I feel that I'm qualified to answer it. I have mentored over a dozen Six Sigma Green Belts (continuous improvement project managers), mentored many IT project managers, and reviewed 100s (maybe 1000s) projects for quality deliverables. I feel confident that I know something about providing praise, direction, and feedback when it comes to projects; which, in my opinion, should be the key tasks of mentoring.
The first step is understand the gaps. These gaps could be at the micro-level (with the individual) or at the macro-level (with the organization). As a tool for determining gaps, I like to use the knowledge areas in the PMBOK. Think about these knowledge areas as a way to guage the level of the PM. For instance, there might be three topics within Cost Management that your company values: tracking costs, project benefits, and earned value. PMs that can show proficiency at one might be red and all three might be green. Keep in mind that red doesn't mean "bad"; we'll cover that more later. Identifying gaps at the macro-level is a little more tricky. These are the gaps between the PM and the organization. For instance, you organization may value financial benefits in the way of saving money for the company. PMs may struggle tracking the benefits, finding benefits, etc.
Step 2 is developing a plan. We really should approach individual mentoring plans just as we would a project. State the objectives, put together a list of tasks, and execute. When addressing objectives, in very rare instances has a PM been able to make significant improvements in multiple areas. The biggest challenge i have found is repetition. Most projects are long in duration and some development items are once per project. The last thing is transitioning ownership of the plan to the PM. My job as a mentor is to provide direction; it's up to the PM to execute.
Step 3 is the final step. Steven Covey describes a step as" sharpen the saw" and I really like that phrase. Other people may say "rinse, wash, repeat." The idea is that mentoring can go for as long as needed. There are several drivers that may influence mentoring. Organizations or organization priorities may change. Business conditions may change.
In a quick note about feedback. As the mentor, you must work to build report with the person you are mentoring. You must achieve a level of comfort at the same level as the feedback you are providing. Take my comment earlier about being "red" if they only master a single topic within Cost Management. Not everyone is open to seeing their name with any red associated with it. As a mentor, we should never focus on how much red there is; rather focus on reducing the red. Part of mentoring is building a trusting relationship. Trust that some things will be shared outside the mentor relationship but some things will not.
In a final note, mentoring is what you make it; for both the mentor and the mentoree. Both or either in the mentoring should feel free to take charge of the process. I can tell you that I have never heard a mentor get mad for someone being too in control of the process. If anything, it is refreshing to mentor someone that is engaged verses someone that is just going through the motions.
Give your PMs the advantage with PMOAdvantage.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment