12. How do you show up?

The final question in this series is about energy. How you show up? As a leader? As a technician? As a critic?

The role of the leader is to bring the energy.

To keep things moving. Both at the urgent times and through the down swings.

Burnout doesn’t happen because people are doing hard things. Many people enjoy a challenge. It happens when people are doing hard things without feeling supported.

Your role as the sponsor is to provide that support. To create air cover when things aren’t going well. To take on the battles outside the project to keep it moving forward

Support isn’t about gestures or perks. It’s not care packs or pizza nights. It’s taking the time to understand the situation the team is in, recognising the complexity they are navigating, and acknowledging the effort it takes to move forward. Sometimes it’s simply listening.

People can find extraordinary energy for work they believe is worthwhile. They can push hard when there is meaning, trust, and permission to learn. That includes making it safe to not know the answer when the situation is genuinely emergent.

As a sponsor, your presence matters. You set the emotional tone. Who you are is how this goes. Are you critical of the gaps, or supportive of the effort? Are you focused only on missed milestones, or on helping the team bring things back on track?

So the final question is much more personal, and at the heart of the culture and energy of the project: how do you show up?