Why Sponsors Don’t Want to be Sponsors...and What to Do About It

Mark Mullaly is president of Interthink Consulting Incorporated, an organizational development and change firm specializing in the creation of effective organizational project management solutions. Since 1990, it has worked with companies throughout North America to develop, enhance and implement effective project management tools, processes, structures and capabilities. Mark was most recently co-lead investigator of the Value of Project Management research project sponsored by PMI. You can read more of his writing at markmullaly.com.

  PMO   Strategy  

Project managers are taught early in life about the appropriate means of resolving problems, addressing risks, handling changes and responding to political eruptions when managing projects. Specifically, the expectation is that we escalate these situations to our project sponsor. The sponsor is our collaborator, mentor and interface to the executive levels. They are there to help us to understand the political dynamics of the organization, to run interference or intervene when required, and to make the strategically necessary decisions that all projects require.

Except when they aren't.

Absentee sponsors are a significant and growing problem within the project landscape. Finding a good project sponsor has always been hard. Finding any project sponsor, however, often feels like it is becoming almost impossible. Executives simply don't want to be sponsors. But why? What has happened that has led us to this predicament? And just what should we do about it?

It wasn't supposed to be this way. Sponsors were supposed to be enthusiastic advocates. They were supposed to be visible leaders of change. They were expected to be sage advisors. They were intended to be strong, capable, resilient champions of our projects. A proficient project manager coupled with an effective project sponsor was a powerful force, one to be reckoned with in undertaking and delivering…

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