Being the Mentor

Kenneth has 14 years of healthcare experience in government and private industry. Over eight years of experience managing healthcare IT projects, operations, contracts, and personnel. His work experience includes project management, contracts and procurements, data analysis, claims adjudication, business writing, and business process modeling. Kenneth was certified in 2006 as a Project Management Professional.

  Career Development   Leadership  

While somebody may have figured out how to manage projects all on their own, most of us had a little help along the way (and some of us needed a great deal of help). But at some point in your career, you need to turn around and be the mentor for someone else.

Whether you are in a position that requires leading other project managers or you just feel like it is important to mentor others in the way you were mentored, it is important that you take some time out of your day to help others learn and grow. This will enable them to achieve their goals and aspirations in the long run. Being the mentor is not hard, but it does take time and a commitment.

Influence
Your influence over the person (or people) you are trying to mentor will vary depending upon the relationship that exists. Perhaps you do not have a formal working relationship; the only influence you have is directly equal to the amount of respect they have for you based on their personal experience working with you.

On the other hand, in a formal relationship, you may have a great deal of influence—but without the respect and a real relationship, that influence will be fleeting. You need to understand what influence you have so that you can work with it, increase it if necessary and help them grow as a project manager.

Training
Being a mentor often involves simply working beside someone, but there are …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.