Mentoring Your Managers

I’ve been reflecting on my experience consulting over the past year and I am once again struck by the importance of setting expectations for your leadership team, capitalizing on opportunities to mentor people in leadership positions, and finding effective tools to do both.

Too often, I see small companies simply tell people they are now the “project manager.” This typically translates to one of two things: 1) they have the title, but are really no more than on-scene task managers; or 2) the expectations of an actual project manager are there, but there is no training or mentoring to prepare the employee to perform the job well.

Clients sometimes tell me, "But I hired them in as a project manager, they have the experience and knowledge already.” Do they? Every company has different expectations. If the project manager came from a large company, their experience will be vastly different than what is typically needed at a small company. If the project manager came from a small company, they may have had the title as described above but not much else.

Leaders need to brief prospective project managers on all expectations for the role. Are they responsible for pay raises? Understanding the contract? Meeting certain profitability or revenue goals? Do they know where to go for help in different areas? It can be a long list. You may be surprised how many project managers have not read the actual contract for their work.

Leaders also need to mentor their project managers. Mentoring opportunities present themselves all the time: the meeting where you brief them on expectations; when they come to you with an issue to solve; or debriefing the project manager after they have made a presentation.

Monthly project meetings can be an effective expectations-setting tool. The format and content of these monthly meetings should encompass all facets of your project manager’s responsibilities. I advocate that, at minimum, topics cover revenue, profitability, contract status, staffing, highlights of personnel performance, delivery status, key customer relationships, risks, and opportunities. Project managers should be able to speak knowledgeably about all these aspects of their project.

Monthly project meetings are an excellent mentoring opportunity as well. They provide a regular time for leaders to discuss each of the agenda topics in a collaborative way, giving guidance and possible course corrections. However, be prepared when you introduce these meetings. Typically, a project manager’s first presentation is filled with mistakes or incorrect understanding of the expectations. This is not the time to bring out the hammer. This is the time to reinforce the purpose of the information they are providing, why it is important for them to know it, and why it is important to the organization as a whole. The best way to ensure a two-way dialogue is to frame the meeting as a discussion using the presentation as a framework.

This leadership approach provides valuable insight into project status as well as routine mentoring opportunities with project managers. The results, which include a more effective and engaged leadership team as well as fewer project surprises, are well worth the time and effort.