Project Management and Mentorship

In this blog space, we will explore the power of being a mentor and having one. Mentorship can take many forms. I have found myself learning from others in multiple situations — but that is not always Mentorship.

Great Mentorship is more than “picking someone's brain”. It is a partnership where both parties benefit. A process with a plan, and an approach that allows all parties to gain insight and long-term, sustained growth. This kind of Mentorship also demands a new dynamic between the people involved. And maybe even a new concept of how Mentorship works.

In future posts, I will share my views on the power of Mentorship instead of defining a relationship as "Mentor and Mentee." The power dynamic of mutual learning versus apprentice and master.

We will review the value and process of deference self mentorship, one-to-one Mentorship, and community mentoring. Each of these has a place and time to help you challenge yourself and grow.

We will discuss what makes Mentorships like partnerships. How to create good Mentorships built to succeed for both parties. Why Mentorships can provide success beyond those involved, and importantly, how we can be both Mentor and Mentored during our careers and life. So let's start by examining some of the building blocks of Mentorship.

As a business executive, I have seen the failure to mentor directly impacts the workforce of the future and today's young talented staff. I aim to start a conversation about how Mentorship allows us to see and improve our goals, roles, and opportunities. 

Mentorship — A confidence Builder

Who likes to be seen as knowledgeable, reliable, relatable, and helpful? Pretty much, everyone. It does not matter if you are still in school or just retired. We all need to be needed.  

With the confidence that comes from sharing, we may have the ability to allow ourselves to learn all of the above. The freedom to be wrong, reconsider new information and change your mind. Those are hard things to do.  

These can happen with the power of connections and the learned behaviors that allow you to grow.  

Confidence is the first step to asking for a mentor and finding a Mentorship that meets the needs of all involved. It also allows you to move on from Mentorships that don't meet your requirements or goals.  

Confidence also provides you, as the Mentor or Mentored, to ask for guidelines for the relationship. I will spell this out later as a "contract." But it takes confidence (and an example to walk the other party through) to show that a successful Mentorship starts with mutually stated intention and actions.

Mentorship —Creates Connections

What makes a great Mentor relationship? Connection with the other. We may not have much in common on the surface. However, if our intentions are aligned, and both (or all) parties have a goal for the connection and for themselves, then it is a great start.

These connections can last a lifetime. If you make a great connection, try to see past the current issues. Sure start with them, but once you find alignment, see if life or work themes that go deeper or more life changing could be explored. Maybe you go to your Mentor to get help with a “work overload” issue. But once that is tackled, is it time to have a career conversation? In fact, that may be at the root of the “overload” situation.

But to get to that point, you have to address an internal issue first: your Emotional starting point.

Having the right, not necessarily the same level of Emotional intelligence can be a big to get started. It is important to know something about yourself, your level of self, and shared empathy. Are you hard on yourself or others, or do you allow for grace and understand that not all disagreements demand resolution?  

Emotional intelligence (otherwise known as emotional quotient or EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. 

Sometimes what looks like disagreements are actually misunderstandings, misalignments, or alternative life experiences. If my life was nothing like yours, you might be able to have a Mentorship relationship. But you may not be able to sympathize with my point of view. This is normal since personal experiences likely shape them.

What are some of the things you can do at the start of a Mentorship to ensure you are ready? We will take this on in the next few posts.

How can you check to see if your intentions are aligned with the other parties in the Mentorship? I will share some self mentorship work soon.

Have you prepared yourself to listen, learn, and grow through the process? 

Mentorship: Feedback helps you to Grow

Yes, Mentorship does make you grow — but who exactly is doing the 'growing.'  

Growth can come from any part of the process. But you are the one that does the growing. How, allow yourself to be ready and able to look at yourself or a topic objectively. You can be vulnerable, and when you can do that, you can learn and grow beyond knowledge. You can grow as a person.   And who does not want that?

If you want to get started on mentoring or being mentored, please review the other blogs including Finding a Virtual Mentor and The Mentoring Process - with the free downloadable Workbook to help you get Mentoring today!

Do you think Mentorship and Project Management are connected? What have you experienced as a Mentor or a Mentored person? Share your thoughts in the comments below.