Two Questions That May Stump Your Project Sponsor

As organizational change management practitioners we should not ASK, but rather EXPECT that our project sponsors our going to champion the change effort. 

As part of leadership alignment activities, I recently asked a project sponsor, “How are you sponsoring the change effort?” 

The reply from a CFO for a cost reduction effort: “Should I be doing something?” 

After a few uncomfortable moments, I then facilitated a discussion with the project sponsor to explore how they could begin to take on their critical project role: 

• What meetings do you have coming up? With whom? 

• Do you have any regular engagements or communications? With whom? 

• Do you have a quote that we could leverage as the voice of the program? 

From the output of the discussion, I then developed a leadership action plan outlining specific activities for the project sponsor to carry out their role. 

As OCM practitioners we need to flip the script, flip it back to the project sponsor by EXPECTING, not asking, how they are going to champion the change: “How can I help you carry out your role as the project sponsor?”  

Another question to pose to project sponsors that can result in a blank stare: “How are you going to measure success?” “Scope, schedule, budget?” is often the reply. (How to Lead with the End in Mind). This key question provides OCMers with another opportunity to guide leaders through critical discussions about how they will know whether or not they have achieved the organization’s objectives. 

Stumping a leader can be a game changer for OCM! 

Contact ChangeStaffing for more project sponsor stumping questions. 

A very special thanks to Beth Montag-Schmaltz, Change Management consultant and Principal and Founding Owner of 71 & Change for her thought leadership and for collaborating with us on this blog.