The Importance of PMO Services for Professional Sponsorship

Effective sponsorship is a decisive factor for the success of projects and programs. Yet in many organizations, this role remains underdeveloped and is often experienced as lonely and complex. 85% of organizations offer no training or support to sponsors. The book The Art of Effective Sponsorship (Portman and Vilain, 2025)[1] emphasizes the importance of role awareness, collaboration, and continuous learning. A Project Management Office (PMO) can play a key role here. This blog describes six concrete PMO services that support sponsors in fulfilling their role effectively and shows how these contribute to the success of projects and the wider organization.

1. Effective sponsorship as a success factor

Successful projects and programs do not happen automatically. Research shows that many projects only partially achieve their original objectives or fail to build sufficient support to ensure sustainable results. A major cause lies in the underexposed and often solitary character of the sponsor role.

Sponsors are often appointed because of their position or subject-matter expertise, but do not always have specific experience in steering projects and programs. In contrast to executing parties like project managers, who can rely on extensive training, certifications, and communities of practice, sponsors often lack a comparable support ecosystem.

The book The Art of Effective Sponsorship emphasizes that collaboration between the sponsor and executing party is decisive for success. A shared understanding of the assignment, clear role agreements, and the ability to jointly resolve complex issues make the difference between a successful and a failed project.

2. The role of the PMO

A Project Management Office (PMO) can play a key role in strengthening professional sponsorship. Through targeted services, the PMO helps sponsors fulfill their role consciously, effectively, and with confidence. The six services described below are directly aligned with the eleven focus areas of effective sponsorship as described in The Art of Effective Sponsorship.

3. From a lonely role to professional sponsorship: six PMO services that make the difference

It begins with establishing a sponsor ecosystem in which sponsors can learn from one another. Training and education are essential to increase knowledge and awareness. Coaching and guidance help sponsors operate more effectively in practice. Diagnosis and advice provide insight into strengths and areas for improvement. Reflection and evaluation foster a learning culture where growth becomes natural. Finally, attention must be given to communication and culture, so that professional sponsorship is broadly recognized and supported across the organization.

Together, these six services form a powerful package — and provide the foundation for structurally stronger sponsorship.

Figure 1 – Project ownership services

3.1 Establishing and facilitating a sponsor ecosystem

The PMO creates a structural environment where sponsors can meet, learn, and develop. This includes setting up a Community of Practice, organizing peer-learning and knowledge-sharing sessions, offering reflection tools such as the sponsorship covenant (see Figure 2) and the eleven focus areas (see Figure 3), and publishing best practices and lessons learned.

Value: Breaks the isolation of sponsors and strengthens their craftsmanship.

3.2 Training and education for sponsors

The PMO provides introductory training on effective sponsorship, advanced modules on the eleven focus areas (including commitment & support, business accountability, and communication), and masterclasses with practical cases and dilemmas. The sponsorship covenant is used as a learning instrument.

 Value: Increases knowledge and awareness of the sponsor’s crucial role.

3.3 Coaching and guidance for sponsors

Personal support is offered through one-on-one coaching focused on leadership and collaboration, guidance in drafting the sponsorship covenant, observation, and feedback during steering groups, and mentorship programs where experienced sponsors coach new sponsors.

Value: Strengthens personal effectiveness and confidence in the role.

3.4 Diagnosis and advice on sponsorship

The PMO conducts quick scans based on the eleven focus areas, analyzes decision-making, the sponsor–executing party relationship, and stakeholder support, and delivers advisory reports with concrete improvement measures.

Value: Provides objective insights to strengthen the sponsor role.

3.5 Facilitating reflection and evaluation

The PMO organizes after-action reviews, annual benchmarks, or maturity assessments, and facilitates reflection questions based on The Art of Effective Sponsorship.

Value: Creates a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

3.6 Communication and culture development

The PMO develops communication campaigns and visual tools, integrates sponsorship into leadership development and HR processes, and supports cultural change and leadership programs.

Value: Strengthens awareness of the sponsor as a crucial success factor.

4. Pitfalls of sponsorship and keys to success

The book The Art of Effective Sponsorship shows that many sponsors fall into similar pitfalls:

• Unclear assignment definition: failing to sharply define objectives and scope.
• Lack of role awareness: ambiguity about the division of roles between sponsor and executing party.
• Too little focus on support and communication: insufficient stakeholder engagement, leading to resistance.
• Too little reflection: lack of evaluation and learning, leading to repeated mistakes.

By contrast, the keys to success that contribute to professional sponsorship are:

• A clear assignment and explicit role agreements (e.g., use of the sponsorship covenant).
• Conscious collaboration and trust between the sponsor and the executing party.
• Active stakeholder management and communication to build support and commitment.
• Continuous learning and reflection on one’s own actions and decision-making.

The six PMO services directly support these keys to success:

• A sponsor ecosystem helps sponsors exchange experiences and strengthen role awareness.
• Training and education support sharpening assignment definition and stakeholder management.
• Coaching and guidance enhance leadership and collaboration.
• Diagnosis and advice provide insight into strengths and weaknesses, including role division and communication.
• Reflection and evaluation stimulate learning and prevent repeated mistakes.
• Communication and culture development reinforce awareness and organizational support.

By both acknowledging pitfalls and actively supporting the keys to success, the PMO ensures structural improvement of sponsorship and increases the chances of successful projects and programs. To demonstrate this improvement, KPIs or OKRs can be used. The next section provides an example of such an OKR.

Figure 2 – Sponsorship covenant

5. OKR – PMO Service Sponsorship

5.1 OKR description

Objective

“Strengthen professional sponsorship to significantly increase the chances of the project’s success.”

Key Results (KR) with baseline & instruments

1. At least 80% of sponsors rate PMO services at ≥ 8/10

-Baseline: 0% (services are new or barely used).

-Instrument: annual online survey (e.g., SurveyMonkey / internal HR tool) with Net Promoter Score and additional feedback.

2. 75% of active sponsors participate in ecosystem activities at least twice a year

-Baseline: 0% (ecosystem not yet established).

-Instrument: attendance records (community events, peer-learning sessions).

3. Within 12 months, there is an active Community of Practice with at least 50% of all sponsors as members

-Baseline: 0% (no CoP yet).

-Instrument: membership records, online platform statistics (e.g., Teams/SharePoint/Yammer).

4. At least 70% of sponsors actively use the sponsorship covenant and the eleven focus areas

-Baseline: current usage <20%.

-Instrument: short self-assessment via questionnaire or interview at project start & closure.

5. 20% increase in role awareness (measured through maturity scan)

-Baseline: maturity scan on 5-point scale (initial measurement per sponsor).

-Instrument: existing or adapted maturity tool based on the eleven focus areas (1–5 score per area).

6. At least 10% improvement in the percentage of projects achieving their original objectives

-Baseline: current % of full goal achievement (e.g., 55%).

-Instrument: portfolio dashboard/project management reports (time, cost, scope, benefits realization).

5.2 Self-assessment (per project)

Purpose: To determine whether the sponsor is applying the basic principles of effective sponsorship in a specific project.

Questions (Likert scale 1–5; 1 = not at all, 5 = fully):

1. The assignment is clearly formulated (objective, scope, result, conditions).
2. My role and responsibilities as sponsor are clearly agreed upon with the executing party.
3. I use the sponsorship covenant or a comparable instrument.
4. I actively focus on stakeholder support and management.
5. I regularly evaluate my role (reflection and feedback moments).
6. I experience sufficient support (e.g., from the PMO) to fulfill my role effectively.

Outcome: Average score per question and total score (goal: growth toward 4 or higher).

Figure 3 – Eleven aspects of sponsorship

5.3 Maturity scan (annual – role awareness and organizational culture)

Purpose: To gain insight into the maturity level of sponsorship within the organization. Based on 5 levels (1 = ad hoc, 5 = best practice / continuous improvement).

Questions per focus area:

1. Sponsor–executing party collaboration – How well does the collaboration function?
2. Commitment & support – To what extent do I actively contribute to building support?
3. Business accountability – To what extent am I accountable for achieving business goals?
4. Decisiveness – How quickly and carefully do I make decisions in the project/program?
5. Role awareness – How clearly and consciously do I perform my sponsor role?
6. Stakeholder management – How actively do I involve stakeholders?
7. Communication – How clear and consistent is my communication about the assignment?
8. Results orientation – How sharp is my focus on desired benefits and outcomes?
9. Reflection and learning – How often do I take time for evaluation and adjustment?
10. Integrity and culture – How do I safeguard ethical conduct and role-model behavior?
11. Leadership – How do I demonstrate leadership in realizing strategic goals?

Measurement method: Score per focus area (1–5).

Reporting: Spider or radar diagram per sponsor and organizational average.

6. Conclusion

Professionalizing sponsorship is not a luxury, but a strategic necessity. Effective sponsorship directly impacts the success of projects and programs, and thus the realization of an organization’s strategic objectives.

Through these six services, the PMO provides concrete, practical support enabling sponsors to fulfill their role more effectively. By investing in a sponsor ecosystem, training, coaching, diagnosis, reflection, and cultural development, structural improvements are achieved in collaboration, decision-making, and results orientation. This approach not only contributes to the success of individual projects but also strengthens the overall change capacity of the organization.

[1] At this moment only available in Dutch: De kunst van goed opdrachtgeverschap.