DEFINITIONS OF MENTORING AND
COMPONENTS TO A MENTORING
TEAM
Monica Gandhi MD, MPH
Professor of Medicine, HIV/AIDS Division, UCSF
What is a Mentor?
CONSULTANT
COACH
MANAGER
ADVISOR
COUNSELOR
TEACHER
GUIDE
ROLE MODEL
Telemachus and “Mentor” Greek
mythology
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When Odysseus left
for the Trojan War,
the older “Mentor”
was put in charge of
Telemachus,
Odysseus’ son
What is a mentor?
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A mentor facilitates personal and professional growth in an
individual by sharing the knowledge and insights that have been
learned through the years (NOT necessarily the supervisor)
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Teacher–share your knowledge and experience
Problem solver–refer mentees to resources and offer options.
Motivator–when mentee is facing a challenge (done through
encouragement, support, and incentives)
Coach–help mentee to overcome performance difficulties through
positive feedback (reinforce behavior) and constructive feedback
(change behavior).
Guide–help mentee to set realistic goals. Five goal setting
factors: specific, time-framed, results oriented, relevant, and
reachable. “If you don’t know where you are going, you won’t
know how to get there.”
(DOT Mentoring Handbook,
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/mentor/mentorhb.htm)
How do mentoring relationships differ from
other academic relationships?
Long-term: Promoting professional
development over time
 Dynamic: Changing as mentee advances
 Reciprocal: Benefitting both mentor and mentee
 Active: Shaped by mentee as well (not passive
vessel)
 Voluntary: True mentoring relationship cannot
be forced, element of altruism
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Zerzan JT. Academic Medicine 2009
Scope of Mentoring
Career Functions
Personal Functions
 Role Modeling
 Sponsorship
 Problem Solving/
 Coaching
Counseling
 Protection
 Acceptance/
 Challenge
Confirmation
 Exposure and Visibility
 Friendship
Kram, KE. Mentoring at Work: Developmental Relationships in Organizational life. 1988
Mentoring Content Areas:
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Clinical skills
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Research skills
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Research methods
Ethics & IRBs
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Manuscript writing and publishing
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Grant writing
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Budgets and Admin
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Career goals
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CV development
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Professional networking
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Organization and committee participation
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Promotion/tenure
Additional skills we don’t learn in school:
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How to hire great people
Managing performance reviews
Time management/maximizing productivity
Navigating work/life balance
Negotiating skills
How to mentor
Having crucial conversations/confrontations
Cross-cultural issues
Dissemination strategies
Working with relevant communities
Rewards of being a good mentor
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Achieve satisfaction. For some mentors, their greatest joy is
having a mentee succeed and eventually become a friend
and colleague.
Attract good colleagues. The best mentors are most likely to
be able to recruit -and keep - colleagues of high caliber
who can help produce better research, papers, grant
proposals, and health for the population.
Stay on top of your field. There is no better way to keep
sharp professionally than to coach junior colleagues.
Develop your professional network. In making contacts for
your mentee, you strengthen your own contacts and make
new ones.
Extend your contribution. The results of good mentoring live
after you, as new continue to contribute even after you have
retired.
Handelsman J. Entering Mentoring: A Seminar to
train a new generation of scientists. 2009
Components of a mentoring team
Career Mentor:
Research Mentor:
Responsible for
overall career
guidance and
support for their
mentee
Responsible for
developing the creative
and/or independent
research careers of their
mentees. Must have
expertise in the mentee’s
area of scholarship and
help provide resources
to support the mentees
work
Co-Mentor: Works with the
mentee and scholarly mentor to
provide specialized content area
or methodological expertise.
Trans and Cis-mentoring:
Interdisciplinary
Cis Mentor:
Mentor from the
same research
discipline
Kahn and Greenblatt. Am. J. of Public
Health 2009
Trans mentor: Senior mentor
outside the major area of the
mentee's focus (basic science
mentors for mentee whose
research emphasizes clinical
science.)
What works and what doesn’t?
Academic Medicine. January 2013
Characteristics of Successful Mentoring Relationships
Theme
Responses
Reciprocity
“It’s got to be a 2-way street. It can’t be just a one-way
giving relationship because then it’s going to burn out”
Mutual Respect, including
respect for each other’s time,
effort & qualifications
“Both individuals have to respect the qualifications of the
other and the needs of the other and work together
towards a common goal.”
Clear Expectations
“It’s helpful to set up guidelines in the beginning.”
Shared Values
“Mentorship worked best when mentors and mentees had
similar interests and values.”
Personal Connection
“Important to have a connection, where you feel the
mentor cares about you.”
Straus et al. 2014. Academic Medicine
Characteristics of Failed Mentoring Relationships
Theme
Responses
Poor Communication
Mentors frustrated when their advice not followed.
Mentees feeling intimidated.
 lack of open communication
Different Expectations
Mentee/Mentor expect different things from the
relationship “recipe for disaster.”
Lack of Commitment, including
lack of time and waning interest
“If you don’t get that kind of ongoing interest and
commitment, you just realize that the fit or the value
isn’t there anymore.”
Personality Differences
E.g. one person is extraverted and the other
introverted. One person thinks on the fly and the other
likes to think ahead of time.
Perceived (or real) Competition
Mentor may feel threatened, both need credit, lack of
clarity around intellectual property.
Straus et al. 2014. Academic Medicine
6 Competencies
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Maintaining effective communication
Aligning expectations
Assessing understanding
Fostering independence
Addressing diversity
Promoting professional development
Mentors’ Responsibilities
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Is clear about expectations
Sets specific goals and accomplishments
Encourages strategic thinking
Provides networking opportunities
Gives moral support
Results oriented
Conducts individual meetings
Keeps in touch
Makes sure to provide written communication,
including reviews and timely feedback.
A quality mentor…
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Provides different and broader perspectives and can
play the part of “devil’s advocate.”
Allows the direction of the relationship to be defined
by the mentee
Helps problem-solve, by identifying the real issues
and stumbling blocks that hinder the individual’s or
the team’s research progress
Focuses on individual learners by stimulating personal
and professional growth and providing feedback
Is a trusted confidant
What part of the mentoring relationship
falls onto the mentees?
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Mentees communicate the purpose for wanting
mentoring: “What do you want out of the
relationship?”
Mentees develop the plan for the year
Mentees communicate the plan
Mentees anticipate problems and communicate them in
a timely manner.
Bottom line: mentees cannot be passive!
Mentees’ Responsibilities
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Contacts the mentor
Provides directed communications
Explicitly requests for help
Open and willing to trust
Appreciates the mentor’s effort
Respects the mentor’s time
General skills for Successful Mentees
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Ask questions
Utilize good listening skills
Listen for central ideas
 Determine what is of personal
value to you in your mentor's
conversation
 Stay focused
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Resolve differences
Build trust
Before and after a mentoring meeting
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Agree on the meeting schedule
Mentees and mentors should come prepared
Mentees should formulate concise questions
Mentees should provide, in advance, any
information/documentation to be discussed
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Discuss what the appropriate time frame is for review
After each meeting, it’s helpful for mentees to email
a brief summary of what was discussed, agreed
upon and next steps
Tools of mentoring can be taught (like parenting)
– Individual development plan
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Meet with your mentees every 2-3 weeks, weekly if needed
(UCSF model)
Review their CV and have them fill out the individual
development plan yearly
Components of IDP:
1) Time Allocation as Estimated by Mentee:
___ % Teaching/Training/Providing Mentoring
___ % Research
___ % Patient Care
___ % Administration/Other Services
How (if at all) would you like to change this time distribution?
IDP -continued
2) Academic Appointment
Do you understand the series to which you are appointed and the expectations
for advancement in this series?
3) Current Professional Responsibilities
List your major professional responsibilities and if you anticipate significant
changes in the coming year:
4) Future Professional Goals
Short Term Goals
List your professional goals for the coming year. Be as specific as possible, and
indicate how you will assess if the goal was accomplished (expected outcome).
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1. Goal
Expected outcome:
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2. Goal
Expected outcome:
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3. Goal
Expected outcome:
IDP -continued
5) Future Professional Goals
Long Term Goals
List your professional goals for the next 3-5 years. Again, be specific, and
indicate how you will assess if the goal was accomplished.
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1. Goal
Expected outcome:
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2. Goal
Expected outcome:
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3. Goal
Expected outcome:
Leadership that Gets Results – applies to
Mentorship style
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6 Styles of Leadership that stems from the various
components of Emotional Intelligence
Most effective leaders use a collection of styles based
on the situation
The more the leader uses, the more effective they are
 Those
who use 4 or more have best climate and
performance
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Review and discussion on applicability for role as
mentor
Questions?