The Role of a Team Sponsor: Leadership That Removes Roadblocks

Introduction: Why Most Improvement Teams Stall at Leadership

In many organizations, continuous improvement initiatives begin with enthusiasm and momentum—yet slow down once genuine obstacles emerge. Teams identify issues clearly, suggest practical solutions, and even test improvements, but progress halts when decisions, resources, or authority are needed. This isn\’t a failure of the PIT Crew; it is almost always a failure of sponsorship.

The book distinguishes clearly between leadership that guides work and leadership that empowers work. In ongoing improvement efforts, the most effective leaders don’t solve problems for the team; instead, they act as Team Sponsors, removing barriers that the teams cannot remove on their own.

A Team Sponsor is not just a ceremonial title. It is an active leadership role that directly influences whether improvement efforts succeed, stagnate, or quietly fade away.

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What Is a Team Sponsor?

A Team Sponsor is a member of leadership who:

Owns the improvement effort at a strategic level
Provides direction without micromanaging
Removes systemic obstacles that block progress
Ensures alignment with business priorities

Unlike PIT Crew members, sponsors are not tasked with designing or implementing process changes. Their role is to establish the conditions that enable improvement to take place.

Why Every PIT Crew Needs a Sponsor

PIT Crews operate within systems they do not entirely control. They frequently face issues such as:

Conflicting priorities between departments
Delayed decisions requiring leadership approval
Resource constraints (staffing, budget, time)
Resistance to change beyond the work area

Without a Team Sponsor, these obstacles remain unresolved, and teams eventually disengage. The sponsor exists to bridge the gap between frontline insight and organizational authority.

See the Blog link below for details on creating a PIT Crew for your process improvement.

Building Your PIT Crew: How to Form a Cross-Functional Improvement Team

Core Responsibilities of a Team Sponsor

1. Clarifying the Purpose and Boundaries of the Improvement Effort

A Team Sponsor ensures the PIT Crew understands:

What problem are they solving
Why it matters to the business
Where decision-making authority begins and concludes

This clarity helps teams avoid spending time on improvements that don\’t align with organizational priorities or fall outside their scope.

2. Removing Cross-Functional Roadblocks

Many barriers to improvement exist between departments, not within them. A sponsor leverages their organizational position to:

Resolve competing priorities
Align leaders across functions
Prevent departments from optimizing at the expense of the system

This role is particularly essential when enhancements depend on collaboration among operations, HR, engineering, and planning.

3. Securing Resources Without Delaying Momentum

Improvement efforts frequently require:

Temporary staffing adjustments
Training support
Minor capital or tooling changes

A sponsor ensures resource discussions stay on track by making timely decisions and advocating for improvements that provide long-term benefits rather than short-term convenience.

4. Protecting Improvement Time

One of the most frequent failure points in continuous improvement is the loss of time. Team Sponsors safeguard improvement efforts by:

Reinforcing that improvement work is real work
Preventing urgent-but-low-value tasks from taking over
Supporting PIT Crew participation even during peak demand

Without this protection, improvement becomes optional—and optional work is seldom maintained.

5. Reinforcing Accountability Without Taking Over

Effective sponsors:

Ask structured questions
Review progress against goals
Hold teams accountable to follow through

They do not rush into redesigning processes or impose solutions. This balance enhances team capability rather than creating dependence.

What a Team Sponsor Is Not

To fully understand the role, it’s equally important to clarify what a sponsor should not do.

Not the process designer — that is the PIT Crew’s role
Not the daily manager — sponsors work higher up than execution.
Not the problem solver — sponsors enable problem solving
Not a passive observer — absence equals disengagement

When sponsors create ambiguity about their roles and responsibilities within a team, it can unintentionally weaken team members\’ sense of ownership. This blurring of boundaries may lead to confusion about accountability, making it difficult for individuals to fully commit to their tasks and projects.

Moreover, this lack of clarity can hinder the learning process, as team members may struggle to understand their roles and the overall dynamics of collaboration. Ultimately, for a team to succeed, sponsors must clarify roles and foster an environment that values team ownership and personal growth.

Selecting the Right Team Sponsor

The Efficient Process Book implies that effective sponsors share common characteristics:

Authority to make or influence decisions
Respect across departments
Willingness to listen before acting
Commitment to long-term improvement, not quick wins

The title matters less than the ability to remove barriers.

How Sponsors Interact with the PIT Crew

A productive sponsor-PIT Crew relationship includes:

Regular but structured check-ins
Clear escalation paths for unresolved issues
Mutual respect for roles and responsibilities

This relationship functions best when expectations are set early and reviewed regularly during the improvement process.

Common Sponsorship Failure Modes

Over-Involvement

Leaders who insert themselves into technical decisions reduce team ownership and capability.

Under-Involvement

Leaders who “support from a distance” leave teams exposed to system-level resistance.

Inconsistent Commitment

Changing priorities without explanation erodes trust and momentum.

Recognizing these patterns allows organizations to correct course early.

Why Sponsorship Drives Culture Change

Team Sponsors play a visible role in shaping culture. When leaders:

Remove barriers instead of adding them
Support experimentation and learning
Reinforce improvement behaviours

Teams understand that ongoing improvement is expected, supported, and rewarded.

This is how improvement becomes cultural rather than episodic.

Final Thoughts: Leadership That Makes Improvement Possible

Continuous improvement doesn\’t fail because teams lack ideas. It fails when leaders don\’t create space for those ideas to be tested, refined, and sustained.

The Team Sponsor role ensures that PIT Crews don’t encounter obstacles in the system. When leadership focuses on removing barriers instead of dictating solutions, progress speeds up—and skills develop across the organization.