Change Sponsorship in Perspective

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This is apparently the consistent ???????????? of a few hundred practitioners of varying levels of experience, most likely due to their own heavily inculcated confirmation bias. In other words, it is an interesting opinion but it has no probative value. One organization has offered a psychometrically challenged view of sponsorship as a consistent feature of successful change; however, any evidence of the predictive nature of the dimension falls to longitudinal blunders and poor survey construction.

But I'm sure we can agree that sponsorship is important; in fact, I believe we would agree it is critically important. And we all know great sponsorship when we see it. But while it has generally been assumed that effective sponsorship is a key to successful change, there has been a scarcity of empirical research regarding the direct impact of the construct of sponsorship on organizational change success. What we do have are broad, general statements, many lists of attributes of “good” sponsorship, an extensive array of “bad” attributes, and a few sponsorship checklists…but very little hard evidence on where and how sponsors can be guided to have a predictive impact on our change programs. Fortunately, some empirical research does provide clues about sponsorship, even if it lacks compelling predictive evidence.

A study by Breese et. al. (2020) investigates how senior managers, specifically project sponsors, understand their roles and responsibilities, particularly concerning benefits realization. Using a phenomenographic approach, the study reveals three distinct conceptions of the project sponsor role: "just doing the day job," "the capable manager," and "wearing two different hats." These conceptions are differentiated by the level of awareness of responsibilities, particularly regarding benefits identification and realization. The study highlights the gap between traditional prescribed guidance on effective sponsorship and the actual lived experiences of project sponsors, ultimately aiming to improve project success through a better understanding of the role.

The conception, “just doing the day job,” views the project sponsor role as an extension of the sponsor's existing senior management responsibilities. Sponsors in this category do not perceive a clear distinction between their functional role and their project sponsor duties, leading to a lack of focused ownership and accountability for the project.

Sponsors holding “the capable manager” conception perceive the role through the lens of their general management and project experience, often relying on "common sense" and "professional judgment." They focus on managing and controlling project activities, drawing on their past experiences to guide their actions. Sponsors with this conception may identify benefits during project development but don't necessarily see themselves as accountable for ensuring the realization of those benefits post-project completion.

The “wearing two different hats” conception recognizes the project sponsor role as a distinct and separate function within a project management framework. Sponsors in this category actively seek to clarify their responsibilities and understand the specific knowledge and skills required to be effective. This conception aligns with the metaphor of the project sponsor having one foot in the permanent organization and one foot in the temporary project world. Sponsors with this conception recognize their accountability for benefits realization, extending beyond initial identification to include post-project delivery and successful handover to operational teams.

These differing conceptions have significant consequences for project success and benefit realization. The conception held by a project sponsor impacts their level of engagement and approach to managing benefits, ultimately influencing project outcomes.

Another study by Hechenova et. al. (2018) investigates the impact of implicit change leadership schemas on change management effectiveness and employee commitment to change. This study finds that effective change management mediates the relationship between leader schemas and affective commitment. Most importantly, the study also finds that leadership execution competence emerged as the strongest predictor of perceived change management effectiveness. This means that leaders who are decisive, action-oriented, and capable of driving implementation and accountability are seen as more effective in leading change. Further, this study highlights the context-dependent nature of effective change leadership, suggesting that organizations should tailor their sponsor development strategies to their unique cultural contexts and employee expectations.

A third study from Carter et al. (2013) specifically focuses on transformational leadership and its impact on employee performance during periods of continuous incremental organizational change. This focus is rooted in the understanding that transformational leadership is closely linked to managerial effectiveness during organizational change. It finds that the quality of the leader-employee relationship mediates the effect of transformational leadership on task performance and organizational citizenship behavior.

In the study, transformational leaders are characterized by several key attributes that make them well-suited to guide organizations through periods of rapid change. First, they have a keen awareness of the need for change and can effectively communicate this need to their followers. Second, they possess the ability to create and articulate a clear and inspiring purpose for the future state, motivating employees to embrace the change. Next, transformational leaders actively guide and support employees throughout the adaptation process, providing direction and resources to help them navigate the challenges of change. And finally, they inspire employees to work towards the shared purpose and achieve the challenging goals associated with institutionalizing the change.

Sponsors who demonstrate these transformational leadership characteristics inspire change success by positively influencing employees' perceptions of the change and motivating change-supportive behaviors. Transformational leaders increase employees' valence, which is the perception of a change's consequences as beneficial. Even when employees perceive few positive change consequences, increased valence predicts championing behavior, defined as "demonstrating extreme enthusiasm for a change by going above and beyond what is formally required to ensure the success of the change and promoting the change to others."

These few empirical research studies support the importance of sponsorship as a component of change success. What distinguishes this perspective from the common aphorisms regurgitated to us rhetorically is that they are founded in evidence. Effective project sponsorship appears to, indeed, be a key factor in change project success and benefits optimization, particularly in ensuring that change benefits are realized.

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Battilana, J. Gilmartin, M. Sengul, M. Pache, A. and Alexander, J.A. (2010). "Leadership Competencies for Implementing Planned Organizational Change" The Leadership Quarterly, 21(3):422-438.

Breese, R. Couch, O. Turner, D. (2020). "The project sponsor role and benefits realization: More than ‘just doing the day job’". International Journal of Project Management, 38(1):17-26.

Carter, M. Z., Armenakis, A. A., Feild, H. S., & Mossholder, K. W. (2013). “Transformational leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational change”. Journal of organizational behavior, 34(7), 942-958.

Hechanova, M., Caringal-Go, J. and Magsaysay, J. (2018), "Implicit change leadership, change management, and affective commitment to change: Comparing academic institutions vs business enterprises", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 39 No. 7, pp. 914-925.

Potosky, D., & Azan, W. (2023). “Leadership Behaviors and Human Agency in the Valley of Despair: A Meta-Framework for Organizational Change Implementation”. Human Resource Management Review, 33(1).