Welcome back
Welcome back to ValueKey Labs, the newsletter that turns up more often than your Sponsor to a SteerCo meeting. That intro sets us up nicely for this weeks topic where we investigate the secret to building a stronger working relationship with your Project Sponsor - (5min read)
How to connect with your Sponsor
I used to struggle at building a strong working relationship with my Project Sponsor. When assigned to a new project I would quickly find :
- They were incredibly busy
- They didn't always understand Project Management
- Often they had never Sponsored a Project before
To forge a good working relationship, I would try and impress them with my technical knowledge, simply to demonstrate how competent I was.
I think it just annoyed them.
So I would cross my fingers and hope that we would work well together. Sometimes, it was great, but plenty of times it was less than optimal.
Ultimately, when push came to shove and Project issues came up, or delivery timelines got pressured. I didn’t have the kind of working relationship with my Sponsor I needed.
I started researching ways to build more effective relationships. I read the usual books - "How to win freinds and influence people", loads of articles and a ton of Ted talks. All the usual stuff.
I finally came across Amy Cuddy a renowned social psychologist. Her research findings struck a cord. Most people when meeting someone new try to establish the relationship by impressing the other person with how competent they are :
“ Hi I'm Guy, I have 20+ years of experience in Project Management, I have delivered project in 4 different continents"...yeah ok.
It just turns people off.
"TRUST"
Is what Amy found we need to establish first, not competence. It seems so obvious right, it doesn’t matter how competent someone is if you don’t trust them to begin with its never going to work.
But how do you build trust with your Sponsor?
#1 Discover what their needs are
Most humans are focused on getting their needs met, it’s just the way we are wired. Sponsors are no different. A quick way to build trust is to uncover what their needs are and what value you bring in terms of meeting those needs.
Sponsor has never had any Sponsor training *Meet that need by guiding them around their role responsibilities
Sponsors is time poor *Meet that need by providing a weekly Project bullet point summary
#2 Responsiveness
Being responsive means both listening and responding to your Sponsors requests. It could be their needs for clarity on project spend or a desire to have 3 well thought out options. If you are seen to be responsive to your Sponsors requests, it gives them a sense they are important and valued to you. Trust me, its the foundation to any successful relationship.
#3 Open Communication
Lots of research suggests that without open communication, people in business or personal relationships operate on mixed signals and assumptions. Open communication helps people feel safe enough within the professional relationship to express their needs, opinions and provide feedback without fear. One way to demonstrate open communication with your Sponsor is to let them know you will ensure "Good news travels fast, bad news travels faster" so they are never surprised.
#4 Show interest
This is an obvious one, but showing an interest in them beyond simply meeting your own goals/objectives for that person. Do they have children, how old are they (the kids, not your Sponsor), what sports do they play, what does their wife/ husband / partner do? Remember these details and drop them into conversation with them at different points.
#5 Rupture and Repair
All relationships will experience ruptures (conflict) at some point. Its how we approach the repair of the rupture (which includes acknowledgement of the rupture) that sets up a stronger relationship in the long term.
The repair communicates self-awareness, accountability and investment in the relationship. After a repair, the relationship usually enters a deeper sense of trust and connection. When trust is present, the relationship can normally withstand multiple ruptures.
#6 Authenticity
Be yourself, not just some form of professional robot that you think they want. This involves being comfortable with an element of vulnerability, sharing your feelings/reactions about things in the service of fostering a deeper connection. Being honest and clear about expectations and what you are and aren't able to deliver.
TL/DR (too long, didn't read)
- Establish trust not competence first
- Discover what their needs are
- Be responsive
- Use open communication
- Show an interent in them personally
- Rupture and Repair
- Authenticity