While credentialing is primarily about one’s own professional development, mentoring the next generation of managers is of great value to our profession. The time spent in formal mentoring activities can count toward 20 hours maximum of the 40-hour annual professional development requirement, if the mentee is not an employee of the ICMA Credentialed Manager.

If the mentee is an employee, the relationship is considered a work responsibility, and mentoring credit will not be granted unless mentoring is completed through a formal program such as the ICMA Emerging Leaders Development Program, the ICMA Coaching Program and state partners, the Local Government Management Fellowship Program, a college internship, or similar program approved by the Credentialing Advisory Board chair.

To receive credit, the mentoring relationship must be a commitment of at least six months between an ICMA Credentialed Manager and a college student or local government employee or intern. The purpose of the mentoring relationship must be to help the mentee prepare for a career in local government management.

The mentor must report in the annual report the name and position of the person being mentored, as well as the frequency, duration, and a brief description of the subjects covered.

Time spent coaching as part of the ICMA Coaching Program can also be credited as meeting the credentialing requirement up to a maximum of 20 hours per year. These sessions are generally one-time sessions of an hour or less. For credit, the coaching must be documented as to the position of the person coached, the duration, and a brief description of the nature of the coaching.

Teaching is considered by the CA Board to be different from mentoring. Hours of learning in preparation for teaching college, continuing education courses, workshops, webinars, and so on, related to the local government management profession, count toward the 40-hour requirement. The teaching itself does not count.

Additionally, learning to mentor is different from mentoring. Attending a course on mentoring or reading a book on mentoring is a regular professional development activity that does not fall under the mentoring policy.