Have you ever had a project management (or other career-related) mentor? If so, I would like to hear about your experience. How did you find your mentor or become a mentor to someone else? What were the benefits of the mentor-mentee relationship? Did you experience any challenges? Overall, did the experience help you achieve your career goals? Saving Changes...
I've both had mentors and been a mentor in the past.
A key to a successful mentor-mentee relationship is to ensure that expectations on both sides are communicated and shared openly.
Formal mentoring is usually focused on a specific objective or objectives, so those need to be defined up front and when those are achieved, that could be the end of that specific mentoring relationship.
Key challenges (in both roles) for me were capacity and the ability (as a mentor) to remain sufficiently independent and unbiased to continue to provide value.
Kiron
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1 reply by Melanie Lake
Feb 02, 2018 8:56 AM
Melanie Lake
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Thanks for the response Kiron. Can you elaborate more on how your independence relates to your ability to provide value?
Can't say I have ever had a mentor, but I have mentored some people. The challenge for me was maintaining the same level of enthusiasm as the other person, who was a lot more invested in their project that I was.
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1 reply by Melanie Lake
Feb 02, 2018 9:02 AM
Melanie Lake
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Sante, what do you think caused the gap in your enthusiasm levels for the mentor-mentee relationship? I can certainly see how a newer/younger person would be interested in getting as much information and guidance from a more experienced person without considering the time commitment and level of effort involved for the experienced person.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Reality was my mentor. If you are searching for somebody to help you on some situations my recommendation is posting situations in this forum. I always answer (and most of the people here too) with an exception in my case: when a see lot of questions from the same person and those questions are because they do not make the effort to read or understand things like PMBOK then I stop answering. I spend my time here to learn from all comments.
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1 reply by Melanie Lake
Feb 02, 2018 9:03 AM
Melanie Lake
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I agree that the discussions here can be a great way to get a variety of perspectives on project management topics.
I've both had mentors and been a mentor in the past.
A key to a successful mentor-mentee relationship is to ensure that expectations on both sides are communicated and shared openly.
Formal mentoring is usually focused on a specific objective or objectives, so those need to be defined up front and when those are achieved, that could be the end of that specific mentoring relationship.
Key challenges (in both roles) for me were capacity and the ability (as a mentor) to remain sufficiently independent and unbiased to continue to provide value.
Kiron
Thanks for the response Kiron. Can you elaborate more on how your independence relates to your ability to provide value?
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1 reply by Kiron Bondale
Feb 02, 2018 10:58 AM
Kiron Bondale
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It's important to walk the fine line between empathy and impartiality when mentoring, otherwise it's easy to start to see the mentee's perceptions as reality. This is why certain types of mentoring are sometimes very difficult within a company but are easier when the mentor is external to the company.
Can't say I have ever had a mentor, but I have mentored some people. The challenge for me was maintaining the same level of enthusiasm as the other person, who was a lot more invested in their project that I was.
Sante, what do you think caused the gap in your enthusiasm levels for the mentor-mentee relationship? I can certainly see how a newer/younger person would be interested in getting as much information and guidance from a more experienced person without considering the time commitment and level of effort involved for the experienced person.
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1 reply by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Feb 02, 2018 5:34 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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The lower enthusiasm levels wasn't associated with the person I was mentoring, more the nature of the project I was not involved or invested in.
Reality was my mentor. If you are searching for somebody to help you on some situations my recommendation is posting situations in this forum. I always answer (and most of the people here too) with an exception in my case: when a see lot of questions from the same person and those questions are because they do not make the effort to read or understand things like PMBOK then I stop answering. I spend my time here to learn from all comments.
I agree that the discussions here can be a great way to get a variety of perspectives on project management topics. Saving Changes...
Thanks for the response Kiron. Can you elaborate more on how your independence relates to your ability to provide value?
It's important to walk the fine line between empathy and impartiality when mentoring, otherwise it's easy to start to see the mentee's perceptions as reality. This is why certain types of mentoring are sometimes very difficult within a company but are easier when the mentor is external to the company.
Kiron
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1 reply by Eric Simms
Feb 02, 2018 12:06 PM
Eric Simms
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That's a very good point. Since we're talking about impartiality, do you think mentoring across industries would be valuable as well? Or do you think the lack of industry knowledge between the parties would cause difficulties?
Saving Changes...
Eric SimmsSenior Program ManagerBaltimore, Maryland, United States
Feb 02, 2018 10:58 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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It's important to walk the fine line between empathy and impartiality when mentoring, otherwise it's easy to start to see the mentee's perceptions as reality. This is why certain types of mentoring are sometimes very difficult within a company but are easier when the mentor is external to the company.
Kiron
That's a very good point. Since we're talking about impartiality, do you think mentoring across industries would be valuable as well? Or do you think the lack of industry knowledge between the parties would cause difficulties?
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1 reply by Kiron Bondale
Feb 02, 2018 2:08 PM
Kiron Bondale
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I think it depends on the mentoring objectives themselves and that's why there is no such thing as a universal mentor. If the focus of my mentoring objectives were around executive presence or strategic thinking, that might be industry agnostic, but it they are more around specific nuances of a given industry's projects then I'd want a seasoned practitioner from that industry.
That's a very good point. Since we're talking about impartiality, do you think mentoring across industries would be valuable as well? Or do you think the lack of industry knowledge between the parties would cause difficulties?
I think it depends on the mentoring objectives themselves and that's why there is no such thing as a universal mentor. If the focus of my mentoring objectives were around executive presence or strategic thinking, that might be industry agnostic, but it they are more around specific nuances of a given industry's projects then I'd want a seasoned practitioner from that industry.
Kiron Saving Changes...
Walter DyerProject Manager| LightGrid, LLCBowie, Md, United States
Had mentors and protégés in my fields and others as far afield as medical administration and auditing. Never worried about whether their field was close to mine. I always felt as though it was much more important to pick quality mentors with a diversity of work types to begin to understand the difficulties that they've gone through in order to better discern the mines in your own minefield. Living, eating, sleeping, breathing analogies that you may or may not have to journey into and through is how you attach and fully take advantage of the relationships developed through mentorship. My favorite mentors are still excellent friends. My protégés should feel free to approach me at anytime in the future, I have left the relationship as an open door and my expectations are that they feel the same. The distance felt is not really necessary unless the relationship is formal. Then there are work rules that will apply and override the kind of freewheeling allowed during informal mentor-protégé relationships. Obviously I have a strong opinion on this one - The relationship as I understand it is to help the protégé move from where they are to where they want to be. I point to the small but extraordinary book by Ken Blanchard - The One Minute Manager as the job / work of the manager to make new highly effective managers just like him. The protégé has the exact same responsibility. 'nuff said?' Saving Changes...
