Leading From the Middle

I've been a project and program manager for almost 17 years. Over the last 10 of those, I have taken on some very large and complex technology initiatives that brought real change to an organization. Whether these changes affect internal operational users or external customers, one thing has always remained the same; as the project or program manager I need to lead from the middle and put my sponsor in front.

This came as a hard lesson many years ago. I was the PM for an IT project where we were updating a financial software package to the latest version. It was pretty straight forward; update the software package in the lower environment, test to make sure it worked and still pulled data into the UI and reports, and get sign-off from QA. Everything checked off in the lower environment. Then we implemented over a weekend with a note to the finance team that on Monday they'd see the new UI. Well, Monday came and they hated it. IT was blamed for a temporary downturn in finance's ability to do their work. From that day forward, our CIO said every project, regardless of size and scope, required an operational sponsor.

Since then I've truly learned what it means to lead from the middle. Leading the team and keeping stakeholders apprised of status is a given. But I've learned to put my sponsor, or sometimes I like to call business partner, out front to be the face of the project and provide them all the support they need to communicate more broadly and make decisions. It means I have to have an ego big enough to lead project and program teams, but small enough to let the sponsor take all the credit for success.

When I was assigned PPACA (aka, Obamacare) in 2013, the first thing I had to do was find a sponsor. Given this was an organizationally impacting program, I needed someone who was familiar with the law, known in the company and wasn't afraid to "rock the boat" if needed. That person was a director in charge of the health policy area. After we talked, he agreed to be the sponsor, but didn't know what that meant. I coached him on sponsorship, from decision making to communication. We worked out what the future state looked like and created a matrix which he regularly communicated to the operational areas. He became the face of the program and business units went to him with questions. I supported him 100% and when we successfully went live, he was given credit.

So what does it mean to lead from the middle when working with a business sponsor?

• Find a strong business sponsor, one that is engaged, not apathetic and mediocre.
• Educate them right away on what it means to be a sponsor. From business case creation, securing funds, making decisions, helping with issue escalation, being the face of the project with other operational areas and so much more, a sponsor's job is broad and probably more than they originally bargained for.
• Give them all the support they need. Create the future state and help with the communication. If the sponsor is asked questions, but sure you can quickly give them the answer. Put them as the face of the project.
• As the PM, I'm still accountable for the overall project, leading the teams and helping everyone over the hurdles. However, outside of this group and the sponsor, no one else in the operational world needs to know I exist.

Leading from the middle is not easy as there's not a lot of glory. But, if the business sponsor is the face of the project and the project is successful, everyone wins. I know it's tough to put your ego aside and let someone else have the spotlight, but in the end your job is to deliver a successful project, and putting someone else in front helps do just that.