Major Projects: 10 qualities of an effective Project Sponsor
CPCS, a Major Projects Advisor in the infrastructure space, supports Project Sponsors across the world. When identifying who should be a Project Sponsor, personal qualities are as important as technical expertise.
Key points:
- Great Project Sponsors contribute significantly to the success of projects.
- People from a variety of technical and professional backgrounds can learn to become effective Project Sponsors.
- Emotional intelligence and leadership skills are essential competencies for Project Sponsors.
Finding, or guiding effective Project Sponsors
Choosing the right individuals or building a great team of Project Sponsors can be challenging. It’s a high-profile role, and projects are a costly environment to get it wrong. An ineffective Project Sponsor can cost time, money, relationships and put the organization and the project’s credibility under strain.
CPCS provides training and mentorship for Project Sponsors
Not all people who sponsor a project will continue to sponsor projects. It might be a one-off or occasional role. This means they often have limited or sporadic access to professional development as a Project Sponsor.
CPCS provides training, development, skills, coaching and mentoring for Project Sponsors. We can also augment teams with a mandate for skill sharing during assignments. We help build and support Project Sponsor teams by assessing their starting point using our maturity model to help focus resources on what will bring results.
Often behavioral skills can be the most difficult to learn and embed, as they involve personal growth. The most effective strategy is to build from existing strengths.
The top 10 qualities for Project Sponsors to build
1. Integrity
Project Sponsors must demonstrate integrity, given your responsibility for both corporate and project governance. It’s essential to embody these values and maintain a reputation beyond reproach.
2. Trust
As the person managing competing demands and balancing the tension between project budget and operational requirements, Project Sponsors need to be trustworthy.
3. Charisma
While no one is liked by everyone, great Project Sponsors have a way of getting on with most people.
4. Emotional intelligence
Project Sponsors who are highly skilled in emotional intelligence find it easy to create and build relationships, put others at ease, influence and inspire others.
5. Reliability
Project teams and stakeholders count on Project Sponsors to follow through on their promises. They need to know you won’t disappear when the project gets tough and turn up again at the ribbon cutting ceremony!
6. Accountability
Project Sponsors may face significant challenges across the project lifecycle. You must be willing to take accountability when things go awry and be prepared to lead the course correction. You’re also accountable for those hard to deliver outcomes that rely on factors outside the immediate scope of the project.
7. Decision maker
Project Sponsors make decisions that have consequences. Often those decision impact on stakeholders, customers, cost, time, quality, safety and benefits. Not every decision can wait and not every issue can be best resolved by a committee.
8. Comfortable with ambiguity
This is often related to decision making. Project Sponsors often must make decisions or strategic choices in the absence of fully formed data in early stages of the project or during crises.
9. Good communicator
Great Sponsors = great communicators. A lot of managing expectations is involved in being a Project Sponsor. The Sponsor’s ability to convey their message well plays a huge role in effective stakeholder management.
10. Cares about the outcomes or impact
Being truly vested in the outcomes, impacts and benefits is a great motivator for any Project Sponsor. Nothing beats passion for the cause when carrying out the advocacy of being a Project Sponsor.
Effective Project Sponsorship matters for project success
Project Sponsors set the project direction and lead teams to deliver strategic change and project benefits.
Having engaged Project Sponsors is a proven way to improve your project’s chance of success (reference: PMI (2015). Capturing the Value of Project Management). Yet, Project Sponsorship is an underserved profession, so there isn’t a pipeline of people ready to take up the role. Fortunately, people from a variety of technical and professional backgrounds can learn to become effective Project Sponsors.
You may also like:
- Download our Project Sponsorship Guide
- The role of Project Sponsors
- For help supporting your Project Sponsors, contact communications@cpcs.ca
