanding the sponsor role and what makes a sponsor effective
• Assessing your sponsor and the relationship you have today
• Setting expectations and agreeing on how you will work together
• Securing the resources, decisions, and support your project needs
• Communicating with executives clearly, concisely, and with impact
• Engaging your sponsor to lead change and drive adoption
• Developing your plan to strengthen sponsor engagement

A variety of activities and case studies will be used within the classroom to build confidence in having candid conversations with executives. Participants will leave the workshop with a plan to engage their own project sponsor, including a variety of tools and techniques, such as conversation guides and communication templates, to use right away!

Topics

• The role of the project sponsor: what sponsors are accountable for and where project managers can help them succeed
• Common sponsor challenges, such as lack of time, unclear expectations, or limited understanding of the role, and how to respond
• Understanding what drives your sponsor: business goals, priorities, pressures, and communication style
• Connecting your project to business results and building a compelling case for support
• Setting expectations: defining roles, responsibilities, and a sponsor engagement plan
• Asking for what you need: resources, funding, decisions, and removal of roadblocks
• Communicating with executives: concise updates, effective status reporting, and the one-page brief
• Preparing for and leading productive sponsor conversations, including delivering bad news and managing scope and change requests
• Managing up with influence: handling a disengaged, overly involved, or shifting sponsor
• Understanding the sponsor's role in organizational change and adoption
• Equipping your sponsor to lead change: visible sponsorship, messaging to stakeholders, and reinforcing new behaviors
• Measuring success beyond delivery: tracking adoption and demonstrating business results
• Practicing sponsor conversations through real-world scenarios and role plays
• Developing your plan to strengthen sponsor engagement, checking in on progress and measuring success