Project Sponsor: Role and Responsibilities Guide

Apart from a good project manager and a committed project team, a successful project requires the work of a strategic leader. This person, for instance, acquires the necessary resources, removes barriers, and makes sure the project stays within scope and aligned to the goals of the business. This person is known as the project sponsor and is critical to the success of your project.

If you are doing a PMP certification training or if you are going to manage projects in your organization, it is important to understand the role of a project sponsor. This is a guide that provides information about project sponsors, their key responsibilities, and how they work with project managers throughout the project management process.

A project sponsor is the most senior person accountable for a project's success. They are the ones who champion the project at the highest levels of the organization. Unlike a project manager, they do not concern themselves with the daily activities. They are focused on the big picture. They deal with strategic issues, fund the project, and ensure that the project is aligned to meet the requirements of the business.

Within the organizational hierarchy, the project sponsor has a higher rank than the project manager. This can include a CIO sponsoring an IT project, a CMO supporting a marketing initiative, or a CEO advocating for change across the enterprise. Project sponsors mediate between the project staff and top-tier management and are responsible for maintaining line-of-sight alignment to the organization's strategic goals.

Project sponsors perform multiple roles during a project's lifecycle. Here are some key responsibilities of the project sponsors:

Here's something important to understand. Project sponsors do not fund the project from their own pockets, but they do fund the project by securing funding from the organization. They advocate the business case, justify stakeholder investment, and approve project expenses. The distinction is important because the project sponsor is a strategic advocate and not a direct funder.

An understanding of project sponsors often leads to confusion. Here are some clarifications.

Project Sponsor vs. Project Manager

The project manager manages all activities on a daily basis. They assign tasks, lead the team, monitor the flow, resolve operational challenges, etc. The project sponsor is more strategic, providing guidance, clearing obstacles from the organization, and making decisions in the upper echelons of the hierarchy, decision making, that project managers lack.

The best analogy I have heard is that if the project manager is the ship's captain steering the ship through the daily waters, the project sponsor is the admiral making sure that the ship is on the correct mission and that it gets all the support and necessary resources from the head office.

Project Sponsor vs. Project Stakeholder

These persons or groups have project-affected interests, so everyone from the team members to clients to regulatory bodies. They have some interest in the project but are not responsible for its success. The project sponsor is the one who is accountable. Project sponsors are the ones who are responsible for defining the outcome of the project, and in most cases, are the ones who stipulate what success looks like. It is correct that all sponsors are stakeholders, but not all stakeholders are sponsors.

The sponsor's role shifts as the project moves through the various phases of the lifecycle. Knowing these concepts as part of the PMP certification training helps both the sponsors and project managers work together.

Initiation

The sponsor's role in project initiation is critical to getting things started on the right foot. They assign the project manager and clarify the criteria for success, and the alignment of the project charter purpose with the strategic goals is the sponsor's responsibility. I have watched projects succeed and fail based on the sponsor's ability to set the right foundation in this phase.

In addition, sponsors outline and keep the scope of the project in check, provide input on initiation documents, and advocate for the project within the organization to secure support. They support their staff at the kickoff meetings and advocate to all stakeholders the importance of the project in the execution of the organization's strategic plan.

Planning and Execution Phases

The planning phase starts, and sponsors take a step back, but it is important to note that they do not disengage. They have the right to review the project management plan in regard to the dates of delivery and the standards of quality and quantity that are to be met. During execution, sponsors are required to keep a clear boundary with project managers, that is to say, to lead without engaging in micromanagement, but to be available should the project managers need to escalate issues.

Good sponsors do not micromanage. Instead, they keep their focus on providing what needs to be provided when it needs to be provided, allowing senior leaders to access their reports, and providing organizational authority to the project manager to resolve issues. They also manage scope change impact by implementing change control processes to bring order to chaos.

Monitoring and Closing

During the performance monitoring stage, the sponsors assess the regular progress of a project using the various KPI of project management. They give feedback and encourage the resolution of the problem, and celebrate milestones with the team.

During the closure of the project, the sponsor assures successful client or operational team handoffs. They are a part of closure meetings, head the lessons learned meetings, and give the sign-offs before letting the project team go. This is the stage where most projects lose the chance to gain critical knowledge for future projects.

Ideal project sponsors possess a combination of the following attributes:

• Strategic direction and project management skills to steer a project in the direction of the organization's vision.
• Financial skills in project management, budgeting, and resource management.
• Stakeholder engagement and teamtrust-building communication.
• Decisive problem-solving and tough decision-making under pressure.
• Basic project management skills in planning, scheduling, risk management, and quality management.

Project sponsors are not required to be domain-specific experts in each project area. They are, however, required to have sufficient knowledge of project management so they can formulate the appropriate inquiries and identify issues in a timely manner before they escalate.

After working with multiple project sponsors, I've noticed certain behaviors and practices that help differentiate successful sponsors from unsuccessful sponsors:

Focus on staying involved without becoming disruptive. There is a fine line to be drawn between supportive behavior and micromanagement. Let project managers be involved in the day-to-day management, keeping the project on target. There is a difference in the need for operational management vs. strategic management.

Build a reputation for transparency. Your stakeholders will appreciate transparency, and trust will be built, especially with respect to the status of the project. If transparency is embraced in the project, so will the issues. Stakeholders will help with issues before they become problems.

Utilize the PM's authority. Once you've established the PM's authority, back them up on decisions you believe are justified. Underestimating your PM is damaging to both the project and the emotional state of the team. Provide them with external backing and consider them with the internal support if necessary.

Act with urgency. Resources will sit unused for long periods of time if those in primary positions are unable to choose to take action. Create definitive paths for escalation along with promises of action in response to critical questions.