Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick Seidl
1. How do I quantify things so as to better articulate where I think we should be on this as a team?
2. How do I go about either making my case and getting the other mentors on board with where I stand, or at least get them to arrive at a consensus on the issue that they feel they can live with?
Apologies for the wall of text.
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Great post. Getting a cohesive unit of mentors is one of the most critical and challenging things for a team. I'll give some ideas, but they are by no means perfect.
I'm not sure how invested your mentors are, but for most groups the most important thing is fostering that investment. Just like students need to feel ownership and excitement on the team, so do mentors. Keeping them involved in the planning process, even just keeping them informed of the short-term and long-term plan, is important (and something I still struggle with). Second, make sure they are working on projects that they are passionate about. Even if the team doesn't
need a new flag, letting a group make one can foster that passion.
Once you have that passion, having a big discussion about where the team is headed (with concrete dates, milestones, and goals) can help galvanize support. Now, everyone won't agree on the same path towards those goals, but that is probably a positive. Use your experience to push for your plans, but be open to the ways that they want to do things.
As far as quantifying, you could try quantifying those goals. Something like "Our goal is to go to DCMP. To get there we need twice the driver practice. To get that we need to design freeze in week 2. To get that we need to finish prototyping major mechanisms by week 1.5." Then put the question to everyone "how to we rearrange resources to improve prototyping, so that we can go to DCMP?"
Basically, quantify individual things in terms of completing a goal. Once the other mentors are invested in the team, they will be more likely to work with you towards a consensus that they can live with.
That's my take on it anyway. Not sure how clear it was though, so feel free to ask any questions
