The reason most projects fail, more than 80% of the time, is poor leadership. You don’t have to take my word for it. Look at almost every project survey done in the last 20 years. They all say the same thing.
So, of course, we keep seeing people sent on training to be project managers, project technical specialists, more productive team members……anyone see the problem yet?
The failure to link the cause of project failures with the methods of fixing this would be comical if it wasn’t so costly to businesses in dollar terms and in team morale.
Executives have been placed on some kind of pedestal over the years. The infallibility aura that has permeated businesses seems to have created culture where questioning them, or suggesting that they might need help or training or coaching, is so career limiting that people just go along with the illusion. It is like we have the belief that giving someone a title magically gives an executive the skills and experience required to do any new job. (If I called you Nicholas 1 are you suddenly now the Czar of Russia?)
This is not a dig at executives. It is an acknowledgement of the unfortunate predicament that we have created for them. To admit you need help has become a sign of weakness instead of strong self awareness. One of the most productive leaders I have ever worked with would be the first in the room to say “Could you explain that in another way, I don’t get it!”. He was, and is to this day, seen as a competent leader of people and inspires those he works with. Other execs ask for his guidance. But in private. Never in front of the team!
It is interesting that giving someone the title of Project Sponsor has the same effect. It is now assumed that an Operations exec (where the world is configured to stay a steady course) can now magically balance that role with that of a Project exec (where this world is all about change). Some can balance this, but most struggle. It is not that execs are not capable. It is simply that this is a new skill that requires training, coaching, and (like any new skill) support from people who have the ability to help.
To be an effective sponsor you have to be the sponsor. That means that the project must visibly mean something to you and that you are the advocate for its success. You own the outcome. You own the enthusiasm. You own the mistakes and failures. One of the main sponsor errors that I see regularly is the idea that the project is just another task. For your project team this may be the only thing they are working on. It is their working life now. How do you think they feel if you don’t show up to meetings, or take calls for other things during them, or simply don’t get to decisions because you are “so busy and important”? You are the face of the project; its importance in the organisation, and the embodiment of how interested everyone else should be in the project. If you aren’t making this a priority, why should anyone else?
Successful sponsors call for help. They seek feedback on their performance. They stay close to the team while letting them get on with their jobs without interfering. This balance is not easy. It takes practice, experience, and each project and team is not the same as the next.
Rather than call for yet another project status report, update meeting, or report on progress, a good sponsor looks at how they can be more effective at driving toward outcomes and motivating their teams.
They look for those who have been there. They look for people who can help.
