Neutralizing change threats in the new year: The missing sponsor
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Prosci and the Change Management
Learning Center's final tutorial series of 2008 is titled
Neutralizing
change threats in the new year. Each tutorial
in the series will
address one of the biggest obstacles currently facing change
management professionals and project leaders as this year
comes to a close and the new year begins. Visit the
first tutorial in the series to see all six threats and
a snapshot of the tactics used to neutralize each threat.
This week's threat:
The missing sponsor
Why are
sponsors so important?
In all five of Prosci's benchmarking reports
in change management - spanning 10 years and over 1400
participants - the role of the sponsor was identified as the
#1 contributor to
success. Tangibly, the sponsor of a change provides the
authorization and funding for the change to more forward.
They are the ones who launch change efforts. Intangibly,
their involvement sends a strong signal to the rest of the
organization. If the sponsor is active and visible in his or
her support, the organization notices. Likewise, if the
sponsor announces the change and then disappears,
individuals in the organization see this equally strong
signal. The effectiveness of the sponsor is one of the
strongest predictors of project success or project failure.
There are many consequences of a missing
sponsor. Resistance to change throughout the organization
increases when there is not a strong leadership presence.
The team encounters more obstacles and is not able to
resolve critical conflicts between schedule, resources and
scope. Changes are often delayed. When a sponsor has not
built the necessary coalition, changes fail to gain the
necessary momentum across the organization. Each of these
consequences has real, financial impact on the value a
change delivers, i.e. ROI. Given the current economic
climate and the importance of the initiatives underway, a
missing sponsor cannot be tolerated.
Why do they go missing?
There are a number of reasons a sponsor goes
missing during a change. Some of the most common include:
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They do not understand the role of
sponsor - they do not see their role beyond signing
a check and charter; they have not embraced the "active
and visible" role required for project success.
-
They fail to personally engage -
they do not give the necessary energy, effort and focus
to being active and visible.
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They are present only at the start of
the change, then walk away - they launch changes and
then move on to other issues, leaving the change to move
ahead (or flounder) on its own.
-
They abdicate sponsorship to someone
else in the organization - they delegate the
responsibilities of sponsor to the project team, an
outside consultant or a different manager in the
organization.
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They have too many initiatives
underway - sponsoring a change takes time and
energy; if there are too many changes going on at one
time a sponsor will not have the necessary capacity to
fulfill the role on each one.
According to the most recent benchmarking
study, lack of sponsorship is not a rare occurrence. In the
2007
Best Practices in Change Management benchmarking report participants cited ineffective sponsorship
as
the #1 obstacle to successful change, replacing employee
resistance at the top of the list. |
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Change Management resources
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Tactics for neutralizing the missing sponsor
Getting your foot in the door; demonstrating why change leadership
matters
The first of the three tactics is around building support and buy-in
related to the importance of sponsorship. You must make a compelling
case to senior leaders about the need for change management and the need
for them to fulfill the role of a good sponsor. You must connect change
management and their active and visible involvement to the business
results and financial performance of the projects they sponsor. Your
sponsors must say: "change management is important and my role as a
sponsor is key to success" - before they will begin fulfilling the
role.
There are numerous approaches for helping sponsors see the impact
of change management and sponsorship. From a qualitative
perspective, you can illustrate the consequences of not managing the
people side of change. This is a "cost avoidance" tactic - with the
costs being delays in project deployment, resistance, productivity
declines, impacts on customers and lower morale. Paint a clear
picture of what this change will look like if it goes forward
without sponsorship. From a quantitative perspective, you can share
the growing body of data that links project performance to effective
change management. In Prosci's 2007 study, data showed that projects
with excellent change management were five times more likely to meet
objectives than those with poor change management. You can also
create scenarios to show how ineffective management of the people
side of change directly impacts the expected ROI or cash flow for
the project.
In the end, you need to show leaders the impact of sponsorship on
financial performance of their projects.
Developing leadership competencies; building the role of great
sponsorship
The second tactic for the missing sponsor is showing them what it
really means to be a great sponsor. For many, the term "sponsor" is
still a fuzzy and ill-defined concept. Most senior leaders, when
presented with the specific activities they need to complete, will
fulfill
the role admirably. The challenge is showing them what it truly means to
be a sponsor of change.
Prosci's Best
Practices in Change Management report provides the hard-hitting, concrete
actions that help a senior leader see what it means to sponsor a change.
The report defines three main roles: 1) participate actively and visibly
throughout the project, 2) build a coalition of sponsorship and manage
resistance, and 3) communicate directly with employees. Within these
three roles are numerous specific activities that constitute effective
sponsorship.
A final note - for many leaders, being "a great sponsor of
change" is a new leadership competency. The role of the leader in
times of change has shifted as organizations have empowered their
workforces. It is important to treat "sponsoring change" as a new
leadership competency that can be taught and developed.
Being your sponsor’s coach; techniques for coaching upward
The final tactic for the missing sponsor is coaching upward. In times
of change, the change management team or project team must step in and
be the sponsor's coach. Most sponsors are very busy and need support if
they are going to be the active and visible sponsor you need. Your role
is to do the leg work for them: identify who is in the sponsor coalition
and schedule one-on-one meetings, create talking points for them and put
meetings and appearances on their calendar.
Coaching upward can be a difficult and sometimes uncomfortable
task. However, if you are able to make a compelling case for change
management and clearly demonstrate what the role of a great sponsor
is, you are on the right track. Once they see the big picture, good
leaders will ask, "what can I do?" This opens the coaching
relationship and is the start of great sponsorship.
Prosci's 3-phase change management methodology has a tool called
the sponsor roadmap for coaching upward. The roadmap is created
along with other key change management plans - like the
communication plan and training plan - and lays out the specific
actions required for the project by the sponsor. The sponsor roadmap
provides the structure for the coaching relationship and the sponsor
activities for the project.
Resources for neutralizing the missing sponsor
| If you need to: |
The right resource is: |
Show leaders what it really means
to be a great sponsor of change |
Best
Practices in Change Management benchmarking report - The
Sponsor role and Sponsor activities sections
of the 2007 report give concrete steps based on data from
over 420 participants. Provide sponsors with a copy of the
full report (which adds credibility); mark and highlight the
specific sections you want them to read. |
Help leaders build their
sponsorship
competencies |
Prosci's 4-6 hour executive program - taught by
experienced Fortune 500 executives, this highly interactive
program answers three key questions for senior leaders: What
is change management? Why is it important? What is my role?
Participants complete assessments on project health and
their own performance as a sponsor. Call 970-203-9332 to
learn more about this program. |
Provide leaders with specific activities
for a given project or initiative |
Change Management Toolkit or
Change Management
Pilot 2008 - these two products present Prosci's
organizational change management methodology. The Toolkit is
a hardcopy 3-ring binder with CD-ROM and the Pilot 2008 is
an online tool with downloads. Each include assessments and
templates for building a change management plan, including
the sponsor roadmap. These two products are also included as
materials at Prosci's
change management certification program. |
Coming up
In the next tutorial in this series, the second threat is neutralized:
- Engaging a missing sponsor
- Managing resistance to change
- Building middle management support and alignment
- Planning for change management
- Evaluating overall project health
- Avoiding change saturation
Offerings for applying Prosci's change management methodologies:
Training:
-
Change
management certification ($2100) - 3-day program where you bring
a project you are working on and apply all of the assessments and
tools as you learn them - taught by former fortune 500 executives at
locations across the US - includes over $1000 in products, including
the Best Practices in Change Management benchmarking report, the
Change Management Toolkit and the Change Management Pilot 2010
-
Train-the-trainer ($2300) - learn
how to teach Prosci change management training programs in your
organization
- Onsite training
- bring Prosci to your location for 3-day certification programs,
4-6 hour executive briefings, 1-day manager programs or 1-day
employee programs - call +1-970-203-9332 for more information
Methodology tools:
-
Change Management Toolkit ($349) - hardcopy 3-ring binder presenting
Prosci's change management methodology, includes templates, checklists
and assessments for managing the people side of change (includes CD-ROM)
- Change
Management Pilot Pro 2010 ($449) - online tool including Prosci's change
management methodology, eLearning modules and downloadable templates,
assessments, presentations and checklists
-
Change
Management Guide for Managers and Supervisors ($189) -
tools to help supervisors engage and coach their direct reports
through change (includes 4 copies of the Employee's Survival Guide)
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PCT Analyzer ($149/$349) -
web-based tool for collecting PCT Assessment data, analyzing
results, identifying risks and developing action steps
References and books:
-
Best Practices in Change Management benchmarking report
($249 / quantity discounts available) - journal-style report with lessons learned and best practices
from 575 participants, presented in an easy-to-use format - reads as
a checklist of what to do and what not to do
-
Change Management: the people side of change ($18.95 /
quantity discounts available) - a primer for anyone
involved in organizational change that addresses why manage change,
individual change management and organizational change management
-
ADKAR: a model for
change ($18.95 / quantity discounts available) - the definitive work
on Prosci's ADKAR® Model
-
Employee's Survival Guide to Change ($14.95 / quantity discounts
available) - a handbook to help
employees survive and thrive during change, answers frequently asked
questions and empowers employees to take charge of change
*** Prosci also offers
leadership packages - groupings of products at discounts that
offer you some of the most helpful and common combinations of Prosci
change management resources
Email this page to a friend
Email a Prosci analyst or
call 970-203-9332 with questions about the methodology, its application, or finding the
right resources to support your change management activities.
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