Help! My Executive Sponsor Is Missing! How to Find One (or a New One)

The phone rang out in the darkness. I picked up. “Joe,” whispered the guy at the other end of the line, “he’s gone!” It was Frank, our project manager.

“Who’s gone?” I said.

“Fredricks.” Fredricks was our Chief Innovation Officer. Made some great strides around here since he showed up. Cool ideas. Nice guy. Almost too nice. Frank continued:” We went to meet with him on the next phase of the program and he was gone. Office cleaned out and everything. Except for one thing.”

Damn, I thought. Not another one. My lighter clicked as I was thinking. I decided not to light up. Had quit years ago, but playing with my dad’s old Zippo calmed my nerves. “What?” This had happened before. That time they’d just relocated him to another office in another building. It may have happened again.

“His Top Innovator award” he said quietly.

Damn. It was a missing persons case after all. “I’ll take the case, Frank” I said.

Missing: One Executive Sponsor

As an intrapreneur, you rely on your executive sponsor to fight the good fight for your program. Your sponsor is your voice in the C-Suite, the guy or gal who ensures that you have the budget, the resources, the people, and the…