Mentoring Super User Protégés

As a CAD Administrator, you’ve got a lot to do. We’ve already looked at the to-do list in a previous post. One of the items on that list is to mentor at least one other user. What exactly does it mean to mentor someone, and who do you pick?

First of all, the “who do you pick” part is probably easier than you think. It’s not so much that you have to pick someone, it’s more that they nominate themselves. The first quality of a protégé is that they have to be willing, or maybe eager is more the correct word. They really have to be really enthusiastic about whatever field they are being mentored for. This of course does not relate just to CAD or design jobs, but many other fields where your company needs just one person to lead a group.

The person you pick as a protégé has to really love helping people, have a high level of curiosity, problem solving skills, and is of course self-motivated. These traits have to exist before selecting them, they aren’t really traits you necessarily develop. The people interested in this work usually gravitate toward the CAD Admin, or you find yourself spending more time with them naturally. Just like leaders for user groups, the people you need to select stand out with the natural traits you need.

How you actually go about mentoring can be as different as mentor- protégé pairs, but there are enough things in common that we can talk about ways to mentor in general.

Shadows

A protégé often starts out by just shadowing the mentor – following them around and just observing. This is often not a time-effective method, but in some situations it can be very beneficial. It’s like you’ve got a trainee, but no job open (yet) and no official time on the clock for training. Sometimes companies will allow time for being a mentor, and likewise for being a “mentee”. If your company does this, certainly take advantage of it. If they do not, propose it to management. Being a protégé  has obvious benefits, but being a mentor can also help you with skills like leadership, training, professional bearing, public speaking, and others.

Answer questions with a combination of guidance and research project.

The protégé has to be curious. Curious people will naturally try to answer their own questions, but sometimes they need some direction, or guidance. Maybe you are setting up a PDM system. There are a lot of opportunities to learn here, but one of them is definitely part numbering systems. Assign the protégé to come up with four different part numbering systems and a list of pros and cons for each system.

Do the same with a library system, where they contemplate the ups and downs of configuration vs individual files methods for library parts.

A stream of information

These days there is a lot of information floating around. Some of it is even helpful. If you see something helpful, pass it along. For example, you might search through this blog to find the CAD Admin stuff, bookmark it, and send it along to your protégé . Reading different points of view, even if they don’t necessarily agree with your own is a useful way to acquire the skill of being able to evaluate ideas. Take them to lunch later and discuss the ideas in the article. Maybe you learn something new.

Observe and contribute

A big part of CAD Admin is coming up with how-to information, and fixing problems that come up. It’s great if your protégé can see this process in action, especially when its successful. You might excuse them from some regular tasks to help you in this process if a suitable situation comes up. Solving problems isn’t a 100% technical task, it also involves a lot of people management and psychology. You have to keep people from getting frustrated by not knowing the answer to a problem. One of the things that makes you a great CAD Admin is that you are patient (with people and technology) and that you are curious, but don’t get freaked out about not knowing an answer. Also, you know how to eliminate possibilities to narrow down the culprit. And you can admit when your ass is kicked and you have to bring in the next level. All of this is good for a protégé to see.

Also, part of the great humility CAD Admins need to command comes from the ability to solicit advice and recognize the best advice. If you can prompt your protégé  to actually give you some great advice, that can be a huge confidence booster for them. And most of all to learn from experience like that.

Decision making is about priorities

Your protégé will one day have to make important decisions. You can help them wade through all the potential issues and prioritize what’s really important. For example, the most important thing as a CAD Admin is for you to have your users up and running effectively. Are users producing unusable junk? Are they just sitting around? You have to prevent these situations from happening, unless there is time scheduled for training or other approved purposes.

Lead by example

It’s such a cliche, but leading by example is the most effective way. You don’t have to worry about someone misinterpreting words – actions speak for themselves. None of the little white lies that you have to tell underlings the higher up you get. Just lead by example. Eventually, you’ll get promoted, and your protégé will slip into your spot. The transition will be smooth.