You’ll notice that the advice that follows – for sponsors and leaders – all deals with creating a strong and clear structure for the work of your team. That’s true; it all boils down to crystal clear structure. An under-bounded system[1] is grappling with complexity, ambiguity, and turbulent change. Authority is usually diffuse and unclear as if the landscape of the horizontal organization is full of fog. Imagine that you are wandering on that landscape with few discernable landmarks and poor visibility. In this kind of environment, leadership needs to be extra structured and clear.
If you are the Sponsor of a project or team, here is what you need to do to create strong healthy conditions for your group and ensure a successful project:
1. Choose a team leader and clarify their role.
This is a good time to remember Jim Collin’s advice about “getting the right people on the bus.” You want to designate the strongest team leader you can get your hands on.
2. Initiate the project.
This is your project, so think about who you need to notify that you are starting this effort. This team will be flying under your banner and you, and they, should both know it. Who else needs to know? You want to have – and convey – the feeling that you are personally on the line for their work, and the stakes are high. (Click here for Part One “How to Choose the Right Project Sponsor and Get Them Started).
3. Define what is in and out of scope for the project team.
In horizontal systems, it is easy for “everything and the kitchen sink” to be thrown into a project, which can paralyze the team. Be particularly clear about what is NOT included in the team’s charter.
4. Establish a SMART goal and a set of target metrics.
Pay attention to the difference between a worthwhile but directional goal like “Improve patient safety” and a specific target, like “Decrease medication errors by 10% in six months.” SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-bounded) can help you create concrete targets for your team. Establishing them may also lead to very useful conversations about what is and is not realistic.
That’s the information you want to have now at the beginning, not a year from now when there has been little progress.
5. Establish clear accountability and a deadline.
Give the team a clear deadline and set up dates on the calendar for mid-point check ins to ensure they stay on the right track, all the way through the project. This will help the team get started (and establish that famous sense of urgency). Tell them exactly what kind of deliverable you expect, and by when. Can you give them a sample of a previous report or deliverable that you admire? The more information you use to convey your expectations, the better.
6. Remove organizational roadblocks.
Once you’ve established the expectations and the framework for your team or project, your role becomes more supportive. Let the team do its work. You should take up the work of negotiating for the resources that the team needs or removing roadblocks. Tell them that you see this as your job description. Your horizontal leadership work will very likely involve negotiating with peers at the top of other departments or organizational silos, pointing out problems the team uncovers, or clearing organizational obstacles out of their path.
7. Provide resources for team members to do their work.
The most important resource is probably time. If the team’s work is important, you may need to provide release time for team members and negotiate with other departments so that they will do the same. Project work that is “layered on” top of people’s usual full-time jobs has a hard time getting the organizational oxygen that is needed for success.
8. Stay up to date on the project and give it visibility.
Make sure that you know what is going on in your project, and that you give it organizational visibility at your level and above.
Just because advice on how to be a successful sponsor is easy to understand doesn’t mean it is easy to implement. One challenge may be that you are called on to sponsor too many projects. “How can I stay on top of so many initiatives or give them all visibility or champion them all?” you may be asking. If that’s the case, it may be a good idea to call for a meeting of your peers to slim down the portfolio and establish priorities. Focusing on a few key initiatives is the hardest work that leaders are called upon to do.
If you're currently sponsoring a team or project, take 15 minutes today to assess where you stand on these eight essentials. Are your expectations clear? Are you removing roadblocks? Your leadership sets the tone—make it count.
1Alderfer, C. P. (1980). Consulting to underbounded systems. In C. P. Alderfer & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Advances in experiential social processes (Vol. 2, pp. 267–295). John Wiley and Sons.
