Mentoring Program
About the Program
The PMIWDC Chapter Mentoring Program was created to facilitate the development and enhancement of project management competencies for the Chapter members. The goal of the program is intended to provide Chapter members with the opportunity to both share experiences and develop project management skills in a chosen area or industry. A pilot mentoring program was conducted in 2007. Due to its success and continued interest from the PMIWDC Chapter members, the Chapter is pleased to offer this mentoring opportunity as a permanent program to the Chapter members.
The mentoring program, open only to the Chapter members, has been designed to provide one-on-one mentoring to mentees who want to develop specific project management skills and/or achieve specific career goals. The program was designed by the PMIWDC Mentoring Committee and pairs mentors and mentees based on areas of interest and the information provided. The program is voluntary, and is governed by formal guidelines and goals designed to provide structure to the mentor/mentee relationship.
As part of the program, mentors (experienced, successful and knowledgeable project management professionals, willing to accept the responsibility for facilitating professional growth and support of a colleague) and mentees (individuals seeking professional growth in the Project Management) will be matched in one-on-one mentoring relationships.
This year, we will expand the program to the students of Project Management and will invite students from the George Washington University to participate in this mentoring opportunity.
Program Benefits
The Chapter Mentoring Program is intended to assist mentors and mentees to obtain a specific skill or set of skills while giving back and sharing past experiences and lessons learned.
For mentees specifically, the program offers a way to:
- Work through a current problem in managing a project
- Obtains ideas for how to become more effective
- Fast forward project management skills or solidify a specific skill to be applied in any situation
- Increase PM competencies
- For PMPs, potential to earn up to 10 PDU credits (Category 3)
- Give back to the profession by sharing knowledge and wisdom
- Have a meaningful impact on an individual’s PM skillsets
- Build deeper relationships with other PMIWDC members or prospective members
- For PMPs, potential to earn up to 10 PDU credits (Category 3)
Participation
Given a successful pilot program conducted in 2007, this program is now a permanent offering within the PMIWDC Chapter. The duration of the program is determined by the mentor-mentee pair. Periodic group meetings will be established throughout the year for mentors and mentees to share their mentoring experience and lessons learned for continuous improvement. Interested PMIWDC Chapter members should contact mentoring@pmiwdc.org and fill out a mentoring profile form (MS Word Doc). All required fields on the profile form must be completed as they serve as important matching criteria for mentors and mentees.
Typical Mentoring Activities
After a mentoring pair has been established, a mentoring program administrator will contact the mentor and mentee and initiate an introduction. With the guidance from the program administrator and the mentor, the mentor and mentee will jointly develop a mentoring plan to establish goals and objectives. The mentor and mentee will meet in their agreed upon method and execute the mentoring plan. The mentoring program administrator will communicate with the mentoring pairs periodically to monitor progress and to provide any assistance as necessary.
About the PMIWDC Mentoring Committee
The PMIWDC Mentoring Committee is composed of volunteers from the PMIWDC Chapter. Committee members design the mentoring program, perform the matching between mentors and mentees, and act as program administrators to track progress of the mentoring pairs as well as responding and resolving issues should they arise. If you are interested in becoming a committee member, please contact Annette Lam at mentoring@pmiwdc.org.
