Securing Real Sponsorship
Sponsorship isn’t a name on the deck; it’s a behavior you secure early and keep visible.
The real work starts before approval. Too often, the delivery team builds the story — the charter, the slide, the language — and then hands it over expecting ownership to follow. But belief doesn’t transfer that way. By the time a deck appears, the people who will own the outcome often feel like spectators to someone else’s plan. That’s the gap where alignment quietly dies. The people who must carry the change later need to see themselves in it early — not just their signature on the charter.
I start in the sponsor’s language — margin, risk, reputation. “If we fail here, what lands on your desk?” That question gets attention faster than any roadmap and usually reveals how much of the conversation will be about delivery versus defense.
Once, in a major enterprise rollout, I thought I had sponsorship locked. The executive joined the kickoff, spoke with conviction, then disappeared for six weeks. Without visible leadership, the program drifted. Decisions slowed, teams hesitated, and I spent more time defending momentum than building it. The reset came in a one-on-one — no slides, no entourage — just a blunt talk about what visible sponsorship really meant. He showed up to the next cadence, made one decision that unblocked a team, and the message rippled. People follow attention.
That experience changed my rhythm. Sponsor time is finite, so I never walk in with a deck. I walk in with one decision, one insight, one ask. I send a two-line recap within the hour — what they committed to and what I’ll do next. Repeated a few times, the conversation stops sounding like status and starts sounding like joint steering.
Visibility has to be designed. I write kickoff and midpoint remarks so teams hear the outcome in the sponsor’s words. Tone sets temperature. Two sentences delivered at the right moment beat ten slides delivered late.
I’m adamant about keeping surprises out of the room. Pre-wires — short alignment meetings before key decisions — help surface friction early. Two-option notes go out the day before major calls. Risks are never hidden; noise is filtered. Sponsors learn to associate the work with clarity and progress, not drama — and they stay close. The organization follows. It’s a straightforward, honest process. It makes some people nervous, but it builds trust fast.
I’ve also learned to separate sponsorship from oversight. Sponsors create momentum by enabling decisions; steering committees protect it by managing exposure. When those roles blur, control starts masquerading as confidence. Ego sneaks in, and trust erodes. Naming that distinction early keeps energy where it belongs — on outcomes, not optics.
Sponsorship isn’t a title or a kickoff speech. It’s the pattern of attention leaders choose to repeat when no one’s clapping. Get that rhythm right early, and every milestone downstream gets easier to earn.
Next insight: Designing value from day one — how proof gets built in, not bolted on.