Why Sponsors Hold the Key to Change Programmes That Actually Stick

This article covers:

• Why sponsorship is harder than anyone tells you upfront
• How to respond when the first signs of resistance appear
• What your people need from you at the moments that matter most

You’re a capable leader. You’ve been asked to sponsor a strategically important initiative. You said yes because you believe in the programme and because refusing would signal a lack of commitment. Perhaps you view this as a kind of side hustle. What nobody mentioned is that sponsorship would become one of the most demanding parts of your job.

If that resonates, you’re not alone. Most sponsors find themselves in exactly this position: accountable for outcomes they weren’t fully prepared for, expected to demonstrate behaviours nobody clearly defined, and wondering why the programme is struggling despite everyone’s good intentions.

The role nobody explains

Sponsorship often arrives as an additional responsibility layered onto an already full workload. “Can you sponsor this?” sounds straightforward. The reality is anything but.

Effective sponsorship requires you to remove roadblocks when the programme encounters resistance, sometimes from your own peers. It means helping different groups understand what’s in it for them, which requires different conversations with finance, operations, and frontline teams. It means identifying resistance early and addressing it before it spreads. And it means role-modelling the behaviours the programme requires, visibly and consistently.

If nobody has sat down with you to explain these expectations, you’ve been set up to struggle. That’s not a criticism of you. It’s a recognition that organisations routinely underinvest in preparing sponsors for the demands of the role.

Development Dimensions International’s 2025 Global Leadership Forecast, which surveyed nearly 11,000 leaders across 50 countries, identified change management as one of the two largest skill gaps in today’s leadership. This isn’t about individual failings. It’s a systemic gap that affects leaders everywhere.

When sponsorship matters most

Here’s the pattern I see repeatedly. Sponsors are engaged and visible during the early stages of a change programme. They attend workshops, sign off on designs, and announce the vision with genuine enthusiasm. Then the programme moves into implementation, and their attention drifts elsewhere, usually because they have multiple priorities and a demanding day job.

This is precisely when sponsorship matters most. Implementation is where people are asked to work differently. Old habits compete with new expectations. The first signs of resistance appear. And your people are watching to see whether leadership commitment survives contact with reality.

Your people are tired. They’ve seen programmes launch with energy and fade without follow-through. They’ve learnt to wait and see whether this time will be different.

The sponsor’s visibility during implementation sends a signal that nothing else can. When you stay present, people believe the programme matters. When you disappear, they draw their own conclusions.

Every change programme faces a moment when someone senior doesn’t behave as expected. They skip the meeting. They override the new process. They revert to the old way because it’s faster. How you respond to that moment shapes everything that follows.

A marketing director recently walked into their Integrated Business Planning review. Senior colleagues had prepared presentations. Cross-functional teams had done their analysis. Everyone had read the pre-read.

“Sorry,” he said, “I haven’t had time to look at it.”

If you’re expecting everyone else to arrive prepared, what message does that send? That single moment risked undermining months of work building a culture of preparation and accountability.

As sponsor, you have two responsibilities when cracks like this appear.

First, consider the shadow you cast. Are you still advocating for this programme in your own behaviour? What tone do you set when you walk into meetings? Your people read your body language as clearly as your words. If your conviction has wavered, they’ll sense it.

Second, address the issue quickly. Feedback delivered close to the incident lands differently than feedback delivered weeks later. If a senior colleague undermines the programme, a quiet word afterwards matters more than a formal conversation next month. I’m sure you will all agree that the approach depends on the person: direct with some, taking a softer or more strategic tack with others. But the conversation must happen. Silence is interpreted as permission.

What your people need from you

Sponsorship is primarily about support, not authority. Your people need to know that when they encounter resistance, someone senior will stand with them. They have to see you working the same new processes you’re asking them to adopt. They need evidence that this programme won’t be abandoned when the next priority emerges.

During the third (Embed) phase of our change methodology, sponsors have three distinct responsibilities.

Nurturing means landing the change for different audiences. What matters to finance differs from what matters to operations, for instance. The sponsor helps translate the overarching vision into specific, personal relevance and plays a key part in listening to how it’s landing with the teams. Rather than a one-off announcement, this is an ongoing communication that responds to questions and concerns as they surface.

Growing means building capability, not just awareness. People can attend training and still lack the confidence and capability to apply what they’ve learned. You can read a book on how to drive, but that doesn’t mean you can drive a car. The sponsor creates space for practice, tolerates and even encourages early mistakes, and ensures coaching reaches those who need it. The 70-20-10 model applies here: capability builds through on-the-job experience, coaching, and formal training, in that order and magnitude.

Sustaining means preventing regression. The human brain prefers familiar patterns and will revert to old ways at the first opportunity. Sponsors help maintain momentum through consistent attention, enabling the project team to  amplify recognition and bring in new reward structures that reinforce new behaviours, through job descriptions that reflect changed expectations. The moment you say “just this once, let’s do it the old way,” you’ve opened a gap that will only widen.

Owning the role

None of this is easy, admittedly. The demands of sponsorship compete with everything else on your plate. There will be days when you question whether the effort is worth it, when short-term pressures feel more urgent than long-term change.

But here’s what I’ve learnt from working in and with organisations over many years: the programmes that succeed have sponsors who stay the course. These sponsors understand what the role requires and commit to meeting those requirements even when it’s difficult.

If you’re currently sponsoring a change programme, now is the chance to step back and ask yourself a few honest questions. Do you know what your sponsorship role actually requires? Have you been given the support and training to do it well? Are you prepared to have uncomfortable conversations when behaviours slip? Are you modelling the changes you’re asking others to make?

If the answer to any of these is uncertain, now is the time to address it. Talk to whoever asked you to sponsor this initiative. Be clear about what support you need. Make sure expectations are explicit on both sides.

Your people are watching. They’ve learned from experience that organisaional enthusiasm at launch often fades during implementation. You have the opportunity to prove them wrong by staying present, staying visible, and staying committed at the moments that matter most. That’s the positive shadow you can cast.

That’s what ownership looks like. And it’s within your reach.