Mentoring Adds Value for Edmonton Professional Association Members

What do you expect from your professional association? Participants of a mentoring pilot program in Edmonton who may have been looking for a bit more from their professional association membership were pleasantly surprised by the personal and professional results.

The mentoring program core team members are encouraged by the positive comments of pilot participants who were interviewed at the conclusion of the pilot. “We thought we had a successful pilot” says Marilyn Hyde, VP Membership for the Northern Alberta Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI-NAC). “but the interviews gave us additional insight to the personal impact mentoring had for our participants.” Ms Hyde is the executive sponsor for the PMI-NAC Mentoring Program.

Quotes such as “This is the best value I have received from my PMI Membership. It encouraged me to renew.” and “I appreciate the balance of flexibility and structure the program has.” were indicators of the success of the program in addition to the achievement of personal and professional objectives set by the mentoring pairs.

What can a professional association mentoring program deliver beyond what might available from your company? Safety, perspective and accessibility. Mentors and Mentees (know as protégés in other programs) benefited from mentoring relationship established outside the confines of their company or government department. As one participant stated “It’s great to talk to someone who is not from the same company and therefore no hidden agendas encountered.” “A number of PMI-NAC members are independent contractors who don’t have access to corporate mentoring programs.” according to Stu Muir, the mentoring program team lead. “I am an independent contractor. Where would I go to get quality mentoring?”

Mentors surveyed also related benefit from the training and the relationship. Benefits ranged from a sense of accomplishment “It has been a great opportunity to help and guide someone. I have seen good progress week to week with my mentee.” to an opportunity for professional renewal “Getting back into the area of study on a practical basis. This was a chance to give back. The flexibility suited our schedule. Mentoring gave me a chance to reflect on why I am doing what I am doing.”

The core team matched mentoring pairs according to development needs, skills and geographic location. Mentees were often matched with Mentors from other industries. The mentoring pairs were given training at the start of the program. They were given tools templates and coach who could guide them through the mentoring process. SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) were set by each pair. Immediate and longer term benefits were recognized in each relationship. Feedback from participants included “Practical tips that I was able to take back implement right away.”, “We discussed career development and professional development.” and “Discussed fitness schedule and how it helps deal with stress in our lives. Also dealt with financial management, children in our lives, projects and our careers --- how to balance all of it and stay focused. Shared experiences with each other on many of these topics and learned from each others experiences.”

The program got its start in 2003 when Joan McCollum, PMP® recommended the PMI-NAC Board implement a mentoring program as a service to members. She was part of the Women in Project Management Mentoring Program and found it to be of value. A survey was conduct to determine if our membership would be interested in a mentoring program and 97% of the survey respondents supported the introduction of a mentoring program. Joan became the program’s first leader.

The 2004 / 2005 Mentoring Program year has been dedicated to the memory of Deana Dufresne who passed away suddenly in October of this year. “Deana enthusiastically participated in our Mentoring Pilot Program and then joined the Mentoring Core Team to continue that enthusiasm to assist in the delivery of the program. Deana brought her experience as a member of the CIPS mentoring program to our program.” says Ms. Hyde.

Deadline for the 2004 – 2005 program applications was November 19, 2004. The mentoring training commences in January 2005. For more information about the PMI-NAC Mentoring program visit www.pminac.com or call Stu Muir, the Mentoring Program Team Lead at 780-995-4788.

About PMI®

Established in 1969 and headquartered outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA , the Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world’s leading not-for-profit project management professional association, with over 100,000 members worldwide.

About the Northern Alberta Chapter

The Northern Alberta Chapter of the Project Management Institute was founded in 1981 and currently has over 300 members representing a wide range of industries. Members come from organisations ranging from single-person consultancies to large corporations. They represent a cross-section of local industry including: telecommunications, IT, engineering consulting, construction, petrochemicals, utilities, aviation, government, etc.

NAC strives to provide its members with opportunities for career and personal growth through education, networking and social events. Employers of PMI members benefit from staff development and business networking.