How can you identify project sponsor expertise through active listening?

1 Why active listening matters

Active listening is not just a polite way to communicate; it is also a powerful way to build trust, rapport, and collaboration with your project sponsor. By listening actively, you can show your sponsor that you respect their opinions, value their input, and care about their needs and expectations. You can also learn more about their background, experience, and perspective on the project, which can help you align your goals, strategies, and deliverables. Active listening can also help you avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, and assumptions that can derail your project.

2 How to listen actively

Active listening is not just about hearing what your project sponsor says; it is also about observing, interpreting, and responding to their verbal and non-verbal cues. To practice active listening, it's important to prepare yourself before meeting with your sponsor by establishing a clear purpose, agenda, and questions. Additionally, eliminate any distractions and focus on the sponsor. To show interest, use eye contact, nodding, smiling, and other gestures. Also, use open-ended questions to encourage the sponsor to share more information and insights. Reflect and paraphrase what your sponsor says to check your understanding and show that you are listening. Invite your sponsor to correct, clarify, or confirm what you have understood and ask for their opinions, suggestions, or expectations. Lastly, thank your sponsor for their time, input, and guidance and acknowledge their expertise and contribution to the project. By following these tips on active listening you will be able to build a strong relationship with your project sponsor.

3 How to identify expertise

By actively listening to your project sponsor, you can not only improve your relationship with them but also gain insight into their level and type of expertise. Expertise is the ability to perform a task or solve a problem effectively and efficiently, based on knowledge, skills, and experience. There are different kinds of expertise, such as domain expertise, technical expertise, and strategic expertise. To identify your project sponsor's expertise, you can ask questions about their background, role, challenges, and successes. For instance, you could ask about their educational background, responsibilities in the project and organization, the biggest challenges they have faced or anticipate in the project, or the outcomes they have achieved or hope to achieve in the project. By doing so, you can gain a better understanding of their level of expertise and how they measure success.

4 How to leverage expertise

Once you have identified your project sponsor's expertise, you can use it to enhance your project performance and quality. For example, seek advice from your sponsor on the scope, requirements, deliverables, milestones, risks, or resources. Invite them to share their knowledge, skills, or experience with you and your team. And involve them in the project activities like planning, design, testing, or review of the deliverables. Active listening is a key skill for project leaders who want to identify and leverage their project sponsor's expertise. By listening actively and discovering how their expertise can make a difference for your project, you can improve outcomes, quality, and satisfaction.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?