The Three Ps of Mentoring and Being Mentored

 

I have been fortunate over the course of my career to benefit from the advice of some very smart people who were willing to mentor and teach me. That being said, I wish I could say that every "boss" or manager I've worked with has been a mentor, but I can't.

Over the last ten or so years I've had the opportunity to be on the other end of that equation and have been in the position to work with a number of young people just starting out in their careers. I am energized by their enthusiasm, their drive to perform and the skills they often bring to the table.

With that being said, throwing them into the deep end of the pool to see if they sink or swim isn't smart for the organization, isn't good for the projects they contribute to and is just a bad management practice. Several years ago a colleague of mine and I were talking about the younger members of our team. We had intentionally hired fresh faces out of college because they were less expensive. I have since come to appreciate that what you don't pay in salary to less-experienced team members, you must pay in coaching and mentoring. Nobody enters the workforce with all the skills they'll need to  successfully contribute to a project team. There are a lot of things we learn "on the job" regardless of our field of expertise.

As a project leader, you may find yourself from time to time in the position of mentor and coach. If you do, remember the Three Ps:

1. Patience: Whether you're the coach or the person being coached, this is an important P. In a perfect world people don't make mistakes—we don't live in a perfect world. Mistakes are part of working with people. We need to be patient when less-experienced team members make mistakes. What's more, it's likely they will make the same mistake more than once. Frustrating to be sure, but it's seldom the end of the world. In reality, it's part of what it costs to work with younger people. And, in reality older, more senior team members make mistakes too. I've come to appreciate that it's a part of working with project teams. Projects are messy and unpredictable things. When people are stretching and creative problem-solving, sometimes stuff happens. Be patient.
2. Practice: Part of learning any new skill is practice. Not only is it important for the person being coached to take time to practice, as a coach or mentor, it's important to create an environment that gives people time to practice and learn. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that require doing them over and over again to get them right. It's been said, "That which we persist in doing gets easier, not because the nature of the thing has changed, but our power to do so is increased." Practice might not make perfect, but is an important P. Practice.
3. Persevere: Giving patience and practice time to bear fruit is critical to success. I've seen a number of very talented people fail to persevere when times got tough or situations become challenging. This applies to both the mentor and the person being mentored. Winston Churchill famously said, "Never, never, never give up." Although never is a long time, perseverance is a critical P. Don't give up.

What are you doing as a project leader to coach and mentor younger members of the team? Feel free to share your ideas and suggestions.