Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Now, A Word from Your Sponsor...
Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected]. Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.
Statistics consistently show that a project sponsor can make or break a project. Although their day-to-day responsibilities on a project may not be significant, they have a vital part to play. But how can project managers ensure that their sponsors provide the leadership that the project needs?
First of all, we need to understand how the lack of leadership causes problems on projects. The fundamental problem is a simple one--project managers are the day-to-day controllers of the project activities, but they are not the individuals who “own” the project. The project sponsor is not leading the project on a day-to-day basis, and may see themselves as little more than a figurehead--the person supplying the resources, budgets and requirements, but not someone who needs to be actively involved.
The impact of this is huge, and not always well understood. Senior individuals within organizations often do not realize how significantly their words and actions are taken by those involved in the day-to-day work. A sponsor who does not publicly state how important a project is, who doesn’t treat issues as important and urgent, is sending a very clear (if unintentional) message to the project team, to other members of the company and potentially to suppliers and customers.
Leading the Leader
I don’t want to make this article sound as though …
Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.
ADVERTISEMENTS
|
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." - Albert Einstein |