DEFINING, DEVELOPING AND STRENGTHENING
MENTORING FOR JUNIOR STAFF:
A WORKSHOP FOR MENTORS AND MENTEES
presented by
Prof. Wendy C. Crone
University of Wisconsin -Madison
WORKSHOP AGENDA:
10:30 Introductory remarks
- developing a shared definition of the term mentor
- exploring mentor/mentee expectations
- activity on building networks
 11:00 Mentor & Mentees move to breakout rooms
and discuss topics:
- Establishing Expertise
- Documenting Accomplishments
- Balancing Teaching, Research and Service
 11:45 Closing discussion on developing a range of
mentoring relationships with a focus on
establishing peer mentoring groups
 12:00 adjourn

HOW DO YOU DEFINE THE TERM
MENTOR?
Write your definition on the worksheet (Activity 1).
 Discuss with the person next you.
 Share with the group.

MENTOR AKA
Advisor
 Guide
 Supporter
 Sponsor
 Host
 Role Model
 Exemplar

WHAT TYPES OF ISSUES ARE DISCUSSED WITH
A MENTOR?
(ACTIVITY 2: SMALL GROUP BRAINSTORMING)

WHAT TYPES OF ISSUES SHOULD BE
DISCUSSED WITH A MENTOR?
(SMALL GROUP BRAINSTORMING ACTIVITY)
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research/teaching/service obligations
setting goals
building your network
handling conflict
understanding group/program/department politics
understanding the culture of your discipline
moving you toward independence and proficiency
managing your time
balancing family and career
knowing when and how to say "No"
MENTEE EXPECTATIONS:
WHAT ROLES DO YOU ENVISION
THAT YOUR MENTOR WILL PLAY?
(ACTIVITY 3: INDEPENDENT EXERCISE)
MENTOR EXPECTATIONS:
WHAT ROLES DO YOU ENVISION
TAKING ON IN A MENTORING
RELATIONSHIP?
(ACTIVITY 3: INDEPENDENT EXERCISE)
EXPECTATIONS
Mentee:

Mentor:
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QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF WHEN
DEVELOPING A NEW MENTORING
RELATIONSHIP:
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Do you feel comfortable giving/asking for advice and
accepting criticism?
Can you meet frequently enough for the needs of the
mentor/mentee relationship?
How formal do you want the relationship to be?
Can you develop a productive and non-threatening
relationship with your mentor/mentee?
Should you share everything or be selective about
what you discuss?
Is the mentor familiar with the academic position
and institution of the mentee?
WHAT DOES THE MENTOR HAVE TO GAIN?
Research shows that those who mentor gain from
“contributing to something beyond themselves”* and I
would argue that they also develop a broader vision of
their institution and field through the perspective of
their mentee as well as a reinvigorated enthusiasm for
their own work.
*[Nakamura and Shernoff, Good Mentoring: Fostering Excellent
Practice in Higher Education, 2009]
WHERE CAN YOU LOOK FOR
MENTORS?
(ACTIVITY 4: SMALL GROUP BRAINSTORMING)

WHERE CAN YOU LOOK FOR
MENTORS?
(ACTIVITY 4: SMALL GROUP BRAINSTORMING)
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colleagues in your department
colleagues outside your department and at other
institutions
formal mentoring programs offered by your
institution or professional society
other junior faculty who can provide peer
mentoring
individuals in the community not associated with
your university
PREPARING FOR THE
BREAK OUT SESSION
WORKSHOP AGENDA:
Mentor/Mentee Pairs move to breakout rooms
and discuss topics:
- Establishing Expertise (Activity 5)
- Documenting Accomplishments (Activity 6)
- Balancing Teaching, Research, Service (Activity 7)
 Room Assignments:
 Inside MMR: Grey
College of Science & Engineering
 Foyer of MMR: Blue
College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
 Room CYC-306: Orange

College of Business with the School of Law

Return at 11:45
MENTOR/MENTEE PAIR
DISCUSSIONS

Establishing Expertise (Activity 5)

Documenting Accomplishments (Activity 6)

Balancing Teaching, Research, Service (Activity 7)
Use the iPodTouch to ask any remaining questions that you have.
Tap the icon “Scan”
BEYOND THE MENTOR PAIR
THINK OF MENTORING MORE BROADLY
The traditional mentor-mentee dyad model is what we
first think of when we hear the term mentoring, but we
really should think more broadly.
An
evaluation conducted on the WFMP by WISELI showed that
one-on-one mentoring pairings may not provide the total solution.
[WISELI, “Evaluation of the Women Faculty Mentoring Program at the University of
Wisconsin – Madison,” 2004]
Research
by Prof. Monica Higgins of Harvard’s Graduate School of
Education and Prof. David Thomas of Harvard’s School of Business
supports the idea that broader models of mentoring are effective when
longitudinal data is taken into account. Their study compared the
impact of individual mentors with “constellations” of supporting
individuals in a variety of mentor-related roles.

“While the quality of one’s primary developer affects short-term career
outcomes, it is the composition and quality of an individual’s entire
constellation of developmental relationships that account for long-run
protégé career outcomes.”
[M.C. Higgins and D.A. Thomas, “Constellations and careers: Toward understanding the effects of multiple
developmental relationships,” Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22, 2001, p. 223.]
BUILDING YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK
(ACTIVITY 8: ADAPTED FROM FAUGHT, STQE, 72-73, 2001)
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Step 1: Identify your goals:
Do you want to improve your network to facilitate
your research?
 Do you want to develop your reputation outside your
institution?
 Other purposes?
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Step 2: Build a list of contacts:
Identify relevant people. Who do you already know?
Who do you need to know?
 If you don’t know individual names, identify the
types of people you need in your network and then
seek out individuals who are that type.
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BUILDING YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK
(ACTIVITY 8: ADAPTED FROM FAUGHT, STQE, 72-73, 2001)
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Step 3: Develop strategies to court these
people individually:
Talk to your colleagues and mentors about who they
know.
 Identify professional organizations where you might
meet people important for your network.
 Work to identify a way to meet each person face-toface.
 Reciprocity is important. Don’t always ask for
something every time you interact with a person.
Don’t ask for something at your first contact with
someone you have just met. Try to figure out a way
for you to give something. This is why it is important
to build your network before you need it.

BUILDING YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK
(ACTIVITY 8: ADAPTED FROM FAUGHT, STQE, 72-73, 2001)

Step 4: Maintain your network.
What can you do to follow up occasionally with people
in your network?
 Schedule time each week to tend your network.
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PEER MENTORING
STARTING YOUR OWN PEER MENTORING GROUP
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Identify a common topic of interest for the group, e.g. proposal
writing, teaching in your disciplinary area, parenting while
professing, etc.
Identify a few colleagues who you would like to invite to join
you in the group. Have a conversation with each of them
about their interest in meeting regularly to discuss the topic.
Identify the best venue for the meetings and timing for the
meetings.
Set up an email group or listserve with the initial members
and send out a formal announcement.
Develop consensus within the group at the initial meeting
about the formality of meetings, frequency of meetings,
optimal size of the group, and responsibilities of the group
members.
Grow the group to a sustainable size.
As the “convener” of the group, you will be responsible for
sending out reminders for meetings and keeping the
momentum of the group going. It is good practice to rotate the
“convener” responsibility to a new individual for a group that
meets for more than one year.
A RESOURCE TO FACILITATE
MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS:

Survive and Thrive: A Guide for Untenured Faculty
by Wendy C. Crone
can be downloaded from the Morgan & Claypool Publishers
web site at
http://www.morganclaypool.com/toc/eng/1/1
from any UW - Madison campus IP
address (you must be on campus).
Also available in paperback from
Amazon.com.