Secure sponsors and stakeholders

Completed

Secure Executive Sponsorship

Executive Sponsors play an essential role in championing transformation throughout the organization. When securing your exec sponsors, ensure they understand the ABCs:

A = Active, visible, and consistent participation.

B = Build a coalition with their executive peers.

C = Communicate directly with employees to support landing the change.

Executive Sponsors should:

• Help the project team identify and prioritize their top business needs.

• Encourage shared planning between user enablement and technical implementation teams.

• Play a role in communicating the vision to leaders across the organization.

• Actively participate in and use the Copilot capabilities to help drive and reinforce enablement.

• Promote the enablement program. Studies show that 2.6x more likely to fully support a successful AI transformation.

  Note

  Study mentioned is sourced from The state of AI change readiness ebook, Microsoft Viva People Science. To learn more read the ebook.

Executive Sponsors may also:

• Lead or participate in the organizational AI Council.
• Have purchasing authority for licenses or services from supporting suppliers.
• Be directly accountable for Microsoft 365 or broader digital workplace initiatives.

Secure Stakeholders

Stakeholders are essential in the transformation as they can help you gain buy-in, support, and feedback from senior leaders, managers, and end users who are involved in or affected by the adoption project.

We suggest utilizing the stakeholder management lifecycle for managing your stakeholders. This structured approach will ensure stakeholders are engaged and supportive of the AI transformation efforts. This lifecycle involves six steps:

1. Validate strategic objectives. Ensure clear mission and goals from existing executive stakeholders, AI Council or business leaders for AI transformation.
2. Identify stakeholders. Identify all your potential stakeholders (including senior executives, peers, customers, prospective customers, etc.) who have influence over your work or an interest in its outcome.
3. Understand and assess stakeholder relationship. Using the Power/Interest stakeholder grid, map each stakeholder based on their interest and influence over your work. Then color code each one based on their attitudes: Green=Supportive; Yellow=Neutral; Red=Critical.

4. Define stakeholder management approach and actions. Using the stakeholder planning sheet, list all stakeholders and assess their key interests/issues, attitudes, desired support, messaging, relationship owners, and actions.

• Create a stakeholder map: A stakeholder map is a tool that helps you identify and analyze your stakeholders based on their interest, influence, impact, and attitude towards your adoption project. You can use a stakeholder map to prioritize your stakeholders and plan how to engage them effectively.

  • Identify measures for stakeholder engagement:

    • Level of interest
    • Level of organizational influence
    • Level of resistance
    • Engagement model - fulfill expectations
    • Document relationship owners and contact methods

• We have provided a stakeholder mapping worksheet that you can utilize or use as a guide in our downloadable Copilot Success Kit – Microsoft Adoption.

5. Develop communication plan. Using the Power/Influence grid, define a communication strategy/cadence for each type of user. Use this as a guide to “personalize” the communication plan for your key stakeholders to meet their individual needs.
6. Monitor and adapt. On regular intervals, reassess stakeholders’ influence, interest, and attitudes and modify their communication strategy appropriately.