Review your organization’s list of leadership competencies, and you may find there’s something missing—that is, the ability of leaders to effectively serve as the Sponsor on critical business strategy initiatives. Remember that Sponsors must do more than “sign the check” and provide vocal support for major changes. Sponsors must Express, Model, and Reinforce desired behaviors. It’s not surprising really that many Sponsors fall short, simply because they have never been told what is needed and expected. The consequences for the organization are far-reaching.

 

One of the most common misconceptions that Sponsors have is that good Sponsorship is simply “support” for a program or project. In fact, when we contract with Sponsors, we are actually contracting for very specific behaviors and actions. The “Express, Model, and Reinforce” model very simply yet comprehensively describes the range of behaviors Sponsorship requires, both for Authorizing Sponsors and Reinforcing Sponsors who must cascade the change down and across the enterprise.

 

Why is Sponsorship so lacking in many organizations? Is it stemming from a lack of skill, a lack of motivation, or both?

 

The answer is probably both. From a skill perspective, most organizations don’t invest in training leaders specifically on how to be effective Sponsors, yet Sponsorship is the single most important factor in implementation success. (Note that IMA’s SponsorShop is designed to provide this much-needed awareness training.) While there may be training in certain elements of Sponsorship, it is rarely tied together and linked to leadership competencies.

 

From a motivational perspective, as Sponsors move up the ranks in the organization, this is also rarely an item that is measured on performance appraisals, or part of an executive coaching discussion. So leaders aren’t generally rewarded, reinforced, or “punished” if they aren’t effective in their role as Sponsors. Evaluation of Sponsorship competence may be implicitly embedded in other behaviors, but Sponsorship behaviors are rarely explicitly measured. That’s one of the values of IMA’s Sponsorship Assessment, as it clearly describes and evaluates Sponsorship behaviors in the context of what is Expressed, Modeled, and Reinforced.

 

 

Is this just a theoretical or HR issue? Not at all—there are major financial implications for an organization with weak Sponsorship. Regardless of the quality of a strategy, it will be much more difficult for it to succeed (on time, on budget, all business, technical and human objectives met) at the desired speed without quality Sponsorship. Given investments by the multi-millions in business strategy initiatives, it just makes good sense to invest also in developing this capability in the organization’s leadership ranks. As Kenneth Klepper, the President and Chief Operating Officer for Medco, the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the U.S., notes, “It’s interesting—I am involved in a high potential talent management program at Medco where I meet with small groups of up and coming leaders—the best of the best. The most common development gap I see and we discuss is the need to understand how to build and maintain Sponsorship. These people are change agents at heart. Being a great Sponsor is the single most powerful enabler.”