Identifying the PMO Sponsor

Identify Sponsor

The PMO sponsor should have these three qualities:

• Be the senior executive for the entire organization
• Be accessible
• Be a champion of the PMO

1. In practice, these criteria raise two difficulties that the PMO initiator will have to address: 

Senior executives are often not accessible. If this is the case, the first two criteria in conflict with one another. The PMO Initiator must make a judgment call and propose a solution. For example, if the senior executive is a CEO who travels a great deal, then either he is not a good choice as project sponsor, or he could take the formal role of sponsor and deputize another executive to oversee the PMO in his absence.

A PMO champion can be hard to find. Executives may resist the idea of being a PMO sponsor. Here are some common reasons:

• Many executives prefer to sponsor income-producing activities rather than cost centers such as the PMO.
• Executives may feel that the PMO operates at too low a level to be worth their time.
• Executives may wish to avoid the risk of being sponsor of an office that tries to change internal operations and corporate culture.
• The PMO initiator must address concerns in the business case. The business case is geared to executives, so that they can see that being sponsor and champion of an effective PMO will improve the organization's bottom line, solve long-standing problems, and be a success for the sponsor and the organization as a whole.

The PMO initiator can take these steps:

1. Review Organizational Chart. The PMO initiator reviews an organizational chart to determine who the potential sponsors are.
2. Prepare prioritized list of potential sponsors. The PMO initiator evaluates each sponsor by the above criteria and prepares a prioritized list.
3. Meet with each potential sponsor. The PMO initiator meets with each potential sponsor in priority order, presents the business case, and determines whether the executive is interested in becoming the sponsor.

If the senior executive for the entire organization is not an appropriate sponsor, then another executive should be selected. To understand these options and their consequences, read the Relationship With Sponsor and Relationship With Steering Committee sections of the PMO Relationships page.

If no sponsor can be found, then the PMO initiator should approach the executive who authorized him to prepare the business case and seek guidance. The executive may reconsider and choose to become the sponsor, may lobby another executive, or may recommend putting a hold on launching the PMO until a sponsor can be found.

Once a sponsor is found, then the PMO initiator should meet with them, review the business case in detail, identify the PMO manager, and then prepare the statement of intent.