Executive Sponsorship – Why It’s Necessary for Implementation Success

It’s an exciting time; you are about to implement a new tool or application that will help you run your business more efficiently. Some in your org will assume that you can flip a switch and everything will work. However, many lost nights have taught us that successful implementations aren’t powered by technology alone. They’re powered by leadership. Executive sponsorship is the single most important differentiator between projects that deliver measurable results and those that stall. Or worse, fail.

There are plenty of post-mortems that blame change management, siloed decision-making or that classic cautionary tale: a massive data change in production on a Sunday night…with no backup.

However, I’ll point to leadership. Without an engaged senior sponsor, it leaves your project in peril to be blown down by the winds of change, the combustion of confusion, or the undefeated champ – scope creep. But a project with an involved leader? That person can help stem the tide, keep the team pointed to the goal, but most of all be the beacon of truth when – not if – things start going sideways.

Without an engaged senior sponsor, your project is vulnerable to scope creep, miscommunication, and the slow erosion of momentum.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Per the Project Management Institute (PMI):

• • On average, only 3 in 5 projects have engaged executive sponsors.
  • Up to 76% of projects with active executive sponsorship are successful.
  • Projects with active sponsors are 62% more likely to finish on time and 66% more likely to meet budget.

A question comes to mind – would you leave your project with a 24-40% chance of failing or go over budget? What if you could mitigate that risk?

The Wrong Sponsor vs. The Right One

Not all executive involvement is created equal. Most of us have experienced the frustrating version: the leader who shows up once in a while to request a single status report that signals oversight without actually providing it; the promised C-Level champion who can only make a bi-weekly check-in and spends most of it getting caught up; or the ‘Drive By Exec’ who swoops in to reverse a decision made two weeks prior.

If you have the pleasure of working with an engaged senior leader? Chef’s kiss, sigh of relief, touchdown dance, or whatever joyful thing you can envision. When that leader is there, asking pointed questions, being mindful of everyone’s time, and helping to drive to a goal like a successful implementation? It will show you how things can be done, and you will watch a whole group of people be inspired because of it.

What does an engaged leader look like? They show up to meetings, ready to ask questions, ready to answer questions, and most importantly – they are willing to let the project team provide their input. And that makes all the difference; those are the people who are doing the day-to-day work!

An engaged leader knows they don’t know everything. They leverage the knowledge of the team. They ask open-ended questions. Above all that, they are willing to hear unpleasant answers.

What Great Executive Sponsorship Looks Like

• • They are present and on time.
  • They are accountable.
  • They leverage their internal experts.
  • They ask tough questions.
  • They are self-aware.

Let’s Talk About Your Project

RadixBay supports organizations implementing, updating, or migrating their technology systems. Our focus is to help inform decision-making, reduce costs, and enhance customer experience while maintaining a partner-centric relationship with our clients. In short, we are an extension of you and your team.

If you are looking to leverage technology as a competitive advantage, we should chat about how RadixBay can help your organization align the right tools with your team’s operations to deliver measurable business impact.

Aarron Solan

• • RadixBay Manager, Cloud & AI
  • Salesforce Certified