Coaching & Mentoring

At PM-Partners our philosophy is integrated capability development. This means not just working with processes and tools but the people who use them. If you have an individual or team who has potential, has just been through some process training and needs to implement it effectively or is working on a particularly high-profile project, PM-Partners coaching and mentoring might be right for them.

Coaching

Coaching is working with an individual or team to identify and work on specific issues or development opportunities to enable the full reach of their potential. It can be used for a variety of situations such as people needing to work on leadership skills, decision-making, staff relations, creativity, stress and time management, meeting control or sensitive issue handling. Mastery of these areas leads to better-rounded and more effective individual or team.

Step 1 - Observation

In the first instance PM-Partners will need to understand how the individual or team currently operates. This step can often be combined with a more formal assessment of their project management competency. A PM-Partners coach will carry out a structured interview with the subject and attend some of their project management meetings as an observer.

Step 2 - Consultation         

The PM-Partners coach will talk through their observations with the person or team and gain input from them into the design of a personal development plan. This will include areas of strength and weaknesses but, most importantly, a series of steps toward achieving the desired level.

Step 3 - Support

For a fixed, agreed period the PM-Partners coach will spend regular sessions on the phone and in the workplace of the subject to oversee the implementation of the personal development plan and discuss any new queries or situations which have emerged. These sessions will be as regular as the situation requires and ensure that the subject is given personal attention and expert support in achieving their goals.

 

Mentoring

We think of mentoring as ‘showing an individual how it’s done’ and is therefore closely linked with the concept of ‘on-the-job training.’ PM-Partners mentoring is often associated with our Extended Workforce or Turnkey Project Management services where PM-Partners provides people to run projects in your environment. By using mentoring in this context PM-Partners can demonstrate a best-practice approach to managing projects on the very types of projects your people are managing. This kind of ‘leading by example’ is proven to be very effective for learning and development due to the relevance and practical application of the subject involved.

People have used PM-Partners coaching and mentoring services for some of the following situations:

• An individual has just been given responsibility for a major project and is not experienced in project management.
• A team is working on a project but the project is not performing well.
• An individual needs help preparing a project kick-off meeting
• An individual or team is studying for a credential such as Project Management Professional.
• An individual or team has just finished PRINCE2 training and needs to apply it in their own context.
• An organisation wants to fast-track the development of key individuals.