Leadership / Sponsorship defined

Leadership and sponsorship is the responsibility of executives and senior managers in the organization who authorize, fund and charter the top-down organizational changes that end up as projects or initiatives. They are primarily responsible for making decisions, providing direction, and demonstrating their own and the organization's commitment to the particular change - whether it is a new product, an ERP system, a reorganization, or any number of organizational changes. The role of 'sponsor of change' is not one that can be selected or assigned; it is tied to and dictated by the actual change that is being implemented.

From an organizational perspective, leadership is key in establishing the strategy and direction. Additionally, leaders must communicate this strategy and direction in a way that individual employees understand and can make sense of given their role in the organization. Finally, leaders must establish priorities within the organization, between the projects and the different changes that are happening. Effective changes are clearly aligned with the vision and strategy of the organization.

From a project perspective, leadership must support both the project management side (the technical activities to manage the development of a solution) and the change management side (the specific activities to help manage the people side of change) of a project or initiative. Leaders play key roles in both these other disciplines, represented by the connections in the Prosci Change Triangle.