LEADERSHIP

34 • LEADERSHIP
Whenever team members are physically separated, communication
is dramatically impacted. Effective leaders facilitate disciplined,
detailed, and systematic team interactions.
Project Sponsors
I’ve left for last what can be the most important, frustrating,
and decisive project team peculiarity: the working relationship
between the project leader and the project sponsor.
Unless you’re the genuine Master of Your Universe (selfemployment
doesn’t count—we’ve all got customer-bosses),
the sponsor is your most influential teammate. The sponsor
establishes your responsibilities, your access to resources, and
your level of authority. Ideally, you, the sponsor, and possibly
a few of your core team members will collaborate at an early
stage, molding the project plan within the confines of the organization’s
resources and objectives. Early collaboration
broadens options, facilitates best use of resources, and helps
minimize every project leader’s worst nightmare: your boss’s
over-optimism!
Unfortunately, communication and collaboration between
the project leader and sponsor is rarely as good as it should
be—usually falling into the range somewhere in the range of
“doesn't know I exist” to “I need to hire an intergalactic hitman”.
(Don't get testy—it goes both ways). Making effective
decisions requires trust, respect, and genuine rapport, all of
which takes time to develop. Unfortunately, many projects
just don’t last that long.
In addition, the ability to communicate project status in a
meaningfully way, requires a common project language, an
understanding of fundamental project management tools, and
an agreed-upon basis from which to evaluate (goals, schedules,
baselines, etc.). Throw in high stakes, high visibility, and a few