Originally posted July 7, 2016 — Updated for 2025
This article is part of our AIM Methodology series.
TL;DR
Sponsorship is the most critical success factor in any implementation. But once you've identified your leaders through Key Role Mapping, how do you manage them? Here are four real-world scenarios we've encountered in 30+ years of change work — updated for hybrid teams, AI-assisted work, and the faster cycles of 2025.
One of the greatest challenges of implementing large-scale, complex change is that very often you will be confronted with multiple leaders who each bring their own visions, political agendas, and frames of reference to the change.
Scenario #1: "The benefits are obvious, so no resistance is expected"
How many times does a senior executive send a message to the entire organization — on social channels, the program site, or a newsletter — explaining the "rationale" behind a change?
Obviously, once everyone reads this message, they will understand why the change is happening, and they will be on board and resistance will be non-existent. Right? Wrong.
Both sides are now frustrated.
When leaders over-promise benefits and underplay implementation challenges, they create bigger resistance.
Resistance to change often defies logic. You cannot eliminate it. Instead, it must be identified and managed. People protect themselves against changes in job tasks, work behaviors, performance measures, power, and status. The more someone believes their habits will be affected, the greater the resistance.
2025 note: Leaders can publish AI-generated FAQs, executive videos, and polished comms in minutes. That increases reach but also raises expectations and hides disruption. Quick fixes that look like clarity can actually widen the gap.
Practical fixes:
- Pair the rationale with concrete frontline examples and short demos of what daily work will look like
- Sponsor contracting: a short written agreement that names visible leader actions, time commitment, and reinforcement tasks
- Run a brief Impact Assessment or Organizational Stress Test at kickoff to predict hotspots
- Require human sign-off on major benefit statements and on AI-generated comms that set expectations
Scenario #2: "They are all number one!"
We often encounter leaders who claim they've never met an initiative they didn't like. But more often than not they also admit to not being able to deliver initiatives fast enough or on budget.
There is no shortage of good ideas; there is a shortage of resources to implement them. Too many leaders are addicted to driving activity instead of focusing on achieving value realization for the most critical strategic initiatives.
That's why it is so important to have a clear line of sight to the total number of initiatives that are in play, where resources are being spent, and the prioritization and sequencing of each initiative.
We tell leaders all the time that they need to "focus down to speed up." To go faster, you have to slow down by having fewer initiatives on the organizational change plate at the same time. Slowing down ultimately results in greater speed.
2025 note: With faster funding cycles and many AI-enabled pilots, it's easier to start more work. That makes disciplined portfolio decisions more important than ever.
Practical fixes:
- Use a portfolio heat map and an Implementation Risk Forecast to show resource and risk concentration
- Set a visible limit for concurrent initiatives and require an agreed process for adding work
- Leaders pick 1–3 strategic priorities and publicly commit to a reinforcement plan for each
- Start with a north star change that demonstrates the new frame of reference and delivers visible reinforcement
Scenario #3: "Go Live means Change Management isn't needed"
An "installation mentality" that treats launch or go live as the end goal is a common phenomenon. We call this "premature completion," because the effort ends before the real goal is achieved. What's missing? Return on Investment.
No behavior change = No true change = No Return on Investment.
There are five metrics that define a successful initiative: on time, on budget, all technical objectives met, all business objectives met, and all human objectives met.
Meeting business and human objectives is the difference between installation and implementation. Implementation is far more likely when there is discipline on the human side of change and a repeatable change process such as AIM.
2025 note: Accelerated release cadences and AI automating routine tasks make installations easier. Adoption lags more often. Leaders who leave after launch leave adoption unfinished.
Practical fixes:
- Expand the success definition to include human objectives and short-cycle reinforcement milestones
- Require leaders to sign off on a reinforcement plan with named behaviors, measurement, and manager actions
- Use weekly or biweekly behavioral checks rather than annual reviews
- Equip leaders with a simple behavioral dashboard to review adoption signals
Scenario #4: "Mid-managers will naturally support the change"
This is a big paradox for enterprise or transformational change. Middle and upper-level managers — the people we rely on to lead change — may have the most overt and covert resistance to it.
One AIM principle holds true: you can expect the most resistance from those who have the greatest vested interest in keeping things the same. Many managers have been hired and rewarded for maintaining the status quo.
Change Agents should not assume these managers are aligned by virtue of position. Managers need the same two questions answered as any target: "What does this mean to me?" and "What's in it for me?"
2025 note: Hybrid work, matrix reporting, and AI tools mean managers control many of the levers that make-or-break adoption. If they see risk to their span, priorities, or how they are measured, resistance follows.
Practical fixes:
- Cascade sponsorship with a linked network so each layer has visible sponsorship tasks
- Offer short coaching for mid-managers and a compact contract that clarifies expectations and resources
- Help managers translate the change into "what this means for daily work" and "what's the immediate benefit"
- Put reinforcement tasks in manager objectives and performance conversations
Sponsorship and Implementation
These are four examples of the countless sponsorship challenges we help clients solve. Do you have the strategies and tactics to mitigate these risks?
Sponsorship is the single biggest driver of implementation speed and success.
Leaders who move from passive approvers to active, visible participants — who sign short contracts, model new behaviors, and own reinforcement — make real adoption happen.
In 2025, the work of sponsorship includes clarifying AI authorship, coaching managers, and sequencing fewer, higher-impact initiatives.