For many organizational change initiatives, sponsorship is a hot potato. The pursuit of change in the absence of leadership is a waste of everyone’s time; is a missed opportunity.
Sponsorship by committee doesn’t work. Each change initiative needs one sponsor—one person accountable for the results. Sponsors are the people with enough position authority to put some weight behind the decision to change. Clear, influential sponsorship is a must before you begin any change project (repeat out loud many times).
People defer to the ‘folks at the top’ for information about what is changing, why the change is needed, why the change is needed now (sense of urgency), how the change is really going to work, and how the change is going to impact them. You need a sponsor that is willing to lead.
Even better, a leader that uses every step of the change process to reinforce a strong connection to company values.
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