Roles

The project mentor

The project mentor is the person who is ‘on the ground’ supporting the team and participating in the leadership program. The project mentor has two roles:

• As the primary contact for the students with respect to the project
• As a student themselves, learning about leadership and innovation.

Unless we have an alternative arrangement in place, the sponsor organisation will provide the mentor for your project.

• Time

  The time commitment from the project mentor is about 8 – 12 hours per week. This is made up of:

  • 4.5 hours per week “in class” (1.5 hours leadership class and 3 hours innovation class)
  • At least 1 hour per week with the team outside of class hours – often this can be at your organisation’s offices
  • The remaining time is preparation – reading or watching materials, writing reflections, helping to set up interviews, etc
• What good looks like

  A really good project mentor:

  • Acts in a way that gives students ownership of the project
  • Is more of a coach than a traditional mentor (you will be given the tools to do this in the leadership program)
  • Is able to help students come to terms with the opportunity, and shepherd them towards a suitable solution
  • Meets with their team outside of class to discuss aspects of the project (if conditions allow, this could be in the mentor’s workplace).
• The mentor as a student

  In addition to their role as mentor to a student team, project mentors are also students themselves – learning about leadership and innovation. To get the most out of this experience, the mentor will:

  • Complete sufficient pre-class reading for both the leadership and innovation class
  • Write a weekly reflection and provide feedback to a colleague (from within the program) on their reflections
  • Practise their learnings from LIT in their own workplace, wherever possible.
• Expectations of the project mentor

  Our expectations of mentors:

  • They will make space in their diary for pre-course training and weekly requirements – two full days of pre-course leadership training and then 8-12 hours per week during the semester (12 weeks)
  • They are as committed to personal learning as they are to project delivery
  • They are open to guiding a potentially challenging team (without feeling that team performance reflects on them)
  • They are willing to lead via coaching and enablement rather than being directive and managerial (or willing to learn how to do this through LIT and with the support of the entire program team)
  • If the project mentor cannot attend a class, they will organise someone else from their organisation to cover them. If they are going to have an extended absence, the person who is covering should come to class the week before the absence.

  Critically, the students’ learning experience must be balanced with the company’s need for excellence in project execution. The mentor may need to step back and let the students go up a blind alley, or even fail to deliver the best project they can. The mentor, of course, can offer challenge and support to prompt deeper thinking about issues.

The project sponsor

In addition to the project mentor, there is one other role the sponsor organisation needs to fill, being the project sponsor. The project sponsor has two roles:

• Overall ownership of the project
• Facilitating learning and development of the mentor.

• Time

  The total time commitment from the project sponsor is about 12 hours spread out across the 12 weeks of the program.

• What good looks like

  A really good project sponsor is:

  • Committed to the success of the project (it is a real project that has the potential to create real value)
  • Invested in the development of the mentor
  • Able to remember that the students are students and manage expectations and their approach accordingly.
• Expectations of the project sponsor

  Our expectations for project sponsors include:

  Project owner role

  • They attend Class 2, where they formally introduce the project and context to the students
  • They provide overall direction and guidance to the project, while still ensuring the mentor maintains ownership of the project
  • Facilitate connections and relationships for the project team where necessary
  • Ideally, meet with the team in about Week 6 to make sure it is on track. This meeting may result in a narrowing of the project scope
  • Provide written feedback on the team's final assignment about the amount of value the students have created for your organisation.
  • Ideally, meet with the team in about Week 9 to help the team understand which of their potential solutions to the challenge will provide the most value for the organisation.
  • If the team produces a good proposal, organise for the team to present to an appropriate audience within the sponsoring organisation after the end of the semester.

  Learning facilitation role

  • Work with the mentor to develop a set of developmental goals for the experience
  • Meet with the mentor regularly to facilitate the mentor's learning journey.
  • Create opportunities for the mentor to practice the skills learned in the leadership program in the workplace.