The first thing I did as a project sponsor was appoint my steering committee (or project board). I usually did this before selecting my project manager as I wanted the team to have a say in the decision-making process. On more than one occasion we selected a person from one of their departments.

The steering committee is a crucial function that any project requires and is a key support mechanism for you as a sponsor. The authors of Directing Projects Using PRINCE2 go a step further to assert, ‘The project board is accountable for the success or failure of the project. Being accountable means accepting and demonstrating “ownership” of the project. The project executive is seen as the focus of accountability for the project and accordingly retains the ultimate decision-making authority’.

For its part, the PMI advises that ‘project governance should involve the least amount of authority structure possible’.

I agree with both of these points. The steering committee needs to ‘own’ the decisions made, and we need to ensure there are as few people as possible involved in that process. After all, there’s only so much leadership love you can share.

One project steering committee I was asked to sit on had 19 members. It was a relatively large transformation project, yet only six people represented what I would call the ‘core’ project steering committee. Everyone else was either presenting a paper or there as an ‘FYI’ (I think that means ‘I can’t be bothered listening, so please can you come along and take notes so I don’t miss anything’, though I’m happy to be corrected on that interpretation).

Whatever the size of the project, in my experience, a steering committee of six to eight people works best. The individuals may change through the life of the project, depending on the phase or the activity being undertaken.

The steering committee is made up of two distinct groups of people: users and suppliers. This is PRINCE2 terminology, but I think it works really well in identifying the different stakeholder groups.

Users are the people who define the requirements, get to use what’s built and realise the benefits stated in the business case. For example, if your organisation is building a bridge, the users in this scenario might be represented by a traffic manager, or similar person responsible for ensuring that traffic routes are kept clear, as well as members from signalling and maintenance. If you’re implementing a new finance system, then a finance manager would likely represent the internal users (assuming the Chief Financial Officer is the sponsor).

Suppliers are the people who support the build and development of the product to meet the users’ needs. They supply people, expertise or assets to help deliver the products. As an example, IT is a supplier (never the sponsor) for every technology-enabling project to ensure that the product they buy or build meets the needs of the users.

With me so far?

Quite often, external parties are contracted as suppliers and I recommend inviting a senior member of their team (or partner) onto the steering committee. It’s critical that they invest their time and are party to the decisions being made. It will also ensure that they’re included in the culture of the project.

The final element of leadership I would share is that of assurance. A person with the responsibility for assurance will keep the steering committee honest and ensure the right things are done at the right time. They’ll have no allegiances and will ask the questions that aren’t being asked by those accountable for delivery. Often this is an external person who provides you with a level of challenge that isn’t available internally.

Unfortunately, most steering committees start as snowballs — small, compact and perfectly formed — but very rapidly become avalanches, out of control, with the power to destroy.

As the sponsor you need to keep the membership of your steering committee fluid and to ensure you have the right people demonstrating the right behaviours at every meeting.

The Victorian Ombudsman’s report into the top 10 IT projects, which was extremely critical of the role of the steering committee, concluded, ‘The steering committee must not only have relevant experience, it must challenge the project manager about failure to meet milestones and ask the hard questions in order to drive the project to success’.

As the chair, it’s your responsibility to ensure that this happens throughout the life of the project and that the members are committed to its success. This will mean taking the time to review any papers or updates presented to the committee and asking questions of the project manager when performance isn’t as expected.

There has to be clear delineation and separation of responsibility from you the sponsor, the board and the person responsible for leading the project, the latter of whom is not part of the steering committee but reports to it.

When this delineation exists, projects are ultimately more successful, as each party is clear on its responsibilities and able to hold the other to account. Former New South Wales Auditor General Peter Achterstraat noted in 2013, ‘In successful projects there is usually a clear distinction between the person or team that provides the long-term leadership for the project and the team that manages the project’.

Remember, it’s critical not only that you get the right people around you, but that they consistently behave in the right way.

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously suggested that we are the average of the five people we spend most time around. So if you find you’re low on energy or inspiration, or are having negative conversations that aren’t focused on resolving the challenges you face, first you need to look at the people around you.

Although you as the sponsor are ultimately accountable for the success of the project, it’s really important that you share the leadership love with a team of committed people, people you can rely on, who can ensure you remain the best version of yourself.

If you get the right people in the right roles at the right time, then decision making will become easier and you’ll be able to quickly remove roadblocks so the project manager can meet expectations.

Your job is to ensure that everyone works in this way all of the time (and that they don’t lose interest as the project progresses). It’s also your job to ensure the project manager continues to meet expectations. When you have both of these things working in harmony, you’ll experience what it’s like to be surrounded by leaders who love what they do.