Tag Archives: mentor

Mentorships for Life

August 17, 2021 Kim Fernandez Leave a comment

By Casey Jones, CAPP

Oprah Winfrey’s mentor was her fourth grade teacher. Dr. Martin Luther King drew upon his relationship with Dr. Benjamin Mays for inspiration, guidance, and wisdom through immensely difficult times, and Apple’s Steve Jobs tucked a young Mark Zuckerberg under his wing as Facebook was conceptualized and designed. It’s no surprise these people become icons of entertainment, arts, and civics. In fact, I’d bet that every successful person can identify a person or persons who have a substantial impact on their lives and careers. A coach, teacher, boss, or friend can make all the difference in the world as we navigate challenges at work and at home.

Mentors in our lives go well beyond what we term as role models and are people who take a keen and active interest in us imparting wisdom, empathy, guidance, and sometimes a needed kick in the pants, shoulder to cry on, or tough love. I have had the great fortune of having a few mentors and I’m thankful they took the time to actively be in my corner and share what they know and have experienced.

In many ways, I feel like I stumbled onto my mentors, never truly seeking one out and on one occasion, I didn’t really realize that I’d been mentored until some years later. What if I’d been focused on actively finding a mentor and nurturing the mentoring relationship from the start? Who knows how much more could have been gained by both me and my mentor. Mentorships from both the mentor and mentee perspectives are the proverbial get out what you put in and if I didn’t know I was “in” very likely I didn’t get “out” as much as I might have.

Being purposeful about mentorships is the better practice and there is much to discover about the respective roles of each party to the relationship, what to look for in a mentor and mentee in the first place, and how to manage the relationship from both sides.

I’m thankful to my mentors (you know who you are) and I hope to be a good mentor myself. It takes effort, focus, and some tools but it’s one of the most important things we can do for one another.

Casey Jones, CAPP, is director of customer success with Flash. He will present on this topic at the 2021 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo, Nov. 29 – Dec. 3, in Tampa, Fla. Click here for details and to register.

Frontline Fundamentals: The Undercover Consultant. Presented by Nicole Chinea, CAPP

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Frontline trainings are provided free of charge to all IPMI members, and are generously supported by our exclusive Frontline Sponsor, Flowbird.

Frontline Fundamentals: Mastering Your Mentor Mojo – Unlocking the Power of Mentorships to Propel Your Career. Presented by Casey Jones, CAPP

REGISTER HERE.

View training summary and speaker information, and register for free today.

We have launched your new IPMI member portal. Click here to login, reset your password, and register for these free trainings. If you have questions, or need assistance, please contact us here.

Member Rate: Free; pre-registration required,
Non-member rate: $35 registration fee. Click the register link above to attend as a non-member.
Join today and find out more about member benefits here.

Frontline trainings are provided free of charge to all IPMI members, and are generously supported by our exclusive Frontline Sponsor, Flowbird.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Making Time for Mentoring

June 19, 2019 Kim Fernandez Leave a comment

By John Mason, CAPP, PMP, QIR

To be a mentor is more than just leading or teaching someone. If you are the mentor, you need to make time for the other person. There’s a requirement on the other end, too, for the mentee to make time in their life to be mentored. It’s a two-way street in which both parties make a place in their life for the other.

This holds true professionally or personally. There is someone with a desire to learn or do something they can move toward though a mentoring relationship, and there is another person with a desire to teach or just have a companion with a common interest.

No matter which end you’re on, you should respect and appreciate the fact that someone has made time in their life for you. You only get one pass-through and time is the most precious commodity. Make the most of your time together: Know what you want to cover, as well as how you are going to cover it. You need to not only be efficient but make it interesting as well. If it is a success for everyone, the relationship extends.

John Mason, CAPP, PMP, QIR, is project manager with HUB Parking Technology.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Are You an Only at Work?

May 24, 2019 Kim Fernandez Leave a comment

By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP

We can always learn from other people. I was blessed to find a mentor in my early days as a young marketing coordinator in Philadelphia. I interviewed with her, and even though I didn’t take the job, I made a lifelong friend, mentor, and confidant. (Leaving out names to protect the innocent, and selfishly, make sure she always has time for me!)

This story reminded me of my experience. Although I don’t know what it’s like to be a young woman of color in an almost all-male environment, I do keenly remember being a young woman in the architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) industry. I found my mentor(s), and then I found a tribe in the marketing world–by joining a chapter and an association for marketing in the A/E/C world. Marketers (like parking, transportation, and mobility professionals) may be in position as “lone wolves”–they don’t always have a team or a staff to back them up or brainstorm with. That extended work family became my greatest resource at that point in my career. When I transitioned from straight up A/E to the parking industry, it made beautiful sense to jump right into our association, IPMI. Encouraged to be active in the organization, I jumped right into whatever I could, and I gained far more than I can ever say I contributed.

At IPMI we aim to bring you the greatest member benefit possible–access to an engaged, educated, and friendly community of professionals who GET you. That happens at Conference, it happens every day on the Forum, it happens on Facebook, it happens through volunteering and sharing your experience, and a million other ways.

So come on, friends, jump on in. Find your mentor, find your tribe (and if you aren’t sure where to start, send me a note!).

Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, is IPMI’s vice president of program development.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Personal Ad

April 19, 2019 Kim Fernandez Leave a comment

By Justin Grunert

Mentee Seeking Mentor

You: Experienced parking professional. Must have knowledge about general management, project management, financial and operational auditing, operational management, marketing and public relations, and technology. Must be a current, active CAPP. Willing to mentor for six to 18 months and will receive CAPP recertification points for doing so. Able to meet with me (virtually or via phone) a minimum of two hours a month or as agreed upon by us.

Me: Mid-career parking professional, have some knowledge of general management and project management but looking to expand understanding of the different domain areas (general management, project management, financial and operational auditing, operational management, marketing and public relations, application and analysis of technology) to prepare me for a bright future in parking and mobility. I am currently working hard to study for the new CAPP exam and planning to test in the next year. Willing to dedicate the time and energy necessary to prepare myself for the exam.

If interested, please contact Justin Grunert at grunert@parking-mobility.org. Once contacted, he will send you the mentor application link. When your application has been received, he will review it and then pair you with me. After our information has been exchanged, we will schedule a kick-off meeting and go over the process to start our mentoring relationship.

Looking forward to meeting you,

Your Prospective Mentee

Justin Grunert is IPMI’s LMS administrator and training coordinator.

IPMI Blog, Resources

CAPP Compadres, Part Two

February 28, 2019 Kim Fernandez Leave a comment

By Tiffany Brander

In an earlier post, you heard from my friend and CAPP Mentor Casey Jones, CAPP, who began sharing our CAPP Mentor Program experience. In this post, I’ll discuss why I’ve chosen to pursue my CAPP as well as apply for the Mentor Program.

When I joined the Missoula Parking Commission in November 2015, I really didn’t have an interest in parking other than avoiding meter violations; I was just excited about a municipal management opportunity. Looking back, it’s almost funny to think how quickly that changed. The parking and transportation industry is complex, fascinating, and affects so many different facets of everyday life—how could I not get hooked?

When I first learned about CAPP certification at the 2016 IPMI Conference & Expo, I knew that if I wanted to get serious about a career in the industry I had just found a passion for, I needed to dedicate a pathway to achieving my CAPP credential. I started taking online courses through the IPMI website and enjoyed a variety of educational opportunities at the IPMI Conference & Expo. Along the way, I have had the opportunity to network with and learn from members of the CAPP community who were always more than willing to answer questions, offer advice, and share stories of successes and misfortunes. It was this willingness to share and support one another that made the CAPP Mentor Program appeal to me. Working with Casey through the CAPP Mentor Program has helped me set and stay focused on CAPP goals, determine areas of weakness to focus on, and made me more confident in my ability to prepare for the CAPP exam.

I am hopeful this post will inspire others to join the CAPP Mentor Program and am happy to share my experience with those looking for further information.

Tiffany Brander is interim parking services director with the Missoula Parking Commission, an Accredited Parking Organization (APO).