I appreciate the role of the Project Sponsor in terms of delivering business results however I see a role duplication with that of the Project Manager and therefore workplace conflict.
Sulayman M. TrawallyManaging Partner| ESTRA Consulting and SuppliesBijilo, West Coast Region, Gambia
Role Duplication Workplace conflict Unhealthy atmosphere Saving Changes...
Usually, role of project sponsor is performed by top management in most of the organizations. So, sponsor is the stakeholder who bring the project or share business case.
Project manager is responsible for execution and success of the project, but project sponsor is involved into managing unseen risks involved as well.
Also, the decision to stop/cancel a project is the decision taken by project sponsor and not by the project manager.
Project sponsor can also be involved in creating a roadmap for a product, but project manager is only involved for phase execution. Saving Changes...
Eric SimmsSenior Program ManagerBaltimore, Maryland, United States
The roles are actually different with no overlap. Think of their relationship this way: A Project Sponsor sets the goals and direction of the project, and makes sure a project has all the money and political support it needs to succeed, while a Project Manager actually executes the project. It's like the relationship between a politician and a general when fighting a war - the politician procures funding and support for the war, while the general does the actual fighting. That said, problems can occur when the Sponsor tries to tell the Project Manager how to do things. The Sponsor should only determine what needs to be done, and leave it to the Project Manager to do it. Saving Changes...
Sulayman M. TrawallyManaging Partner| ESTRA Consulting and SuppliesBijilo, West Coast Region, Gambia
Thank you for the reply and the answer provided to my concern. I totally agree with your last point Eric that is where I am coming from. The conflict will arise when the Sponsor tries to micromanage the Project Manager. In my view I think it will be important from the onset to clearly define the role of each party and stick to that so there is an understanding among them. If this is not done I think there will be a conflict down the line which can be counter productive to the ideals of the project. Whats you take on this ? Saving Changes...
I believe that they do not have the same function, the project manager is the person most in charge of the development of the project and give solutions for the proper development of it, the sponsor is more a support person and that helps us to solve eventual activities more towards The top management, but I think it is necessary the two people in a project Saving Changes...
Wade HarshmanScrum Master| GDITIndianapolis, In, United States
The roles are distinct, but both want the project to succeed.
Project managers are notorious for getting into the team's business. No one wants to be a micromanager, but it's our job to either make the project succeed (or to make it fail as early as possible), and sometimes that means we need details from our team.
Similarly, the project sponsor has committed capital to a project, and wants to ensure everyone is working towards the correct goal. This means checking up on the project manager as well as the team.
I like Eric's analogy of a political leader and a military leader. You could also compare it to a military commander and his non-commissioned officers (NCOs). The NCOs are entrusted to execute the commander's plan, but even the most trusted NCOs can expect the commander to inspect their work from time to time. Saving Changes...
Put simply the PM work the project to completion, the sponsor would work the organisation and the PM to have a successful project. The sponsor is the link between the organisation an the PM in a way. Saving Changes...
