Cheikh FAYE Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Expert, CEO and owner| Eurêka TechnologiesDakar, Senegal
The twentieth century will be a century of knowledge or will not be said the author.In fact, in the era of cloud computing and big data with hundred of data centers scattered all over the world, neither nothing nor anyone should be able to prevent the knowledge to diffuse worldwide.Project managers in this unavoidable "rendez-vous" must not miss the train.Unfortunately, most of the senior project managers are reluctant to mentor or volunteer those who just begin to enter the profession.What is the cause of this phenomenon and how to remedy it? Saving Changes...
Even if you are an experienced mentor, it takes time, effort, and careful consideration to be an effective mentor. I coach, informally, when the opportunity presents itself, and I volunteer as a mentor with my local PMI chapter.
I don't have significant experience as a mentor, but the more I mentor others, the more I find value in being a mentor. After a while, projects can start looking the same and you can find yourself on auto-pilot. Mentoring someone can force you to take a closer look at how you manage projects and be more effective. Saving Changes...
Cheikh FAYE Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Expert, CEO and owner| Eurêka TechnologiesDakar, Senegal
Great Aaron, exactly what I wanted to hear Mentoring is just a win win case which is beneficial for the mentee as well as the mentor. Furthermore, the profession and the whole community take a great leap forward with this kind of relationship.Thank you so much. Saving Changes...
Cheikh FAYE Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Expert, CEO and owner| Eurêka TechnologiesDakar, Senegal
Jun 28, 2017 2:13 PM
Replying to Michelle Paugh
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That is a very good question. I have been with my employer for 29 years. Yesterday I watched a webinar called 5 Generations in the Future Workplace. It was very eye opening. The generation gaps are very distinct, especially when it comes to technology and communication.
I am always happy to mentor someone. However, the younger generation, understandably, doesn't think the way we do or do things the same way. It makes it very difficult to "connect". It may be different in higher education. However, I have found that the younger generation seems to think they know how to... when in reality, they would greatly benefit from some form of guidance.
I believe showing respect for those who have been in the roll and for their years of knowledge would help bridge the gap. I think respect has been lost along the way.
Absolutely true Michelle.In my cultural background, people are used to say that younger men stand up without seeing nothing where old men sit down and see the distant horizon. Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Agree with Aaron. The reason I mentor is because there is something in it for me as well and if that is the case I will make the time. But it is also not in everybody's nature to mentor and coach, you would have thought that it should come naturally to a PM? It also helps if the opportunities are created for people (mentors and mentees) to use and again this is often not the case. I can count the amount of companies I've worked for/with/at that has a mentorship programme on my one finger. Saving Changes...
Eric SimmsSenior Program ManagerBaltimore, Maryland, United States
Senior Project Managers usually make no tangible gains from mentoring newer Project Managers. I've yet to see any instance where mentoring directly advances a senior Project Manager's career, so I can understand why some would want to apply their energy to more personally beneficial pursuits. Perhaps it would help to remind certified Project Managers that mentoring counts toward renewing their PDUs (I assume it does - I haven't checked yet). That might make them see its value to them personally and encourage them to do it.
Also, when some people say they want to receive mentoring they really mean they want someone established n the industry to give them a job. Senior Project Managers who deal with that sort of individual too often would soon see mentoring as distasteful, and want to distance themselves from it completely. Newer Project Managers do need established Project Managers to make jobs available to them when possible. We need to focus on doing this more so we can all focus on mentoring as information dissemination instead of a backhanded way to get a job. Saving Changes...
Eric SimmsSenior Program ManagerBaltimore, Maryland, United States
I’m trying to imagine how a PM would go about providing work opportunities to other PMs; it’s something I’ve wanted to do for some time. I’d like to give tasks to newer PMs to execute, and I would mentor them as I monitor their work and offer suggestions for improvement. Here are some issues that would need to be resolved first.
1. Most government agencies won’t allow non-vetted people to work on projects. This is generally true for most US agencies, even the public-facing, low-security agency at which I work. Unfortunately, the vetting process is costly and can take several months to perform, and agency isn’t going to pay that cost. Also, agency work can’t be performed by people located outside the United States, so that rules out many people seeking mentors. The only newer PMs I could mentor would be those already located within my agency.
2. Private companies wouldn’t want to take the risk. Though private companies don’t have the same restrictions as government agencies, there’s no reason they would want to take the risk of letting someone outside the company work on customer projects, or one internal projects where they could learn the company’s internal workings and possibly some of its important information.
I don’t say this to be discouraging, but if we want to increase the number of learning opportunities offered to newer PMs we need to address these major issues, and probably a few more that haven't yet occurred to me. Saving Changes...
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