Maximize Mentoring Benefits and Avoid Mentoring Landmines

Carole J. Bland, Ph.D.Professor of Family Medicine

Maximize Mentoring Benefits and Avoid Mentoring Landmines

• Use a Formal process

• Attend to key communication strategies strategies

Today’s Session

• Definition of Mentoring• Benefits of Mentoring• Formal Process• Ten Rules of Effective

Mentoring• Key Communication

Strategies

What is mentoring?

from The Odyssey

1. A wise and trusted counselor or teacher.

2. Mentor. Greek Mythology. Odysseus's trusted counselor, under whose disguise Athena became the guardian and teacher of Telemachos.

Homer

What Is Mentoring Today? Mentoring is the influence,

guidance, support or direction exerted by a trusted, experienced counselor(s) in order to help another to do a job more effectively and/or to progress in their career. Simultaneously, a mentor is to be detached, to some degree, so that he or she can hold up a mirror for the mentee. (adapted from Rogers, Holloway, and Miller, 1990, p. 186)

Maya Angelou mentor to Oprah Winfrey

3 Components of Effective Faculty Mentoring 1. a two-way learning relationship which draws upon the

knowledge and wisdom of suitably experienced practitioners:

2. designed to fulfill three broad purposes;1. of career development, 2. psychosocial development,3. and professionalism (Specific goals in each area determined by the individuals

involved)

3. a relationship which develops over time, i.e., there is more than just a short-term or passing interest on the part of the mentor and the protégés, and the relationship passes through a series of developmental stages.

Modified from Richie and Genoni, 2002, p.69.

Mentoring ModelsTraditional Peer Group

Structure Hierarchical Peer Hierarchical

Format One mentee with one mentor

One mentee with team of mentors

One-to one

or small collaborative group

One or small number of mentors with medium group of mentees

Typical career stage of mentee

Early Any Early or mid

Typical career stage of mentor

Mid or senior Any Mid or senior

Challenges Recruiting and training enough mentors to fill demand, time commitments

Recruiting, providing training for peer mentoring, time commitment, changing group if more than pair

Differing needs of group members, providing skill training for group interaction, managing group dynamics, time commitments, changing group membership

Most common form of Faculty mentoring

Pairing early faculty with more senior faculty members for the purpose of facilitating the early faculty member’s success

Benefits of Effective Mentoring for Mentee – Higher Levels of:

Research productivity (Bland and Schmitz 1986, Bland et al, 2002, Byrne and Keefe 2002)

Teaching effectiveness, evidenced by declines in teaching anxiety and improved student ratings of teaching effectiveness (Williams 1991).

Professional socialization and interactions with colleagues (Corcoran and Clark 1984)

Salary levels; and satisfaction with salary and promotion (Melicher 2000)

Kleppner (L) mentor to 5 Nobel Prize Winners including Ketterle (R) - 2001Nobel Prize in Physics.

Benefits to Mentors

Cross-fertilization of ideas Personal sense of satisfaction from sharing wisdom

and experience with younger colleagues They may also influence another generation of

faculty often fulfilling a desire to leave part of themselves to the next generation of faculty.

Professional rejuvenation New skills Increased research productivity The addition of a highly productive colleague to

one’s department and/or professional network

Formal mentoring is most effective

Five Year Study of Mentoring Junior Faculty Formal mentoring is, overall, more effective than

informal Mentoring is not dependent on personality but rather on

what the mentor/mentee do Early and enduring mentoring is most beneficial, Mentoring pairs/teams continue to meet regularly and

progress when given “nudging” Using mentors from outside the mentee’s department is

very effective Less than 25% of faculty find mentors on their own –

those that do are most often white males(Boyle and Boice, Systematic Mentoring for New Faculty 1998)

A summative message that emerges from this body of literature is that mentoring, when structured and done well, avoids pitfalls and has a wide-reaching, positive impact on faculty success, especially in research.

Ten Rules for Structuring Effective Mentoring1. Have clear, agreed upon purpose and plan:

a. objectivesb. strategies for achieving themc. timeline

2. Have agreed upon roles for each mentor3. Set Ground Rules4. Set and stick to a “meeting” schedule5. Be accountable6. Keep it confidential7. Develop Communication Mechanisms8. Measure Progress9. Encourage Feedback10. Say Goodbye

Mentoring Purpose and Plan

The two most important initial mentoring activities for career development are to:

1. Help the mentee clarify his or her career vision

2. Use this vision as a foundation to then develop future goals, objectives, activities and timelines.

Ten Rules of Effective Mentoring

1. Have clear, agreed upon purpose:a. objectivesb. strategies for achieving themc. timeline

2. Have agreed upon roles for each mentor3. Set Ground Rules4. Set and stick to a “meeting” schedule5. Be accountable6. Keep it confidential7. Develop Communication Mechanisms8. Measure Progress9. Encourage Feedback10. Say Goodbye

Example General Ground Rules – Agreed upon procedures about how the mentoring will proceed

Our meetings begin and end on time Each of us actively participates in the relationship Our communication is open, candid, and direct We will respect our differences and learn from

them We will honor each other’s expertise and

experience We will manage our time well We will put interruptions aside when meeting We will safeguard confidentialityZachary LJ. The Mentor’s Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000, p. 103.

Example Specific Ground Rules – Agreed upon procedures about how the mentoring will proceed

• Primary mentor and mentee will meet once a week• Mentee will be in contact with other mentors at least twice a

month• All mentors will monitor mentee progress via reports on the

mentee web site at least once a month• Every even month progress on stated goals and timeline will

be assessed and adapted as necessary• Decision about mentee project, drafts of manuscripts, and

changes in goals or timeline will be posted on the mentee’s web

Ten Rules of Effective Mentoring

1. Have clear, agreed upon purpose:a. objectivesb. strategies for achieving themc. timeline

2. Have agreed upon roles for each mentor3. Set Ground Rules4. Set and stick to a “meeting” schedule5. Be accountable6. Keep it confidential7. Develop Communication Mechanisms8. Measure Progress9. Encourage Feedback10. Say Goodbye

Which of the following assumptions about confidentiality do you hold?

___ 1.What we discuss stays between us for as long as we are engaged in our mentoring relationship.

___ 2. If asked by your supervisor, I can freely disclose our conversation.___ 3. After our formal mentoring relationship has ended, it is okay to talk about

what we discussed or how we related.___ 4. If there is a demonstrated need to know, I can appropriately disclose our

conversations, my impressions, or anything else that pertains to the relationship.

___ 5. What we say between us stays there unless you give me permission to talk about it with others.

___ 6. Some issues will be kept confidential, while others will not.___ 7. It is okay to discuss how we relate to one another but not the content of

our discussions.___ 8. It is okay to talk about what we talk about as long it is positive.

Are there other assumptions I hold that should be added to this list?

Zachary LJ. The Mentor’s Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,

2000, p. 105.

Checklist for Assumption Testing About Confidentiality

Instructions: Mentors and mentees individually answer each question with “yes,” “no,” or “not sure” and add other assumptions that they hold to the list. Then mentors and mentee together review and discuss each item and come to consensus.

Ten Rules of Effective Mentoring

1. Have clear, agreed upon purpose:a. objectivesb. strategies for achieving themc. timeline

2. Have agreed upon roles for each mentor3. Set Ground Rules4. Set and stick to a “meeting” schedule5. Be accountable6. Keep it confidential7. Develop Communication Mechanisms8. Measure Progress9. Encourage Feedback10. Say Goodbye

Mentor Communication Gone Wrong

Hypercritical

Inadequate Direction

Failure to Acknowledge Intellectual Contributions of Mentee

Deliberate “hugging the limelight”

Inappropriate personal boundaries

Mentee Communication Gone Wrong

“Basking in the light of greatness”

Failure to commit to hard work, honesty, and the development of true intellectual independence.

Career development by association.

“Semi permeable hearing” – only hears what he/she wants to hear

“The Lone Ranger Syndrome” – inappropriate independence, inability to take guidance

Mentoring Communication Communicate often and openly Establish trust See each other as individuals Take the initiative Publicly support protégés and help them

expand professional networks Manage power differentials; maintain

appropriate boundaries

Bland, CJ; Taylor, A; Shollenberger, S. Mentoring Systems: Benefits and Challenges of diverse mentoring partnerships. Faculty Vitae. AAMC, Wash. DC., Summer, 2006

Mentoring Communication

Communicate often and openly: Establish mechanisms to assure frequent communication. Discuss personal and professional differences to assure you really understand each others’ backgrounds, situation, and strengths.

See each other as individuals: Mentors and mentees must avoid making assumptions about one another and should identify each other as individuals and not as representatives of a category

Mentoring Communication Establish trust: Trust results when the all

members of the mentoring relationship are clear about the purpose and rules and open to learning about each others’ differences.

Take the initiative: Mentoring relationships are two way streets. Mentors should take the initiative to contact the protégé frequently. Protégé’s enhance the relationship when they take a proactive role.

Mentoring Communication Publicly Support Protégés and help them expand

professional networks: Visibly promote initiatives and scholarship, Introduce them to colleagues and peers inside and outside of the department and institution, and include them in informal social activities.

Manage Power Differentials; Maintain Appropriate Boundaries: Both partners in a mentoring relationship share responsibility for managing personal and professional boundaries. Mentors must insure that the illegitimate aspects of power based on socialization, stereotypes, and attributions do not act as a barrier.

Ten Rules of Effective Mentoring

1. Have clear, agreed upon purpose:a. objectivesb. strategies for achieving themc. timeline

2. Have agreed upon roles for each mentor3. Set Ground Rules4. Set and stick to a “meeting” schedule5. Be accountable6. Keep it confidential7. Develop Communication Mechanisms8. Measure Progress9. Encourage Feedback10. Say Goodbye

Maximize Mentoring Benefits and Avoid

Mentoring Landmines

1. Use a Formal process

2. Attend to key communication strategies

References Bland, CJ; Taylor, A; Shollenberger, S. Mentoring

Systems: Benefits and Challenges of diverse mentoring partnerships. Faculty Vitae. AAMC, Wash. DC., Summer, 2006

Bland CJ, Schmitz CC. Characteristics of the Successful Researcher and Implications for Faculty Development. J Med Educ 1986;61:22-31.

Bland CJ, Ruffin MT. Characteristics of a Productive Research Environment: Literature Review Acad Med 1992;67:385-397.

Boice R. The New Faculty Member. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 1992.

Bower DJ, Diehr S, Morzinski J, Simpson D. Mentoring Guidebook for Academic Physicians. 2nd ed. Milwaukee: Center for Ambulatory Teaching Excellence, Medical College of Wisconsin; 1999. (Available STFM)

ReferencesBoyle, P. & Boice, B. (1998Spr). Systematic mentoring for

new faculty teachers and graduate teaching assistants. Innovative Higher Education, 22(3), 157-179.

Corcoran, M. & Clark, S. M. (1984). Professional socialization and contemporary career attitudes of three faculty generations. Research in Higher Education, 20(2), 131-153.

Melicher, R. (2000Spring/Summer). The perceived value of research and teaching mentoring by finance academicians. Financial Practice and Education, 166-174.

Williams, L. S. (1991). The Effects of a Comprehensive Teaching Assistant Training Program on Teaching Anxiety and Effectiveness. Research in Higher Education, 32(5), 585-598.

Zachary, L. (2000). The mentor's guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.