Examining the Role of Friendship in Mentoring Relationships between Graduate Students and Faculty Advisors

Beres, Jacqueline; Dixon, Jess C.

doi:10.22329/celt.v9i0.4440

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(58 reference statements)

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“…These issues are very important in academia, where mentoring relationships are typically long term and interactions often take place outside the traditional workplace. The close nature of these relationships can often blur professional and personal boundaries (Beres & Dixon, ), and mentors may therefore forget that there is a power hierarchy inherent to these relationships that leaves mentees vulnerable (Burk & Eby, ; Eby et al., ). We discussed how to maintain professional boundaries in mentoring relationships, while still building trust and support.…”

Section: The Way Forward: a Model For Improving Mentorship In Stemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mentors can build trust with their mentees by being honest and transparent when communicating, working to reduce fear and intimidation when interacting with students, always guaranteeing and maintaining confidentiality, admitting and apologizing for mistakes, and being reliable and consistent in demands, expectations, and promises (Handelsman et al., ; Nakamura et al., ). Additionally, studies show that trust can be improved when mentors encourage students to take the lead in conversations about goal‐setting, and when mentors always maintain ethical and professional behavior when interacting with mentees (Beres & Dixon, ; Fleig‐Palmer & Schoorman, ; O'Meara et al., ; Waldeck, Orrego, Plax, & Kearney, ). Trust is hard to earn and easy to lose, particularly in relationships with a power imbalance.…”

Section: Defining Effective Academic Mentorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transforming mentorship in STEM by training scientists to be better leaders

Hund

Churchill

Faist

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

103

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Effective mentoring is a key component of academic and career success that contributes to overall measures of productivity. Mentoring relationships also play an important role in mental health and in recruiting and retaining students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields. Despite these clear and measurable benefits, faculty generally do not receive mentorship training, and feedback mechanisms and assessment to improve mentoring in academia are limited. Ineffective mentoring can negatively impact students, faculty, departments, and institutions via decreased productivity, increased stress, and the loss of valuable research products and talented personnel. Thus, there are clear incentives to invest in and implement formal training to improve mentorship in STEM fields. Here, we outline the unique challenges of mentoring in academia and present results from a survey of STEM scientists that support both the need and desire for more formal mentorship training. Using survey results and the primary literature, we identify common behaviors of effective mentors and outline a set of mentorship best practices. We argue that these best practices, as well as the key qualities of flexibility, communication, and trust, are skills that can be taught to prospective and current faculty. We present a model and resources for mentorship training based on our research, which we successfully implemented at the University of Colorado, Boulder, with graduate students and postdocs. We conclude that such training is an important and cost‐effective step toward improving mentorship in STEM fields.

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Section: The Way Forward: a Model For Improving Mentorship In Stemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Defining Effective Academic Mentorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transforming mentorship in STEM by training scientists to be better leaders

Hund

Churchill

Faist

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…When a graduate student has a faculty advisor that serves as a mentor, research productivity, publication output, and belief in his or her inevitable success is greater than that of a graduate student that may lack a mentor (Beres & Dixon, ). Somewhere along our path our faculty‐graduate student relationship with our faculty advisors became a mentor‐mentee relationship.…”

Section: Developing Meaningful Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modest Advice for Graduate Students

James

Huyler

2017

New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development

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“…Unfortunately, formal mentorship training is lacking, and departments, much less disciplines as a whole, rarely have a formalized mentorship structure with little recourse for failed mentor–mentee relationships. This is deeply concerning as, undoubtedly, mentorship is key for success at all stages of an academic career (Allen et al, 2004; Beres & Dixon, 2016; Carey & Weissman, 2010; Dreher & Ash, 1990; Eby et al, 2008; Kram, 1988; Tenenbaum et al, 2001). Most academics are left with experiential, but informal mentorship training.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demystifying mentorship: Tips for successfully navigating the mentor–mentee journey

Ocobock

Niclou

Loewen

et al. 2021

American J Hum Biol

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Background Quality mentorship is crucial for long‐term success in academia and overall job satisfaction. Unfortunately, formal mentorship training is lacking, and there is little recourse for failed mentor–mentee relationships. Methods We performed a literature review to understand the current state of mentorship research with a focus on: (1) what mentorship is and why it is important for success; (2) establishing mentor‐mentee relationships; and (3) the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Results From the literature review, we compiled a number of mentorship recommendations for individuals, departments, institutions, and professional associations. These recommendations focus on building a mentorship network, establishing formalized mentorship training, how to build a productive and mutually beneficial mentor–mentee relationship, and instituting a system of mentorship accountability. Conclusion We hope that by centralizing this information and providing a list of resources and actionable recommendations we inspire and encourage others to make meaningful changes in their approach to mentorship to create a more kind, caring, and equitable environment in which to conduct our work.

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Examining the Role of Friendship in Mentoring Relationships between Graduate Students and Faculty Advisors

Abstract: Although previous studies have offered empirical

Cited by 11 publications

References 21 publications

Transforming mentorship in STEM by training scientists to be better leaders

Transforming mentorship in STEM by training scientists to be better leaders

Modest Advice for Graduate Students

Demystifying mentorship: Tips for successfully navigating the mentor–mentee journey

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