MENTORING HANDBOOK

Version 2.1

Tim Schmeising-Barnes
Shirley Thompson
Jovan Jules

Change history

• June 2020: Version 2.1 – Updated to align with new PMI branding guidelines
• May 2018: Version 2.0 – Revised to align with new website format
• May 2015: Version 0.91 – Changes made after training webinar
• Feb 2015: Version 0.90 - Initial document approved for website for pilot
i MENTORING HANDBOOK
Contents
Introduction 1
Purpose of the scheme 1
Background 1
PMI UK Chapter Mentoring Goals 1
What is Mentoring? 2
What Mentoring is and isn’t 3
Timeframe 3
Level of formality 3
Relative levels of experience 3
Benefits of Mentoring 4
The Mentoring Process 5
Stage 1: Register 5
Registration process 5
Behaviours 6
What makes a suitable Mentee? 6
What makes a suitable Mentor? 6
Stage 2: Connect Mentor and Mentee 7
Connect (matching) process 7
Responsibilities of the Mentee 8
Responsibilities of the Mentor 8
Stage 3: Engage 8
Support from the Mentoring Team 9
Mentoring Meeting Record 9
Hints and Tips for Effective Engagement 10
Stage 4: Mentoring Close 13
Support from the Mentoring Team 13
Responsibilities of the Mentee 13
Responsibilities of the Mentor 13
Additional Resources for Mentoring 14
More information on Mentoring 14
Definitions of mentoring 14
PMI Personal Development Units (PDUs) 15

ii MENTORING HANDBOOK
 Introduction

Background Purpose of the scheme

The PMI UK Chapter Mentoring Scheme PMI UK provides a free-to-members Mentoring
is an opportunity available to PMI UK scheme with the following aims:
members to develop as professional • Improving the project management skills of
project managers. The scheme started the Mentee
in 2015 and leveraged work previously • Career development
performed by PMI UK Chapter and the • PM specific soft skill development

PMI Sydney Chapter (both influenced by

other PMI chapter Mentoring schemes). Our Mentoring Scheme will not cover:
• Seeking of job opportunities or help in
certification.
Our role is to connect suitable mentors and
mentees, support the initial engagement and
provide ongoing support as needed.

PMI UK Chapter Mentoring

Goals
The goals of the PMI UK Chapter Mentoring
Scheme are to:
• Contribute to the individual growth of our
Chapter members
• Help Chapter members develop project,
programme, and portfolio management
skills
• Provide Chapter members with the
opportunity to build their networks and
improve their networking and
communication skills.
• Enhance the reputation of the PMI UK
Chapter by providing a valuable service to
its members.

1 MENTORING HANDBOOK
 What is Mentoring?
Mentoring is a powerful personal development and empowerment tool. It is an effective way of
helping people to progress in their careers and is becoming increasing popular as its potential is
realised. It is a partnership between two people (Mentor and Mentee) normally working in a similar
field or sharing similar experiences. It is a helpful relationship based upon mutual trust and
respect.

A Mentor is a guide who can help the Mentee to find the right direction and who can help them
to develop solutions to career issues. Mentors rely upon having had similar experiences to gain
empathy with the Mentee and an understanding of their issues. Mentoring provides the Mentee
with an opportunity to think about career options and progress.

A Mentor should help the Mentee to believe in themselves and boost their confidence. A Mentor
should ask questions and challenge, while providing guidance and encouragement. Mentoring
allows the Mentee to explore new ideas in confidence. It is a chance to look more closely at
yourself, your issues, opportunities and what you want in life. Mentoring is about becoming more
self-aware, taking responsibility for your decisions and directing your life, rather than leaving it
to chance.

This Mentoring scheme expects the Mentor to be more experienced than the Mentee to pass on
specific advice and examples from their own experience. It is designed to provide Chapter
members with access to a Mentor, an experienced professional who can help them improve their
professional skills in the project, programme and portfolio management disciplines, according to
the needs stated in their application.

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 What Mentoring is and isn’t

MENTORING SHOULD BE: MENTORING SHOULD NOT BE:

• An ongoing relationship for learning • An opportunity to correct

and development someone’s behaviours or actions

• Guiding someone towards their goals, • Directing someone to meet goals

as well as inspiring and supporting • Being the expert with all the
• Mutual sharing of experiences and answers
opinions towards agreed outcomes • About trying to address personal
• Flexible and at times even informal issues

Timeframe
Mentoring can be either a short-term relationship of a few weeks or a long-term relationship of a
few years – it depends on the goal of the individual. The PMI UK Chapter recommends setting an
expectation of the Mentoring relationship to last a period of 6 months; another 6 months can
always be contracted.

Level of formality
The Mentor and Mentee shape the nature of the relationship together. Some mentoring
partnerships are more informal, taking place as and when the Mentee needs advice, guidance
and support. Other relationships are more structured where there are set times for meeting for
a pre-determined period of time. The PMI UK Chapter recommends that there is a formal
agreement about how the relationship will be structured, at the start of relationship and both
parties regularly review how well the relationship is working.

Relative levels of experience

The matching of Mentors and Mentees will aim to ensure the Mentor has more experience than the
Mentee in the area of focus. However, there may be aspects where the Mentee has more
experience.

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 Benefits of Mentoring
There are positive benefits for both the Mentee and the Mentor:

MENTEE BENEFITS: MENTOR BENEFITS:

• Having someone independent to talk • Practice interpersonal skills

openly with • Realising one’s own skills
• Gain a wider perspective one’s career • Satisfaction from contributing to the
and immediate tasks success of others and growing global
• Time and help reflecting on new ways project management capability
of thinking • Open up new ways of thinking
• Access to knowledge and experience
• Improved confidence leading, coping
with difficult situations, and resolving
problems

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 The Mentoring Process
The mentoring process generally occurs over four stages as shown below. Over the next few
pages, we shall explore each stage in-depth.

Register

Potential Mentors and

Connect
Mentees submit
applications to join the
Mentoring Scheme The Mentoring Team will
Engage
(page 5) review the applications
from Mentee and
Mentors and will do a Mentor and Mentee will
Close
first cut pairing exercise meet and work together
(page 7) on their mutual learning
journey Feedback Phase and the
(page 8) end of the relationship
(page 13)

Stage 1: Register
Registration process
1. On the website, there is a link to the Google Form to register for Register
the scheme. It is the same for Mentor, Mentee or both. The
application forms capture information about the candidate’s
background, experience, and Mentoring goals/experience. To
Connect
avoid duplication, we ask for your LinkedIn profile URL for the
details of your career.

Engage
2. Within 7 days, the Mentoring team will review your application and
let you know that they are starting the matching process.
Matching may take longer depending on how many Mentors and Close

Mentees we have available.

Mentoring tends to be more successful when the Mentor and Mentee

profiles are well captured. Please take the time to consider and write
what is important to you.

5 MENTORING HANDBOOK
 What makes a suitable Mentor?
The Mentor’s role is to provide support and guidance to Mentees,
providing the Mentee with development opportunities based on agreed
objectives. A suitable mentor:

• Should be a senior programme or project manager, with at least

7 years’ experience in project or programme management and
have previous demonstrable experience in Mentoring or
coaching.
• Must be a current member of the PMI UK Chapter
• Should be a successful professional with the right attitude to
support knowledge transfer to the Mentees.
• Should participate in training offered and PMI UK Mentoring
network

Please note that this is an unpaid, volunteering role.

What makes a suitable Mentee?

The Mentee’s role is to ensure that the scheme is used as an
opportunity for personal development, based on agreed objectives. The
most suitable Mentor required to achieve that goal is not necessarily
someone more senior. A suitable mentee:

• Should participate in training offered and PMI UK Mentoring

network
• Should be employed, with at least 2 years demonstrable
experience in project management.
• Must articulate clear and specific development goals relevant to
their current role or career stage. This helps Mentor-matching
and will help frame the Mentor’s approach.

Behaviours
Mentors and Mentees must abide by the PMI UK Mentoring Code of
Conduct and the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

6 MENTORING HANDBOOK
 Stage 2: Connect Mentor and Mentee

Connect (matching) process

The Mentoring Team will review the applications from Mentee

Register
and Mentors and identify a good match.

Where necessary, they will contact the candidates for more

information. Mentors and Mentees will be matched according to
Connect
geography, industry, and matching interests on the application
form. LinkedIn introductions are sent out along with an
introductory email that includes the profile information used in
matching. Engage

Participants are introduced by someone in the Mentoring team

so that Mentors and Mentees can have a conversation to ensure
Close
they are happy with the pairing. This is also an opportunity to for
Mentor and Mentee to recognise the need to establish
objectives and high-level plan for the Mentoring period. Mentors
and Mentees are encouraged to attend 1-2 hours of training,
which sets the expectations for how PMI UK’s Mentoring
activities are to be conducted.

Within the next week, Mentors and Mentees must confirm their
formal relationship by completing the online Mentoring
Agreement. The Mentor should organize the first meeting and
set the goals for the future meetings.

In the case of a mismatch in expectations, either the Mentee/

Mentor can call off this mentoring pairing and request new
pairing from the Mentoring team.

As part of PMI’s formal volunteer recognition system, applicants

may be required to register via the Volunteer Relationship
Management System (VRMS) located at https://vrms.pmi.org/.
The Mentoring Team will advise further on this as applicable.

7 MENTORING HANDBOOK
 Stage 3: Engage
Register
The Mentor and Mentee will meet and work together on their mutual
learning journey, refining the goals of the Mentoring relationship as
necessary. During the Mentoring programme, they need to review their
Connect
progress and satisfaction and record it by sending their reports to the
Mentoring team.

Engage
Responsibilities of the Mentor
The mentor should:
• Send out meeting request for the next session (or sessions if
Close
it helps to book these in advance). Remind the Mentee of the
areas that you agreed to discuss and possibly any actions
which the Mentor and/ or Mentee planned.
• Update the Mentoring team every 3 months to confirm that
the relationship is still active and provide feedback to help
improve the scheme
• Communicate with the Mentee, Mentor supervisor or
Mentoring team, if at any time they feel that the
relationship is running into trouble

If you would like to claim PDUs, it is important that you record the key
information about the session.

Responsibilities of the Mentee

The mentee should:
• Attend meetings as agreed with the Mentor and reflect on
agenda topics to re-establish own priorities
• Summarise the learnings that you have gained from the session
and the actions agreed. Develop and agree personal objectives
• Update the Mentoring team every 3 months to confirm that
the relationship is still active and provide feedback to help
improve the scheme
• Communicate with the Mentor, Mentor supervisor or Mentoring
team, if at any time they feel that the relationship is running
into trouble

If you would like to claim PDUs, it is important that you record the key
information about the session.

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 Mentoring Meeting Record
To build on the discussion and keep the relationship going, it is useful to agree in advance who
will be responsible for record keeping and logistics. Mentors and Mentees are encouraged to
discuss and agree on the level of formality they will apply to the record keeping for their
Mentoring sessions. The following is a guide for planning ahead or recording session by session:

MENTORING PLAN

Agenda topics Session 1: Session 2

Date: Date:

<Topic> <Items discussed> <Items discussed>

<Topic> <Items discussed> <Items discussed>

Support from the Mentoring Team

If all goes well, you should be able to structure and manage the regular sessions between the
Mentor and Mentee without any help. However, if you need support, please contact us as we
have experience in helping our programme participants to get the most out of mentoring and
we are here to help you.

9 MENTORING HANDBOOK
 Hints and Tips for Effective Engagement

Be organised
As mentoring is often at a lower priority than many of the work or home commitments, being
well-organised helps to keep the mentoring going and be an effective use of time.

• Meet at scheduled times and aim to have regular structured interaction. Both parties
should commit sufficient time to Mentoring sessions. Try to maintain regular
communication between Mentor and Mentee.
• Be aware (Mentors and Mentees) of your roles & responsibilities. A clear understanding
of the Mentoring process will go in a long way towards achieving success.
• Setting a time frame for the Mentoring relationship upfront helps to know when to say
goodbye and to transition away from the Mentoring.
• Mentees should:
o Take the initiative to propose the agenda and discussion topics based on goals.
o Initiate contact after the initial meeting.
• Mentors should
o Be willing to commit the time and energy to provide support for their Mentee.
o Initiate contact with the Mentee
o Challenge the Mentee to develop a plan of success and offer to provide
feedback to improve the plan
o Help the Mentee to create a foundation of resources and support, in addition
to your Mentoring relationship

Manage the time effectively

Proper ambience must be ensured for conduct of the meetings.

• Mentees should:
o Keep notes on meetings and be prepared to review the notes prior to the
next meeting. Set goals & actions. Review your action items. This is the
starting point for the learning cycle.
o Respect your Mentor’s time.
o Resist the temptation to cancel sessions at the last minute.
• Mentors should
o Make your commitments to your Mentee a top priority – avoid postponing or
cancelling meetings.
o Remember that there are multiple ways to reach goals. Support the Mentee
to the best of the ability, but success or failure is the Mentee’s responsibility
o Be aware of the goals of the Mentoring relationship. If it appears that the
focus of the sessions is drifting away from the agreed goals, raise this with
the Mentee and adjust the goals if needed.

10 MENTORING HANDBOOK
 Develop Trust
The following tips provide a solid foundation for the mentoring
relationship:
• Maintain honest and open communication to ensure positive
outcomes.
• Listen and consider alternatives that are offered.
• Build a strong trust relationship, where confidentiality is
maintained.
• Ensure that the Mentor has no supervisory role with Mentee
and or other conflict of interest.
• Establish rapport early and agree on goals, responsibilities,
and expectations, to ensure the relationship gets off to a
good start

Mentors:

• The Mentor’s role is to listen, ask probing questions and give

constructive feedback. This is an action learning program for
the Mentee, so while it is tempting to jump in and tell the
Mentee what they should do, it is a far better learning
experience for the Mentee if they can get there themselves.
• Maintain confidentiality. This will help the relationship to be
honest and upfront.
• Encourage independence not dependence.
• Consistently model successful behaviours, or ‘walk the talk’,
as Mentees learn just as much from your actions as from
your advice.
• Seek every opportunity to offer support, praise or
encouragement, and unconditionally affirm your Mentee as a
person of great value.
• Actively listen, reflect feelings and clarify alternatives when
the Mentee has concerns or difficulties.
• Be honest in interactions and be fair in feedback.

Mentees:

• Don’t ask Mentor to do the work for you.

• Notify your Mentor of your concerns, problems and
questions

Either the Mentor or Mentee can request reassignment without

blame being assigned.

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 Make the best use of the opportunity
The initial meeting is face to face (ideally). The pair can then decide on the best way to
conduct subsequent Mentoring sessions. Mentors and Mentees should have a similar
background (or have a specific topic to discuss).

Mentors:

• The key to Mentoring comes back to good active listening skills. Be fully present,
focusing on the Mentee and what they are saying. Seek first to truly understand
their situation before leaping in with ideas. Ask insightful, open ended questions
that help the Mentee explore their situation
• Don’t give advice unless asked
• Don’t take responsibility for the Mentee’s programme or duties
• Don’t allow the Mentee to become dependent on you
• Maintain a positive outlook – do not complain about your own problems
• Don’t do the Mentee’s work for them.
• Be a good listener
• Give constructive feedback
• Promote Mentee creativity and skill development
• Help Mentee to develop and set goals
• Maintain positive attitude
• Resist the temptation to solve the Mentee’s problems and instead empower
Mentees to be independent and help themselves when they encounter a problem
• Nurture creativity while tempering with reality and pragmatics and gently shed
light on unrealistic expectations
• Set challenging assignments for your Mentee that are tailored to their abilities
• Mentors should be willing to stretch themselves to help the Mentees.

Mentees:

• Assume personal responsibility for your professional growth

• Accept constructive feedback willingly
• Be willing to take risks and be open to new ideas
• Main a positive attitude
• Demonstrate initiative
• Remember that there is more than one way to reach the goal
• Don’t rely on the Mentor as the sole source of support or information
• Don’t expect the Mentor to give answers to all your problems - think of the
Mentor as one who is suggesting alternatives
• Mentees should consider all ideas from their Mentor and together consider how
appropriate they are for their situation.

12 MENTORING HANDBOOK
 Stage 4: Mentoring Close
Whether the relationship lasts a month or a year, there will come a time when it no longer
delivers the value that was needed. If you (both) agree that the relationship has reached
its natural conclusion, there are some actions to help you in the future.

Ideally, the goals of the Mentee and Mentor have been achieved. In all cases, a final formal
evaluation should be completed, including lessons learned, and sent to the Mentoring team.

Responsibilities of the Mentor

• Be clear about the ending. If you expect to continue to talk to the Mentee, that’s
great but ensure there is clarity about your expectations going forwards.
• If appropriate, provide feedback on your experience and areas of focus for the
Mentee in the future.
• Update your details so that we know if you are looking for a new Mentor and,
enlightened by the last experience, what you are looking for.

Responsibilities of the Mentee

• Summarise the learnings that you have gained from the experience.
• Thank the Mentor for their time and, if it seems appropriate, give feedback on
what they did well and what might have been done differently.
• Update your details so that we know if you are looking for a new Mentor and,
enlightened by the last experience, what you are looking for.

Support from the Mentoring Team

Still interested in being a Mentor or Mentee? Write notes to reflect what you now
know about your mentoring goals and contact us as you boldly go to your next
mentoring engagement!

13 MENTORING HANDBOOK
 Additional Resources for Mentoring

Definitions of mentoring More information on Mentoring

There is no guide in PMI’s Body of Accompanying, Sowing, Catalyzing, Showing,

Knowledge (PMBOK) about Mentoring. Harvesting. Aubrey, Bob and Cohen, Paul (1995).
There are different understandings of Working Wisdom: Timeless Skills and Vanguard
what Mentoring involves and this Strategies for Learning Organizations. Jossey
programme uses information from a Bass. pp. 23, 44–47, 96–97.
2012 UK government funded “Get
Mentoring” programme
5 Tips for Mentoring Senior Level Project
(http://www.Mentorset.org.uk ), for its
Managers: Focus on Career Path, Beware of
definition and expectations, as well as
Egos, Discuss More, Direct Less, Provide Positive
Ginger Levin’s 2011’s paper on
Reinforcement when Necessary, Learn from the
‘Mentoring: A Key Competency for
Mentee.
Program and Project Professionals.
From PMI > Professional Development > Career
"Mentoring is to support and encourage
Central.
people to manage their own learning in
order that they may maximise their http://www.pmi.org/Professional-

potential, develop their skills, improve Development/Career-Central/5-Tips-for-

their performance and become the Mentoring-Senior-LevelProject-Managers.aspx

person they want to be." Eric Parsloe, the

Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring The Feeling is Mutual – an infographic of Project
Manager Mentor-Mentee Relationships
From PMI > Professional Development > Career
“The People Capability Maturity Model
Central.
defines it as ‘The process of using
experienced members of the http://www.pmi.org/Professional-

organization to provide personal support Development/Career-Central/Project-manager-

and guidance to less experienced Mentor-Menteerelationships.aspx

members of the staff’ (Curtis, Hefley &

Miller 1995 p17)” Levin (2011)

14 MENTORING HANDBOOK
 PMI Personal Development Units (PDUs)

Mentors
Mentors can apply for PDUs in line with your credential. Please check the latest PDU Category
Structure and Policies under ‘Continuing Certification Requirements’ (CCRS) on the pmi.org
website. The following is extracted from current documentation (January 2019):

Volunteer Service For being a Mentor on project management topics, 1 PDU awarded for 1 hour
of volunteer (not compensated) service.

The PDUs claimed in this category count against the maximum of 25 PDUs (for the PMP/ PgMP/
PfMP/ PMI-PBA credentials) or 12 PDUs (for the PMI-ACP/ PMI-RMP/ PMI-SP credentials) allowed
for the “Giving Back to the Profession” categories.

Documents required upon audit request: As a mentor, you would require a letter or certificate
from the organization served acknowledging your participation. You can contact the Mentoring
team to assist in this regard.

Mentees
It is possible for Mentees to claim PDUs; this is under Informal Learning which are individualized
learning events involving personally conducted research/ study or structured discussion and
interaction with others (CCR Handbook, 2019, page 12).

Documents required upon audit request: As a mentee, evidence supporting your reported
learning, including notes from and dates of activities conducted.

15 MENTORING HANDBOOK
 If you have any questions, comments, or would like
more information please contact:
mentoring@pmi.org.uk

16 MENTORING HANDBOOK