This “flavor of the month” situation makes it very difficult to create any meaningful change in an organization. Sponsors are responsible for launching new initiatives and ensuring that these initiatives get the follow-through, resources and commitment they need to succeed. Help Sponsors Engage in Change
However, involving leadership is not enough, change needs sponsorship. Every change initiative project needs a sponsor. Sponsors help allocate budgets and resources, align critical stakeholders, work through cross-organizational conflicts, and provide visible leadership and support for change.
In addition to the work change teams do to identify the root causes of resistance and plan for mitigating resistance early in the change management process, sponsors must be ready and able to mitigate resistance when it occurs, especially with other senior leaders and people managers.