Project Management Institute (PMI) research shows that having actively engaged executive sponsors is the top driver of project success. Yet this research also shows that fewer than two-thirds of projects and programs have assigned executive sponsors, suggesting that organisations are not fully recognising the importance of the role.  

We live in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world! In such a context, how can you be a good sponsor? The first element we will cover is how to comprehend the organization’s vision, mission, and strategies, be able to elicit and clarify its strategic objectives and understand how to be a sponsor of transformation. 

In this seminar, we will examine the sponsor’s skills and competencies, their roles and responsibilities with a specific focus on governance processes. The topics we cover include, but are not limited to meetings management, conflict resolution, leadership, commitment, teamwork, monitoring techniques, explicit and tacit responsibilities, etc. 

One of the important aspects of being an active sponsor is to understand organizational culture and its actors. PMI research has shown that project management professionals need more diverse skills and approaches than ever before and work in a broader value delivery spectrum, including predictive, agile and hybrid approaches. As a sponsor, you need to understand how this variety of approaches will affect your role. 

Finally, we will examine how bureaucracy should be replaced with networking and simplicity and look at the importance of knowledge management.