Why a masterclass for sponsors
Sponsors are appointed by position. The role still has to be learned.
Organizations invest heavily in project managers and very little in the executives who authorize the work. Sponsors are usually named because of their position or availability, and the expectations of the role stay implicit. The guide describes the chain that follows, and the masterclass is designed to break it at the first link.
01
Named without preparation
The role is assigned with no definition of what the sponsor decides, when, and on what evidence.
02
Accountability without the conditions to use it
With no tolerances or escalation thresholds set, decisions are deferred or made informally.
03
Value lost without a trace
Mandates drift, continuation becomes the default, and the cost is absorbed into normal project variation.
72%
In PMI research on M.O.R.E. published in 2025, 69 percent of respondents, and 72 percent of sponsors, named the project or program manager as primarily responsible for it. The guide places that accountability with the sponsor, and the masterclass trains sponsors to carry it.
The model
Seven accountabilities, practiced on one project.
The masterclass is organized around STEWARD, the seven sponsor accountabilities defined in the guide. Every table works the same Project Card from the mandate to the final commitment, so each decision builds on the one before it. Most of the day is table work, role-play and decisions recorded on paper, with the six decision aids from Chapter 12 used live.
S
Sponsor the mandate
Own the mandate from authorization through completion, and keep it aligned with strategy as conditions change.
T
Tolerances and decision rights
Set and communicate tolerances and escalation thresholds, and act when they are exceeded.
E
Enable delivery
Secure resources, resolve organizational conflicts and give the project manager the authority the role requires.
W
Weigh trade-offs explicitly
Govern trade-offs openly. Those that affect the value proposition are governance decisions.
A
Act as the escalation point
Resolve what delivery teams cannot. A project that never escalates anything is poorly governed.
R
Realize and protect value
Make sure intended benefits are achieved and value is protected throughout delivery.
D
Discipline the governance system
Respect escalation mechanisms, do not bypass decision processes, and intervene when thresholds are reached.
Two formats
One day or two.
The one-day masterclass covers the seven accountabilities and the decision aids. The two-day masterclass gives each block more time and adds four blocks: sustainability in the sponsor's decision, the PMO and sponsorship at scale, AI as decision support, and a capstone gate review.
One day · 9 contact hours · 0.9 IACET CEUs
One-day masterclass
Seven blocks on one Project Card, from the mandate to a signed commitment. Suited to executives and project directors who need the seven accountabilities and the decision aids in working form.
Learning outcomes: seven
Guide coverage: Chapters 1 to 6, 9 and 11 to 13
Practice: Project Card, six decision aids, three escalation role-plays
Assessment: ten scenario items
Two days · 18 contact hours · 1.8 IACET CEUs
Two-day masterclass
Eleven blocks across the full guide. Suited to mixed groups of executives, project directors, PMO leaders and senior project managers who build sponsorship into the governance system.
Learning outcomes: eleven
Guide coverage: Chapters 1 to 13
Practice: adds a Sustainability Management Plan exercise, a PMO service map and a capstone gate review
Assessment: fifteen scenario items and a capstone scored to a rubric
IACET continuing education units
0.9 CEUs for one day. 1.8 CEUs for two days.
GPM is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is authorized to award IACET CEUs under the ANSI/IACET 1-2018 Standard. One CEU equals 10 contact hours, so the one-day masterclass (9 contact hours) carries 0.9 CEUs and the two-day masterclass (18 contact hours) carries 1.8 CEUs. CEUs are awarded on full attendance and a passing score on the scenario check. About GPM's IACET accreditation
What each day covers
The blocks, in order.
Each block works one part of the STEWARD model and leaves evidence on the table: a tolerance worksheet, a card sort, an observer checklist, a recorded decision. Letters in brackets show the accountability each block practices.
One-day masterclass
1. Why sponsorship matters. STEWARD overview and table discussion.
2. Mandate and tolerances (S, T). Mandate Integrity Check; setting tolerance thresholds.
3. Enable and weigh (E, W). Enable or Interfere card sort; trade-off frame.
4. Act (A). Three escalation role-plays with observers.
5. Realize value (R). Continue, change or stop, with the sustainability lens.
6. Discipline (D). Drift diagnosis; AI Use Check.
7. Commit and close. Written commitment and scenario check.
Two-day masterclass, Day 1
1. Why sponsorship matters. STEWARD overview; the five failure patterns.
2. Mandate and tolerances (S, T). Mandate check, tolerances, and a challenge to business case assumptions.
3. Enable and weigh (E, W). Card sort; trade-off frame applied to the Project Card.
4. Act (A). Three role-plays; decision-rights map.
5. Realize value (R). Continue, change or stop in predictive and adaptive cases.
Day 1 check. Short knowledge check; Project Card updated.
Two-day masterclass, Day 2
6. Sustainability in the decision. From the P5 Impact Analysis to the Sustainability Management Plan; the three classes of sponsor decision.
7. Discipline (D). Drift diagnosis on the Project Card.
8. The system and scale. PMO service map; local decisions with system consequences.
9. AI as decision support. AI Use Check on a generated recommendation.
10. Capstone gate review. Teams run a gate review, scored to a rubric.
11. Commit and close. Written commitment and scenario check.
Learning outcomes
What participants can do at the end.
Each outcome names an action a facilitator can observe in the room. Participants complete an entry check before the first block, produce evidence in every block, and finish with a scenario-based check mapped to every outcome.
The last outcome is a written commitment to one change in sponsor behavior, on a named project, by a set date, with a named witness. A follow-up at day 60 asks whether it happened.
Both formats
Match each STEWARD accountability to the sponsor action it requires.
Apply the Mandate Integrity Check and set tolerances as numbers or named conditions.
Sort sponsor actions into enabling and interfering, and state a trade-off in the four-line frame.
Make and record an escalation decision, naming the trigger that applies.
Argue continue, change or stop using outcome measures and the sustainability lens.
Identify governance drift and the intervention it needs, and apply the AI Use Check.
Write a behavior commitment naming the accountability, project, date and witness.
Added in the two-day format
Classify assessed impacts from a Sustainability Management Plan into the three classes of sponsor decision.
Assign each decision in a case to the project manager, sponsor or governing body, in predictive and adaptive delivery.
Specify the PMO services a sponsor needs, and spot a local decision with a system consequence.
Lead a simulated gate review and record a continue, change or stop decision with its rationale.
Bespoke delivery
Built around your organization's context.
The masterclass is delivered for one organization at a time. Before the day, the content is adapted so that sponsors practice on decisions that look like the ones they make, in the language their organization uses.
Pre-course survey
Each participant's role, the current governance setup and the decisions they expect to face in the coming months.
Your Project Card
Scenarios set in your sector and portfolio, using your gate model, approval thresholds and delivery approaches.
Your governance terms
The names your organization uses for gates, boards, committees and roles, so the decision aids go straight into use.
Your emphasis
More time where your organization needs it, such as sustainability at the gate, PMO support for sponsors, or AI in decision-making.
Facilitator
Taught by the author of the guide.
The masterclass is available through GPM and taught by Dr. Joel Carboni, who wrote the PMI GPM Guide to Responsible Project Sponsorship and the STEWARD model. The one-day format was first delivered in North America in Detroit in October 2026.
Dr. Joel Carboni
Dr. Joel Carboni is the founder and president of GPM and the architect of the standards, methods, and certifications behind Sustainable Project Management®, delivered through the PMI-GPM joint venture. He created the P5 Standard, the Sustainability Competence Standard, the Sustainable Project Management® Practice Guide, the Project Sustainability Reporting Guide and the PMI GPM Guide to Responsible Project Sponsorship. For over 30 years, his work has moved the profession in a different direction. A Forbes Business Council member and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) contributor, he was shortlisted for Thinkers50's inaugural regenerative business award in 2025 for his book Becoming Regenerative.
Who it is for
The people who authorize, govern and lead the work.
Executives who authorize projects and programs and answer for whether they remain worth doing
Project directors who govern a portfolio of projects and act as the escalation point for project managers
PMO leaders who design the gates, decision rights and sponsor support that sponsorship depends on
Senior project managers who work with sponsors every day and need to know which decisions belong to the sponsor
At a glance
Prerequisites: none. Participants hold, support or expect a sponsor or governance role.
Pre-reading: the guide's Introduction and Chapter 1, about 30 minutes.
Group size: 10 to 50 participants, at tables of four to six.
Duration: 9 contact hours (one day) or 18 contact hours (two days).
IACET CEUs: 0.9 (one day) or 1.8 (two days).
Questions we are asked
Before you ask about dates.
How do we book the masterclass?
Contact GPM through the form below with your organization, the likely number of participants, the format you are considering and the dates you have in mind. We reply with availability and a proposal.
Who teaches it?
Dr. Joel Carboni, the author of the PMI GPM Guide to Responsible Project Sponsorship and the STEWARD model.
Should we choose one day or two?
One day suits executives and project directors who need the seven accountabilities and the decision aids. Two days suits mixed groups that include PMO leaders and senior project managers, or organizations that want sustainability, PMO support, AI and a capstone gate review covered in depth.
Do participants receive continuing education units?
Yes. GPM is an IACET Accredited Provider. The one-day masterclass carries 0.9 IACET CEUs (9 contact hours) and the two-day masterclass carries 1.8 IACET CEUs (18 contact hours), awarded on full attendance and a passing score on the scenario check.
Can it be adapted to our organization?
Yes. Every delivery is bespoke. The Project Card scenarios, governance terms and emphasis are set from your context and a pre-course survey of participants.
Does it apply to agile and adaptive delivery?
Yes. Delivery method changes how decision points are scheduled. The four sponsor decisions, authorize, continue, change and stop, are the same in every approach, and the two-day format works cases in both.
Do participants need prior training or certification?
No. Participants should hold, support or expect a sponsor or governance role and read the guide's Introduction and Chapter 1 beforehand. The guide is free at gpm.org/sponsor.
Ask about availability
Bring the masterclass to your sponsors.
The masterclass is scheduled on request. Tell us about your organization, the people who would attend, the format you prefer and your preferred dates. In the form, choose Corporate/Group Training and mention the Project Sponsor Masterclass.