Those were the first words that went through my head when I read about the Mass Bay Mentoring Program. Although involved with project and program management for the last 20+ years, I wasn’t convinced that I could take on the role of a project management mentor. The PDU’s caught my eye but me? Really?

My interest was piqued. As usual, when faced with a challenge, my logical brain took over. I went home and looked up the definition of Mentoring: “Mentoring is a professional relationship in which an experienced person (the mentor), assists another (the mentee) in developing specific skills and knowledge that will enhance the less-experienced person’s professional and personnel growth”.

Once I read that, I was in. I have learned some valuable (and sometimes painful) lessons along the way that I could surely share. I signed up…

. . . And I am so grateful that I did! I was not prepared for how much I would learn and how rewarding the experience would be for me. As sometimes happens in life, you meet someone that you click with immediately. I was paired with the most amazing woman. She had her PMP and was interested in receiving candid feedback on how she had handled difficult situations as well as interested in guidance on various strategies to address the similar situations moving forward. I found that as I relayed my experiences, I was able to confirm what had worked for me and also visualize how I would have taken a different approach for things that didn’t work, refreshing my understanding and use of the PMBOK framework. How cool is that?