About this course

What is it?

This is a skills-based course designed specifically for project managers. The course is tailored to support the PMI mentoring scheme. The aim of the course is to give project managers the confidence and skills to mentor other PMI members safely and effectively.

The course in brief

In the first section of the course, you will learn the essential theoretical knowledge needed to start using coaching and mentoring techniques safely. During the second half of this one-day course, you will conduct two practical coaching / mentoring sessions and receive both tutor and peer feedback on your performance. This is to give you the confidence to use what you have learned immediately as a mentor in the PMI mentoring scheme.

Course content

Outline of topics covered on the day:

PART 1 – Safe practice

• What is mentoring? What is coaching?
• Comparisons and relationships with supervision, performance review, consultancy and psychotherapy.
• Understand the scope and boundaries of the role of mentor within the PMI mentoring scheme. Signposting for other sources of alternative professional support.
• Explore what is and is not acceptable within the bounds of the PMI mentoring scheme. How this related to professional/PMI codes of conduct and practice.
• Learn how to agree and maintain contracts with mentees to ensure safety for both the mentor and mentee. And how these are documented and actioned.

PART 2 – Effective practice

• Consider the core skills and behaviours required to be an effective mentor
• Conduct a coaching skills self-assessment for benchmarking and create a personal action plan / development plan.
• Practical techniques for building a purposeful mentoring relationship. Plus, how this can go wrong, and what to do about it.
• Practice essential coaching interpersonal techniques: rapport, questioning and listening
• Reflect on personal strengths and development areas for our own communication skills
• How to structure mentoring sessions and staying on track using reliable coaching/mentoring models and approaches.
• Coaching tools and techniques for use within mentoring including learning styles, motivation styles, planning, goal setting, problem solving, decision-making and reviewing techniques.
• 2 x real-life (no role plays) practical sessions – one peer reviewed, and one tutor reviewed.

Follow-up support

One-to-one and group coaching is recommended following this course. We also encourage you to stay in touch with each other to help reflect and grow through peer-supervision. Formal professional coaching/mentoring supervision is also available through Shirley Thompson. Sign-posting Information will be provided on the day.

Who’s running it?

John Chisholm is the tutor for the session. He has 18 years experience developing leaders, managers and teams in coaching and mentoring skills through accredited and non-accredited programmes. John’s training courses are relaxed, inclusive, challenging and fun.