Day II of the North American PMI Leadership Institute Meeting (LIM)...So Glad I Came!

 

By Mike Adams, PMP® 
President Elect - PMI Otowi Bridge 
@MichaelAdamsPMP

Another fantastic speaker this morning...I mean wow!

Jeff Tobe talked to us about "Coloring Outside the Lines." Jeff was fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation. I had to stop and think, "As a chapter leader, have I elevated myself to the status of leadership mentor?" That question is distinct from "am I mentoring people?" The second question asked what I'm doing, it is an inquiry into what I'm passing on to others, or if I'm passing anything on. The first question has less to do with others and more to do with how I'm viewing myself and how much time I'm spending nursing my fragile ego...and it is fragile!

The answer, *blush* yes, I have 'elevated' myself to some heightened status. The problem is that in that position of being "Mr. Mentor," I am unable to listen as well as when I'm being a team player. I'm busy passing on what I know, and impressing others myself.

At lunch, I sat down with two new board members and asked them what we, as a board, are doing wrong. We didn't get to finish the conversation, but I can't wait to hear the rest of what they have to say. I'm so excited about this coming year in PMI. I have a feeling it is going to be great. I'm looking forward to serving as President of the Otowi Bridge Chapter, and I'm really excited about my own career and the trajectory it is on. Finally, I can't wait to see what happens in my family. My wife is returning to school, and my kids are pursuing their own passions.

In the afternoon, I attended several workshops. One had to do with using ProjectManagement.com to add value to my chapter members. I have to tell you, there are some really interesting things in the works. Thanks to Dave Garret, and Dani Ritter for a truly engaging workshop. For the rest of you, look for the chapter library to come online. In it, you will find chapter produced webinars that are only available to people who are members of chapters. So your chapter members will have exclusive access to a library of PM content produced and shared by other chapters from around the world. For $25 a year, this is a great deal!

I attended another presentation on how to effectively get chapter sponsors, and I can't wait to explore with my board, how we might get some sponsors for our events. I think we offer something valuable and could attract some sponsors, who want to take advantage of what we offer.

Finally, I talked up the Otowi Bridge International Project Management Day event in Santa Fe on November 4. I'm really excited about that. We have some world class speakers visiting Santa Fe, and some really interesting workshops to offer. If you have always wanted to visit Santa Fe, come this November 4.

I'll write a post about that soon, with details of the speakers, but for now, you should know that they are top notch, and they're coming to us from all across the country. I promise it will be worth your while.

So here is my plug for volunteering with PMI. Do it! Just go ahead and jump in. These are amazing people, the experience you get is amazing, and since starting my volunteer career with PMI, my business career has taken on a whole new trajectory, which is more enticing than anything I would have thought available to me even one year ago. I love PMI, and I love volunteering for PMI. You will love it too.