Chartership progress - structure & layout

Chartership today, tomorrow chartered (I wish)

I had another meeting with my mentor, the lovely, Lisa Jeskins on Thursday.

Having completed the Personal Professional Development Plan (PPDP) a few months ago. I thought I’d better get on and actually start filling my portfolio with evidence and reflection, having achieved so much already.

Before the meeting, I had organised my portfolio into sections based on my PPDP, and put in some of my evidence. This formed the basis of the subsequent discussion.

However, the problem we both quickly stubbled across was that of structure and layout. There is no clear guidance it would seem. The content is ultimately decided by my activities, so does that mean the structure and layout should follow content, and that it is up to me to curate it in the best possible light?

This is the structure so far:

  • Contents
  • CV
  • Personal Evaluative Statement
  • Personal and Professional Development Plan
  • Organisational Structure
  • Job Description
  • Mentor / Mentee Agreement
  • Mentor Log
  • Glossary of Abbrevations
  • Appendix A: Personal Performace
  • Evidence
  • Appendix B: Library Services Performance/Delivery
  • Evidence
  • Appendix C: Countining Professional Development
  • Evidence
  • Appendix D: Wider Professional Context
  • Evidence

This led us to look at various examples of recently published portfolios on the interweb. Alas, this did not help either - no one seemed to have a set formula to which they were sticking to. This did lighten the load. As nobody seemed to be sticking with a distinguishable structure, so we decided the world was our oyster, and as long as it contained relevant, useful, illustrative examples, good and intelligent self reflection, and evidence of growth and understanding, it would do.

My first official chartership meeting

Chartership: Mentor / Mentee agreement

I had my first “official” chartership meeting with my mentor (@LisaJeskins) last Thursday. It was the day we officially agreed upon the mentorship agreement.

The mentorship agreement outlined what the purpose of the chartership process is, but more specifically what the mentorship element of chartership meant to us. What was the purpose of the mentor/mentee relationship? What did we (and I) hope to achieve? What were the foreseeable difficulties or obstacles? Was there anything in the cupboard that needed airing, putting out to dry?

We both agreed the primary purpose of the mentorship was to guide, to help, to assist my evidence gathering, to provide advice and information relating to chartership and professional development, to be a sounding board. Poetically put, it was to shine a light on any muddy paths - I once remember reading somewhere that chartership is a like journey, and I’d need a torch at some point.

We also agreed how we would communicate with one another, how often we should communicate with each other, and whether or not we had any no-go areas. We didn’t set any off limit areas. But if they ever came up, we would address them there and then at the time they came up.

We both decided that we didn’t require a set date to meet - we thought it wiser to arrange meetings as and when we need to discuss something. We had a desire to use social media - we are already using Twitter to communicate with each other. Dropbox to share documents wasn’t a bad idea either.

On reflection then it was a luminous success. It made me feel enthused, motivated, and even inspired at one point. Without sounding overly gushing, my mentor has some excellent experiences under her belt, and will no doubt provide invaluable advice and guidance - I am aware my mentor might read this, so no pressure there.