The Delivery Iceberg That Sinks Sponsors

Sponsors don’t lose their reputations because of one mistake.

They lose them because of what they never saw coming.

In over a decade of delivery leadership in high-stakes, regulated environments, from investment banks to enterprise programs, we’ve seen one dynamic play out again and again:

On the surface, things look green.

Beneath the surface, they’re anything but.

That’s the delivery iceberg.

Above the Waterline (What Execs See)

Most project sponsors are judged on surface-level indicators:

• Green RAGs

• Milestone charts

• Updated RAID logs

• Steering Committee confidence

They assume these mean “things are under control.”

But they often don’t reflect:

• Real alignment between streams

• Emerging stakeholder disengagement

• Vendor misfires

• Strategic clarity of scope

• Quiet team churn or fatigue

And that’s where the danger lives.

Beneath the Waterline (What Actually Sinks You)

Here’s what we’ve learned:

What kills delivery isn’t always technical. It’s invisible.

It’s misalignment. Confusion. Silence. Ego. Fear.

For sponsors, this is especially dangerous.

Because you’re not managing the day-to-day, but you’re held accountable when it collapses.

A True Story (With the Names Removed)

I was once called into a project that had shown “green” status for six straight weeks.

Everything looked good, until the Steerco asked one small question about what was actually being delivered in the next increment.

Silence.

Two teams were building two different versions of the “minimum viable product.”

Each thought they were right.

Each had stakeholder backing.

No one noticed, because no one had pressure-tested the work in progress.

They were reporting, not validating.

The sponsor took the hit.

Sponsors Need a Safe Way to See What’s Really Going On

You don’t need more governance.

You don’t need another daily standup.

You just need one thing:

A trusted, external second set of eyes that cuts through the noise — fast, neutral, and with zero politics.

That’s why we now offer what we call a Quiet Sponsor Health Check.

What It Looks Like

• A 45–90 minute walkthrough with you (and optionally your delivery lead or PO)

• I review structure, alignment, and critical stakeholder paths

• I give you a private summary, what’s healthy, what’s unclear, and what’s quietly at risk

• No fluff, no blame, just practical, experience-based insight

Interested?

We don’t advertise this publicly. It’s by invite or request.

If you want to make sure you’re not being blindsided... even if things look green, send me a message or DM us “Iceberg” on LinkedIn or contact us at info.baltimoreadvisory.com

I’ll share availability and how it works... and you can decide if it’s worth a quiet conversation.