Mentoring Matters!

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Mentoring Matters

SoE v. 1.0

Contents

Introduction 2

1. Mentoring: What is it? 4

2. The mentoring role 6

3. Helping mentees find their way 9

4. Helping mentees set targets 16

5. Helping mentees make progress 18

6. Helping mentees be resilient 22

7. Managing disagreement 24

8. Becoming a better mentor 25

Appendices 29

Index 39

Douglas P. Newton ©2015

I S B N 0 9 5 3 1 1 4 7 1 6

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Introduction

Mentoring : A Departmental Policy The Department, the Faculty, and the University benefit from good teaching, research and corporate citizenship in the particular ways expected in the University’s exacting environment. The School of Education recognises that support from a mentor has the potential to help colleagues become more effective in this work. It is, therefore, the Department’s policy to provide that support.

In particular, in the case of newly appointed academic members of staff and in accordance with University requirements, the School’s policy is to appoint mentors who will:

guide new staff during the construction of their Probationary Agreement, advise their mentees on teaching, research and corporate citizenship, monitor progress towards the targets of the Probationary Agreement, advise mentees on the completion of the various Probationary Reports, and inform the Head of Department about progress towards that completion,

for the duration of the Probation.

To achieve these ends, the policy is to appoint one or two mentors who, alone or together, are able to cover each mentee’s contractual obligations. In accordance with University guidance on allocating mentors and as far as is possible, mentors will not be appointed from colleagues who are line managers of the mentee. It is also the Department’s policy to manage the mentor-mentee relationship in accordance with the University’s guidelines. In addition, it is the School’s policy to foster an understanding of the value of mentoring and the mentoring process amongst its staff. To that end, a designated person will oversee the mentoring of new academic staff, will disseminate mentoring information and good practice amongst its mentors, and encourage participation in further training. Prospective mentors will be encouraged to see successful participation in the mentoring system as a part of their career development and a worthy addition to their curriculum vitae.

In the case of experienced colleagues beyond Probation, it is also the School of Education’s policy to offer and make available on request mentoring of a less formal nature so that all academics have the opportunity to develop further skills and expertise and explore and develop opportunities from which they and the Department might benefit. Provision of this kind of mentoring depends on the nature of the perceived needs.

The aims of this resource This short introduction describes the mentoring of academic staff, new and experienced. It may be used as:

a source of information for those who have had the role of mentor before and simply wish to be reminded of the procedures, strategies and actions that the roles entails, and/or

a training manual for those new to the role.

This resource could be longer but few would have the time to read it if it was. At the risk of condescension, some suggestions for reflection are provided at the end of each section

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(Afterthoughts, indicated by ). I hasten to add that I recognise academics are well-practised in reflection but I am also aware that they are often very busy people. The Afterthoughts may give an immediate focus for thought for those who wish it. Otherwise, this offering could be treated as a resource to dip into as needed. Please do not hesitate to ask for advice or to contribute your successes to the store of good practice.

When mentoring those on probation, the University’s guidelines can be found at:http://www.dur.ac.uk/hr/mentoring/mentoringguidelines/

Please consult this site for further information and current forms relating to Probationary Agreements. Note that these forms change from time to time without notice so should be downloaded at the time of use. At the monitoring/submission points for those on probation, the Head of Department’s secretary can elaborate on and help with administrative requirements and is available at: Michelle.Wilkinson@durham.ac.uk . When mentoring other colleagues, the process is generally informal and does not normally involve the maintenance of records of this nature. For mentoring practices, Prof. Doug Newton is available at: D.P.Newton@durham.ac.uk

Mentoring matters! But only if it is the right kind.

The mentor’s advice to Larry Wyler, a would-be writer who joined the staff of the New Yorker was:

‘Don’t leave your office unlocked. There’s a gun in the desk, top right hand side drawer. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot. If you need paper, dial O for the office boy. If you need advice, call your uncle. They serve drinks downstairs in the library at five o’clock.’ 1

1 Keillor, G. (2003) Love Me, Viking Penguin, London, p. 75.

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1. Mentoring: What is it?

The role of the mentorFirst, thank you for agreeing to be a mentor. In the current climate, new colleagues are expected to perform at a high level very quickly. The University aims to support such staff partly through a mentoring system. The quality of this support can make a difference to new colleagues’ experience and success, particularly those who are relatively new to the role. Colleagues will be allocated at least one mentor. For instance, those with considerable experience at a similar institution may need little support to maintain their performance. Others, with a narrowly defined role, may have one mentor who provides guidance and advice. Other roles call for more than one mentor, typically, one for research-related matters and one for teaching and administration. You will be advised of the mentoring provision for your mentee. Clearly, when more than one mentor is involved, some liaison between participants will be needed. This part concerns itself with answering some questions often asked about mentoring.

What is a mentor?In Ancient Greece, Mentor provided wise counsel to Telemachus. Mentor’s name is now commonly used to describe someone assigned to guide or advise another in his or her professional role. Durham University describes mentoring as:

‘An informal and supportive relationship whereby a more experienced member of staff undertakes to help a new member of staff to learn his/her job and understand its context.’

Mentoring, however, need not be confined to new members of staff. From time to time, others may also seek advice or guidance from a colleague. These two roles – helping new colleagues and helping those who are past probation – overlap but have significant differences.

Other terms tend to be associated with the mentoring process, such as coaching. Here, coaching is taken to mean someone with a particular skill who provides practical instruction which leads to the development of that skill in the mentee. For example, a mentor might demonstrate and coach a mentee in a particular teaching skill or research method. Mentoring, however, is broader than that. In this context, the mentor is unlikely to have all the particular skills a given mentee wants and so, instead of coaching, would help a mentee acquire those skills from someone or somewhere else. Given the nature of academic life, it is expected that any academic mentee should be able to acquire skills and knowledge from a variety of sources in a variety of ways and without detailed instruction.

What is the role of mentor?The view of mentoring taken here is that the mentor is not there to tell the mentee what to do. Instead, the mentor’s role is to help the mentee recognise what matters in their work and to develop and make the most of their interests, abilities, duties and responsibilities. The mentee is not the mentor’s apprentice, research assistant or helper; the aim is to help mentees perform well in their own right, with fewer false starts and discouraging experiences as might otherwise occur. The mentor, therefore, aims to facilitate, encourage, challenge, guide, and offer suggestions but does not direct or insist on a particular course of action.

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Why be a mentor? Mentoring can make a difference to:

The mentee Mentees experience fewer, time wasting false starts, have fewer dispiriting

experiences, become more confident and productive, perceive work more positively, and tend to stay in post longer.

The mentor Mentors often find the role satisfying, find new perspectives on their work,

tend to reflect more on their own practice, and, materially, can add the activity to their CVs to indicate their contribution to University life.

The Department and University Academics can be productive sooner and more productive overall and they

show more commitment to the University.

Who chooses the mentor?New colleagues have mentors allocated to them by the Head of Department at the time of appointment and according to anticipated roles, University policy, and recommendations for the selection of mentors for new staff2. As far as possible, line managers of the new colleague will not also be their mentors (or the only mentor). Where more than one mentor is appointed, their responsibilities will be complementary (e.g. one will deal with research or scholarly activity and the other with teaching and corporate citizenship, something a little wider than administration).

Staff beyond probation who wish to have an adviser, critical friend or, simply, someone to comment constructively on ideas may:

ask a colleague to have or to continue in that role, or ask the Head of Department, the person in charge of mentoring, or the Directors of

Education or Research/Scholarly Activity to recommend a colleague for the role. This informal arrangement may last for whatever period of time is seen as appropriate. It may be as short as a day or last several months.

Mentoring is not for everyone. Simply being a good teacher, researcher or administrator is not sufficient. What a mentor says, or doesn’t say, can affect a mentee’s career, for good or ill. It is, therefore, a role which has to be played with due care and deliberation.

Can a mentor be changed?This applies more to those with appointed mentors. Very rarely, the relationship may be unproductive. In this event, the mentee may request that a new mentor be appointed by the Head of Department. The request should be made either to the person i/c mentoring or the Head of Department.

Some Afterthoughts The stage of career will affect the nature of the mentoring. In what ways? Many people can be good mentors/mentees. What makes a bad mentor/mentee? What qualities do you bring to the task of mentoring?

2 See http://www.dur.ac.uk/hr/mentoring/mentoringguidelines/

Induction

Facilitative

Developmental

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2 The Mentoring Role

Some notions of mentoringMentoring has the potential to contribute significantly to mentees’ success and workplace well-being but it can also be a Cinderella activity. There may have been a time when mentoring amounted to no more than showing a new colleague the location of the stationery cupboard and being available to answer other mundane questions. Now, more is expected but mentoring can still suffer from a belief that the role is occasional, mechanical, and even trivial. Here are a few comments about mentoring which reflect a variety of values:

Is it really necessary? I never had a mentor and I was OK. Oh, no! Not more work? Do I get a Workload Allowance for it? Oh, I’m flattered. I’m pleased you think I’m up to being a mentor. Yes, I’ve reached the stage where I really should be contributing in that way.

Other conceptions of mentoring, although well-meaning, can produce lots of activity but not always useful activity. For instance, seeing mentoring as moulding others into your own, brilliant image (‘Follow me, I’m a leading light’), or seeing it as having chats about the good old days is unlikely to meet the needs of a mentee. The aim is to help the mentee make the most of his or her abilities. If what you do contributes to that, it is worthwhile. Mentors are not those who want to shape someone in their own image or simply those who ‘have walked the path before’, nor is mentoring a single role but many roles played as needed. Neither is someone a good mentor just because he or she is a senior or promoted member of staff.

Follow me, the leading light Anecdotage

A Model of Academic Mentoring Needs in Higher EducationMentoring in HE can be seen as having three elements: induction, developmental, and facilitative.

Induction Mentoring

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At its simplest, an induction mentor shows a new member of staff ‘the ropes and provides practical support’. Induction mentoring can help a newcomer function in a new environment and understand what is expected. As a probation mentor, mentoring can involve the construction of agreed targets in, for instance, a Probationary Agreement and Personal Research Plan, and the monitoring and reporting of progress through the Six-Month Review, Interim Probationary Report and Final Probationary Report. The mentee may also be expected or advised to attend training courses, such as the PGCap or a specific course on administrative matters, or obtain membership of a professional body, such as the HEA.

Developmental MentoringDevelopmental mentoring goes beyond simple induction mentoring in that it seeks to develop the skills needed in each of the strands of academic activity. This generally involves exploring a mentee’s professional interests, strengths and needs and then helping them to acquire and demonstrate knowledge, understanding and expertise as appropriate. This can be less formal than Induction Mentoring but, as indicated in the diagram, the two overlap as one can inform the other.

Facilitative MentoringFacilitative mentoring generally aims to help someone with expertise and experience to make progress, overcome a particular obstacle or work through a mental blockage. For instance, it is not unusual for an academic to mine out an idea and then find it difficult to find another direction, or she might experience a frustrating setback which obscures her view of alternative courses of action. Although it shares features with developmental mentoring, its goal is often to find a new way forward or re-establish productivity in a new area or in a different way. Alternatively, a successful academic may take on a significant managerial role, such as that of Head of Department or Director of a section. Some aspects of the role are likely to be unfamiliar and, to some extent, they may be learned by shadowing the existing post-holder. Nevertheless, there will be times when the new manager could benefit from a sounding board, a constructive listener, even cautionary adviser. Like others, there will be times when they could profit from some form of peer mentoring. For example, leadership is a part of many forms of management but it involves gaining trust. Trust takes time to develop and yet is very quickly lost. Dysfunctional behaviours which lose it may not be evident to the would-be leader but could be to a mentor3.

As the diagram indicates, these three elements are not mutually exclusive. A new, early career colleague will usually need at least Induction Mentoring and Developmental Mentoring. An experienced colleague may appreciate a period of Facilitative Mentoring but that may call for some Developmental suggestions.

Mentoring can also be directed at furthering the interests of a particular group. For example, the University currently offers a Women in Academia Mentoring Programme to support the career development of female academics. Mentors for this purpose are drawn from academic staff across the University. For further information, see the University’s Intranet.

Some qualities of a mentorMentoring can be both interesting and rewarding. It calls for qualities and skills which most of us have although years of working in a highly competitive environment may have left them unused or even encouraged them to wither. This does not mean they cannot be practised and deployed again. What is needed depends on how you view the role of mentoring but a list of qualities or skills could include, for example:

Having some generosity of spirit. Being a credible role model.

3 Levitin, D.J. (2014) The Organized Mind, Penguin Random Press, NY, pp. 284-5.

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Being able to listen, not just hear. Being able to respond without prescription. Being interested in others’ ideas. Knowing when to take a back seat. Having reasonable expectations. Having integrity. Being able to observe confidentiality. Being able to be impartial. Seeing the role as worthwhile. Giving the work the time it needs.

None of these is intrinsically difficult or cannot be developed with practice.

Some qualities of a menteeOf course, the mentor-mentee relationship is not one-sided; mentees benefit if they have or quickly develop certain qualities, such as:

Being able to listen to and reflect on what is said. Being self-motivating. Being proactive. Being able to take another’s perspective.

Afterthought This model of HE mentoring focuses thought on the balance of needs colleagues may have at

different stages in their careers. Can HE mentoring be usefully described in other ways?

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3 Helping mentees find their way

Some general principlesWhether your mentee is new to academic life or experienced, there are some general recommendations:

1. Make the purpose of mentoring clear.Explain your role and, if appropriate, formal, University requirements to your mentee. Agree broad goals and practices – the ground rules.

2. Arrange and plan meetings and give them plenty of time. A hurried exchange of words in a corridor is not mentoring. Meet in a place where interruptions are unlikely and remember the purpose of the meeting.

3. Listen, listen, listen. Too often, we believe we know the solution and want to impose it. Solutions work better when they come from the mentee, at least in part. Suggest rather than tell and be patient.

4. Regular mentoring. Whatever the context, regular mentoring sessions are generally expected. The problem is: How regular? In practice, every mentee has different needs and these vary from time to time. Regular meetings, informal and formal, may range from once per week to once per month. Reducing it to one meeting per term or, worse, once per year to do the paperwork, is unlikely to meet the needs of most mentees.

5. Treat what is said as confidential. Most of what is said will be quite innocuous but both mentee and mentor should treat all as confidential unless both sides agree otherwise.

6. Keep brief notes of key points. It is easy to forget agreed actions. Brief notes of mentoring conversations can be useful so that subsequent meetings do not simply cover old ground.

7. Remember that everyone is different. In this context, this means that a given solution, plan, or action may not fit all.

8. Praise when it is deserved. In the workplace, there can be a readiness to criticise and blame. Praise can be reluctantly and grudgingly given, if at all. Praise, when genuine, can be motivating and rewarding.

Afterthoughts:The following observation led me to add Principle 8.

I sent a card to a colleague congratulating him on an article which I thought was interesting and insightful. He telephoned to thank me and say that he was immensely pleased and encouraged by the praise: it was the first he had received in some thirty years of academic life. While we rightly concern ourselves with the student’s experience, we sometimes forget the academic’s experience.

These principles are not all there are. You might add others which occur to you.

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Early conversations: understanding one another

Early career colleaguesMentoring could be about re-shaping others in your own image or squeezing them into some notion of an ideal academic. The view taken here is that mentoring is not about making someone into a new person but is about helping that person find and realise whatever productive potential they have. In other words, it is about helping them to find and exercise their ‘academic self’. This view respects others’ abilities and interests and seems more likely to generate intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction and independent productivity. Given the pressure on academics to be productive, working with what you have rather than what you prefer is also more likely to lead to early success than a ‘strip them down and rebuild them’ approach.

For instance, suppose you are mentoring an early-career researcher, a general sequence of events could be as shown in the figure.

Elicit a mentee’s academic interests

and strengths

Take time to find those that really

engage the mentee

Establish a specific goal and Praise wherea bridge to achieve it praise is due

It takes time to learn someone’s goals, values, and interests. Finding out what he or she finds compelling, strongly motivating, and worthwhile is unlikely to reveal itself in a brief chat after introductions. The mentor may use early mentoring sessions to describe the department’s structure and procedures, outline what needs to be done and when, and answer questions. This will help the mentor and mentee work past the cautious, self-conscious restraints of polite conversation and allow the mentee to reveal personal preferences, strengths and interests. Sometimes, these may not be conscious and need to be teased out and given structure. The mentor’s role is to support the process; the mentee’s role is to participate and reflect on the outcomes with honesty – it serves no useful purpose if the mentee identifies a spurious or passing interest. These interests could be central to the mentee’s research or scholarly activity for some time and will figure in research/scholarly activity targets and in parts of the mentee’s teaching.

Afterthought: This vignette illustrates mentor and mentee progress thought the process illustrated in the diagram. Of course, progress is not always direct.

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Felicity was beginning her final period of probation. Conversations showed she suspected that many school teachers did not know how autism affected children and how to respond to that in the classroom. The mentor recalled a survey relating to children with physical disabilities and brought it to Felicity’s attention. With the mentor’s advice, Felicity constructed and carried out a small survey and found evidence that her suspicions had foundation. The mentor mentioned it to a specialist in the field who agreed to help her construct an application for some funding to take the study further, using the small-scale investigation as evidence of the need. This was successful and it was brought to the attention of the Head of Department who personally congratulated Felicity. The project produced data which lent itself to two further publications. The mentor recommended that Felicity choose journals first and write specifically for them. He commented on the drafts and they were submitted and, eventually, published. Both were mentioned with approval in the Director for Research’s regular review.

Mentoring experienced colleagues post probationFirst, some matters to bear in mind:

Post-probationary colleagues can ask others to take the role of mentor. The role can involve helping them, for example:

o find new directions, having exhausted the possibilities of recent interests,o work towards personal advancement, promotion, or recognition,o develop an idea.o solve a workplace problem (e.g. interpersonal conflict or a skill need).

This arrangement can be an entirely private matter. Post-probationary colleagues may be very sensitive about their being perceived as needing

‘help’. (This can be reinforced by those who see a request for help as an indication of weakness. The term ‘mentor’ may not be appropriate because of its association with providing guidance. The role is also one which may form and then fade away over a period of days, weeks or months. In the future, the role may be reversed. Perhaps some other term might be used to describe this kind of mentoring, such as ‘facilitator’. None is in common use; ‘critical friend’ is sometimes seen although ‘constructive friend’ is what is needed.

Experienced colleagues, typically mid-career, may feel they have ‘lost their way’, ‘lost direction’, have a ‘mental block’, or simply feel they are not making progress. This feeling can be disheartening and demotivating which, in turn, makes it more difficult to think of a way forward. Often, talking with someone about the problem can begin to resolve it. Some strategies, like Bridging the Gap, can also be useful here but others are also available.

When mentoring an experienced colleague, attention is likely to be on one aspect of the academic’s work (teaching, research/scholarly activity or GC&C) and the aim is to help him or her overcome whatever is blocking productivity and job satisfaction. The diagram sets out some steps commonly involved.

As in any mentoring, listening well and reflecting on what is said is important in order to grasp the problem as it is perceived by your colleague. Sometimes, your colleague may be a little embarrassed by calling on you for help. You can point out that most of us pass through periods of time which lack direction, satisfying productivity or progress and it can happen more than once. If it has happened to you, you might share that with your colleague. The next step is to break away from rumination over the current situation and take a broader perspective. If the problem is to do with research or other scholarly

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activity, you will need to help your colleague find her underlying interests and explore them for potential. If the problem is where to take a given interest, you may need to tease out possible directions and treat them similarly. A specific, step-by-step, plan of action with a timeline is then needed so that ideas do not languish and intent fade. Your colleague will probably welcome some light monitoring of progress along the timeline as there may be obstacles on the way.

Listen

Reassure

Stimulate possibility thinking

Help make firm plans for action

Monitor lightly Exit quietly

Afterthought: This vignette illustrates mentor and mentee progress thought the process illustrated in the diagram.

To illustrate one way of working, consider the case of James. James was a successful and productive researcher but felt he had exhausted the subject he had explored for several years. He had dug so deep and so long that he couldn’t see anything else which offered him similar interest and rewards. The mentor encouraged James to talk through his disappointment and then described how Richard Feynman, the Nobel Prize winning physicist, had once felt the same. But, as he went on to win the Nobel Prize, he must have worked through it successfully. Having shown that the feeling is not unique, the mentor asked what James would really like to do if the world, the University and the Department were all perfect places. Slowly at first but more rapidly as James warmed to the subject, he described a project he would really like to do. ‘Why not do it?’ asked the mentor. There was a long pause, then James replied, ‘I suppose I could. I could certainly give it a try.’ Another meeting was arranged and James agreed to read around the subject a little in preparation. At the next meeting, a more specific plan of action stemming from that reading was made. Later, James gave a seminar on the subject and found a junior colleague interested in working with him. The mentor continued to show interest in the progress over the subsequent months.

Experienced colleagues commonly take on managerial roles. In this context, mentoring conversations often centre on narrow problems, such as:

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an organisational obstacle to the success of the unit; an instance of interpersonal conflict; working with a micro-managing line manager; interpreting a directive.

Sometimes, the issues call for specialised knowledge and the mentor should recommend that others are involved, as when proposed actions which may involve employment law. To the extent that managerial roles involve directing people’s actions (and managing academics has been likened to herding cats), managers are likely to find themselves in conflict with others. The odds favour strong emotions over reason every time. Dealing with the emotional side of management might also be considered in mentoring conversations.

Some structures and strategies to support the mentoring/facilitating process

Bridging the gapOf course, knowing a genuine interest does not always lead to appropriate action. The mentee will need to decide (i) where they could take that interest, and (ii) where they want to take that interest. Attention now turns to what it will take to bridge the gap between the embryonic thoughts about the interest and what the mentee wants to do with it. It may take several steps to bridge the gap and each should be identified and made explicit and specific. The mentor, through questioning and suggestions may help with this process, the sequencing of steps, and the drawing of a timeline. When success follows, it is very encouraging when it is also celebrated in some appropriate and proportionate way. Help the mentee reflect on what made the event successful.

Interests: Describe, Goal: What, Explore, Refine exactly, will be

done with the Intermediate actions needed interest

to achieve the goal

The JoHari WindowThe JoHari Window4 is a tool to help the mentor and mentee shape and direct their discussion about targets. It may be used to guide thought with early career or experienced colleagues but it does need care and sensitivity. It has four panes or areas.

1. Public Area:

Matters known to the mentor, andalso known to the mentee

2. Blind Area:

Matters known to the mentor, butnot known to the mentee

3. Avoided or Hidden Area:

Matters not known to the mentor, butknown to the mentee

4. Area of Unknown Activity:

Matters not known to the mentor, andnot known to the mentee

4 Bayley, H., Chambers, R. & Donovan, C. (2004) The Good Mentoring Toolkit, Oxford, Radcliffe.

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Discussion about targets often begins in the so-called Public Area, where mentor and mentee can communicate readily about particular needs and expectations. This area is often in the mentee’s comfort zone and could be the source of early and relatively straightforward targets.

It is likely that the mentee will find some expectations and opportunities unclear and may even be unaware of them. The mentor, on the other hand, is aware of them. Discussion in this so-called blind area aims to make them apparent and, in effect, move them into the Public Area. This may also be a source of early targets but note that this area may reveal demands outside the mentee’s comfort zone which some find unsettling. Mentees may need reminding that mentor guidance, even coaching, could be available.

Of course, the mentee will be aware of personal strengths and weaknesses not known to the mentor, the so-called Avoided or Hidden Area. Unsurprisingly, some mentees may be unwilling to reveal a weakness. This can be an area which needs sensitive exploration and may be better left until the mentor and mentee relationship is stronger.

Inevitably, there will be matters of potential development unknown to both the mentor and mentee, the Area of Unknown Activity. This is where interaction with colleagues, line managers and other mentees can be useful as there may be opportunities here which could help the mentee flourish. This area can lead to demanding targets. A larger version of the JoHari Window is available in Appendix A for use in conversations.

Self-Advancement ToolsSome colleagues may not have lost their way but feel that they want to achieve more or perform better. Often centred on scholarly activity/research, it can help to reflect on their successes and discuss how to take these forward to a new level or wider audience. Usually, a paper exercise keeps attention on what matters and gives conversations direction. For instance, a chart (part of which is shown below) can serve that purpose. Here, some activities can be taken to different levels: local, national and international. Others are confined to one level. Examples of activities are listed in the first column (a longer list is provided in Appendix B with space for other items). The aim is to reflect on what is needed to progress from left to right, where that is possible.

Scholarly Activity/Research

Local National International

Publishing a paperReviewing a bookGiving a seminar

In teaching, the same might be achieved with: a clear statement of the problem in context, a list of current practices in that context , and a compilation of alternative actions which are likely to solve the problem.

On occasions, an observation of teaching by (peer review) might add to the understanding of the problem if, indeed, there is one. There should be, however, a distinction between student dissatisfaction and student learning. While we would aim for students to enjoy all the sessions and learn in the process, there will be times when enjoyment may have to take second place in order to reach a level of learning which makes more satisfying matters possible (see also The Kirkpatrick Hierarchy, described on page 25).

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On occasions, colleagues may feel that their courses have become less relevant than they were. The Blue Skies Question (which follows) may be applied to this context to identify opportunities which might be more enthusiastically adopted.

Colleagues may see opportunities for career enhancement through administration (or Good Citizenship and Conduct). Mentoring here will probably involve making sure that your colleague explores the options and what each entails carefully so that the pros and cons are clear. It may also be useful for your colleague to discuss the matter with the Head of Department as some administrative duties may, in his/her eyes, add little to a CV or career development. Administrative roles outside the department may be overlooked but the experience could enhance the profiles of some experienced colleagues. The work involved in some of these roles, however, may not be reflected in workload expectations inside the department.

The Blue Skies QuestionScholarly activity can generate frustration when progress is slow. The reasons are less important than initiating some productive action to break free from the feeling of impotence. For example, an experienced colleague finds it difficult to engage in research. Teaching and administration are the reasons given: both tend to leak into research time. The Blue Skies Question is: ‘What would you really like to do if there was no teaching or administration?’ (The emphasis on really is important as it has to be self-motivating.) Whatever answer is given, it is usually dismissed with, ‘But that’s impossible/out of the question/a non-starter . . .’ The next step is to help your colleague break down the area of interest into its components. From these are selected some that are manageable and they are placed in the order in which they will be addressed. These become the first set of targets (see also the next section). A third step could be to consider how the others might be addressed. For example, a research student might be recruited or a little seed corn money may be available from the department’s research committee to pay an intern to collect data or prepare a draft of a literature review.

As suggested above, The Blue Skies Question can be adapted to teaching and administration contexts.

Moving out of comfort zonesSometimes, there may be a general ennui with a situation that has been long standing. As variety is supposed to be the spice of life, some colleagues may benefit from a change. Everything said so far has been about change but this draws direct attention to its potential when colleagues find their dissatisfaction to spread across their work. Left to themselves, some people have the same experience year after year until retirement and become reluctant to leave their comfort zones. Others may appear to do the same things but, on a finer scale, they vary their actions and find their work continually rewarding. It should be said that not everyone is happy with change but some flexibility can enhance and prolong employment prospects. To that end, there will be times when it is appropriate to ask: What will you do that is new this term/year?

Afterthoughts What targets could be generated by discussion in each area of the Johari Window? How would you initiate discussion about Area 3 of the JoHari Window? When would you not suggest that someone moves outside his or her comfort zone?

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4 Helping mentees set targets

Even when needs, goals and aspirations have been recognised and described, what a mentee will do can be vague and unclear. Mentee action is often more direct if these are cast in the form of specific, objective, manageable goals or targets. This can be helpful for both experienced and new colleagues. Many find setting targets in a specific, objective way to be difficult. The mentor, sitting outside the problem, can often help.

Some organisations expect staff to construct personal development plans which briefly review and reflect on progress and set out the next goals and targets. The University uses the Annual Staff Review (ASR) for this purpose but, in addition, new colleagues are usually required to construct a Probationary Agreement which sets out targets.

New colleagues and constructing targets for the Probationary Agreement5

A mentor may be asked to help a new colleague develop targets for a probationary agreement. Given that a new colleague will normally know little of the University’s opportunities and expectations, the mentor’s and line managers’ contribution is important6. Nevertheless, these targets are agreed with the mentee, not imposed. The mentee should have a significant role in the construction of targets and should see them as worthwhile, reasonable in number and achievable. The aim is to construct agreed targets which benefit the mentee and the department.

Early career targets are intended to:1. Help the mentee learn the practices of the Department and University (e.g. by attending

short training courses, preparing or updating course documentation).2. Demonstrate that the mentee is meeting the requirements and expectations of the

Department and University (e.g. by preparing and submitting an article to a journal, joining in on the submission of a bid for funds, by acquiring a qualification such as the PGCap or HEA Fellowship).

3. Help the mentee develop expertise (e.g. by studying the literature on a topic relating to teaching or scholarly activity, by learning to use a new research tool).

4. Help mentees consider alternative perspectives (e.g. by engaging with ways of working and thinking unlike those to which they are accustomed).

The first two are likely to receive greater emphasis in the earlier parts of the probation (although usually continue into the second part). The last two should become increasingly important as the probation progresses. The Agreement is subject to the Head of Department’s and Faculty PVC’s approval. It must be constructed carefully but without undue delay. The importance of these targets should be emphasised to the mentee as failure to achieve them can have consequences which bear upon continued employment.

NB Details of the Probationary Agreement and how the targets may be collated and presented are set out with examples in Appendix D.

5 Practices may vary from department to department and time to time. The responsibility for constructing probationary agreements is the Head of Department’ but may be delegated to certain mentors or others.6 Note that new employees receive an introduction to the department by the HoD on the first day. This is, in part, guided by a checklist provided by HR (see Appendix C: Managers Checklist for New Employees). Your mentee may not recall all that was said or shown and may ask you about some basic matters. You will see that quite frequent meetings are, understandably, expected to begin with.

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Experienced colleagues and constructing targetsThose who help experienced colleagues construct targets for the Annual Staff Review will find that they spread across all aspects of their work. Being inside the detail of that work can obscure ways forward. Like new colleagues, they may need help in expressing targets in specific and objective ways. The examples of targets provided in Appendix D for probationary colleagues may, therefore, continue to be useful. When help with a specific problem is wanted, clearly, the targets will be confined to what is relevant for that problem. Nevertheless, one experienced colleague helping another should be careful to avoid doing something that is not wanted. Mentoring is generally an offer for experienced colleagues, not a requirement.

Some Afterthoughts How well the targets of the Probationary Agreement are met is a measure used at Faculty level

to judge the mentee’s progress and contribution to the department and university. Does it have any other value?

Targets should be chosen very carefully. What are the attributes of a good target? Targets like these give focus to activity but can also be strait-jackets which prohibit responding to

opportunities, changing situations and developing interests. Over time, they can become frustrating obstacles. Given that they are required, are there ways of making them less constraining?

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5 Helping mentee make progress

Regular reviewsMentees are so intimately involved with their process of change and its progress that they can become entangled in the detail. The mentor is able to step back, see it in broader terms and remind the mentee of the goals. Regular reviews, identifying achievements and impediments, are often useful for this. For instance, they can:

remind the mentee and mentor of the goals and targets motivate by pointing to successes allow obstacles to progress to be identified and removed facilitate growth drawing attention to changes and opportunities extend mutual understanding foster self-evaluation.

Sometimes, particular goals may become less relevant than when targets were set. For example, aiming to achieve a particular level of student satisfaction for a certain course is an empty target of the course is now taught by someone else. At the same time, interests change and opportunities present themselves so that some research and scholarly targets become less attractive. For experienced colleagues who have asked for temporary mentor support, this is not a problem; more relevant or attractive targets can be constructed (assuming that a continual desire to change targets is not, itself, the problem). For those on Probation, however, submitted and approved targets are more difficult to change which highlights the need for the careful setting of targets at the outset.7

Indicators of progress and success If the targets are stated in an objective and unambiguous way, it will be clear when they have been met. For example, if the goal is to become aware of the University’s procedures regarding admissions, this may be achieved by attendance on a course which sets these out. It is clear whether or not someone has attended a course (but, of course, not whether the course was comprehensive or taught well). For some targets, evidence of attendance may be enough. For a newly appointed admissions officer, it is likely that an effective working knowledge is required so success in applying those procedures is important. Evidence of this would come from a different source. Broadly speaking, sources include:

students’ oral feedback students’ course evaluations numbers of students who opt for a course students’ examination success peer assessment of teaching line managers’ feedback awards election to professional bodies publications reviewers’ comments on a publication (or endorsements of those working in the field) grants requests for seminars and presentations consultancies

7 Should it become essential that a target be changed, the procedure is for the mentor and mentee to make a reasoned case to the Head of Department who, if s/he supports the change, will then present it to the PVC for consideration. It should not be assumed that changes to Probationary Agreements will be routinely agreed. Changes cannot be made to Probationary Agreements without HoD and PVC consent.

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appointment to a particular role election to a committee requests for advice from outside the department invitations to join a group (e.g. a research group constructing a bid for funds) examining theses here and elsewhere requests to review an article having a book proposal accepted invitation to submit an entry for an encyclopaedia request to provide advice to a government body invitation to edit an issue of a journal

There are, no doubt, other sources which might be added. Note that more than one source may provide evidence of progress towards a given target. Note also that some commonly used sources have dubious bearing upon the quality or success of a piece of work. For instance, students’ feedback and evaluations may indicate their satisfaction with a course but, in reality, it may be more a measure of personalities, course difficulty, tolerance of non-attendance, lateness and texting in sessions, and expectations of student work. Similarly, peer reviews of articles are notorious for their bias and poor judge of a paper’s worth. Mentors and mentees should, however, note that the University places some emphasis on measures of student satisfaction, grants, and the publication of work. Given that, it would be wise to include these.

Threats to the review processIt is common practice to describe helping the mentee make progress as being guided by constructive feedback. When they are successful, that feedback is usually positive. Few like to take the pleasure and satisfaction out of the moment (although some argue that there should be an immediate analysis of the success to see if it has anything to say about how to make it better next time).

But, of course, not everything comes easily and providing colleague to colleague, constructive feedback is not as simple as it sounds. Adults commonly perceive anything less than approbation to threaten their self and public images: few like to be seen as incompetent and those on Probation may also see it as a threat to job security. To protect themselves, they may respond defensively, even aggressively. At best, they are dispirited. This, in turn, threatens the mentor-mentee relationship and makes it difficult to advise and guide in the future. When the feedback relates to something of great personal important, as it will probably do in this context, responses can be emotionally charged. Feedback, then, needs very careful handling. Self-evaluation can take some of the sting out of it and, at the same time, support a process of long term value to the mentee.

Fostering self evaluationSelf-evaluation means that the mentee takes the lead in:

judging progress towards a target, and suggesting actions to further progress.

In a review conversation, the mentor asks the mentee to judge progress towards a particular target. Some mentees can make rather harsh self-judgements, others are over-generous. If misjudgements are evident and matter, one approach is to describe an alternative interpretation through the eyes of someone else (see, for example, the vignette, below). The aim is to allow mentees to arrive at a useful judgement about progress without feeling that their self or public image is threatened. The JoHari Window can help here (see page 13 and Appendix A for an enlarged version for shared use). Some of the panes allow mentees to reflect on their judgements through the eyes of another (Pane 2, The Blind Area – ‘another’ not necessarily being the mentor), and, possibly privately, through their

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own eyes (Pane 3, the Avoided Area). Perhaps surprisingly, the fourth pane (Area of Unknown Activity) can make a useful contribution. It is the area open to speculation and exploration in the context of progress to a particular target.

Afterthought In an attempt to explore the ‘unknown’ (Pane 4, matters known to neither the mentor or

mentee), it was agreed that the mentor would ask certain respected ‘line managers’ for their thoughts about trends, developments and anticipated needs in their domains. The mentor and mentee assessed these for relevance, opportunities and skills which might be at a premium in the near future. Are there other ways in which Pane 4 might be explored?

Conflicting pressuresLife is rarely simple: we are all subject to conflicting pressures and sometimes these act against achievement. The source of these pressures may be outside work (for example, those stemming from the responsibilities of family life), sometimes from other aspects of work (for example, the nature of the workload, the demands of students, and having to respond to unexpected events), and sometimes from work habits and ways of working (for example, time management, and disorganised or inappropriate ways of working). The review conversation may point to the existence of pressures which impede achievement. Often of a personal or private nature, some mentees will find talking about them uncomfortable. At the same time, a mentor’s role is not about managing a mentee’s life or moulding the mentee in his or her own image. Instead, the mentee’s awareness of such pressures may be raised with the expectation that the mentee will reflect on them in private. Broaching the subject with a diagram which the mentee can reflect on may help. One such diagram is provided below. The empty arrows are for conflicting pressures which the mentee identifies alone. If the mentor is clear that the mentee is free to divulge or conceal the pressures which, after all, can be very personal matters, the mentee is more likely to be honest about them.

Action Target

Merely identifying conflicting pressures is not, in itself, enough. It may be possible to reduce them and this involves perceptions of the workplace and areas of control and powerlessness.

Afterthought Conflicting pressures typically are generated by having to work for several managers: each

ignores or is ignorant of the demands of the others. How might this be addressed? Conflicting pressures can also stem from contributing to many, disparate courses.

‘Multitasking’ like this is generally stressful and time consuming. How might this be addressed or ameliorated?

Another source of conflicting pressures is inherent in the academic’s work: teaching, scholarly activity/research, and administration. Teaching is timetabled and administrative tasks like examination secretary or module leader cannot be ignored. As a result scholarly activity/research can be squeezed out of existence. Unfortunately, appraisals of

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performance usually include all three and, at the same time, may emphasise one, like research. What would you advise in this event?

Areas of control and powerlessnessThe review conversation can reveal beliefs about areas of power and impotence. Mentees may believe that certain matters are beyond their control and this, in turn, makes progress beyond their control. This may, of course, be true or sufficiently true to make progress difficult. (For example, if there are no places on a particular training course and attendance on that is a target, immediate progress is impossible). Equally, a mentee may believe some things are in his or her control when they are not. Where reasons for lack of progress seem to stem from such beliefs, they should be tested. Some adults tend to focus on areas of impotence and expend their energies in berating the system or colleagues when refocusing on areas of control reveals how some progress can be made. (For example, a training course may not be open to the mentee but s/he may be able to shadow someone who has done the course and puts its lessons into effect.)

Mentoring teams

A particularly stressful situation is that of the manager who can be blamed when things go wrong but has no executive authority. This is like driving a car without a steering wheel: you can’t do it for long without a heart attack. The area of control for such a manager is in developing skills of persuasion, and often the kind of persuasion which is not entirely based on reason.

Afterthought There are also personal attributes which impede progress. We vary in personality, traits

attributes,and skills. Often, these are put to good use but, few of us are perfect. Mentees (and mentors, see later) could have traits which hinder progress. Many of us, for instance, prevaricate now and again so some of our work is done at the last minute and without sufficient forethought. Similarly, a new manager may be arrogant and refuse to listen to the views of others.

Confronting someone about their ‘defects’ is unlikely to strengthen the mentor-mentee relationship. Should personal attributes be a matter for a mentor?

Area of mentee powerlessness: Does the mentee focus on this? Does it lead to mentee passivity?

Area of mentee control: Is the mentee fully aware of its extent? Does the mentee make good use of it?

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6 Helping mentees be resilient

The mentee’s well-beingMentees, particularly those who are new colleagues on probation, can feel under pressure. They are expected to perform well quickly and consistently. Failure will make their position uncertain. At best, target outcomes are not always fully in their control and they find themselves hostages to fortune; they must guard against gainsaying those with power over them; success does not always attract praise or reward, and failure is unlikely to be overlooked. Although unreliable, student appraisals of their teaching and ratings of their publications tend to be given complete credence and, if not good, can be painful. And, of course, friends are often far away. Unsurprisingly, mentees can feel anxious and under tension. A little stress can improve performance but, if prolonged or intense, it can seriously obstruct it and put health and well-being at risk8. This is complicated by variation in people: what counts as prolonged or intense stress varies from person to person. The mentor, however, may be amongst the first to note stress-related emotions and behaviour which are becoming dysfunctional in the workplace. This is not to say that mentors should attempt to treat psychological disorders of this nature – that is for medics and related counsellors9 – but they offer certain kinds of support which lessen the effects of stress, keep matters in proportion, and help to develop mentees’ resources so that they cope and recover relatively quickly when faced with moderate setbacks. Some suggestions are listed below.

Taking the sting out of rejection When there are several colleagues on probation, they may be encouraged to form a

mutually supportive social group. To set the ball rolling, several mentors may collectively organise a collective social event.

Mentors may suggest that mentees with similar scholarly/research interests, work together on a project or funding bid or to practise conference presentations. Responsibility for failure is diluted in team work.

Although it was said at the outset that mentoring is not about telling anecdotes, they can have a useful place in this context. Used to show that even the mentor has experienced stress and anxiety in response to similar events, it lets the mentee know that such responses are neither unusual nor calamitous.

Simply providing an opportunity to talk through the source of the anxiety and then guiding the conversation to coping actions can lessen its impact. It is naïve to believe that every cloud has a silver lining but some threats and problems can be cast in the form of opportunities.

Developing resilience Point to the need to be realistic about the time needed for some events. Many people

overestimate what they can achieve in a given time. When it also involves something they haven’t done or used before, they tend not to allow for the unexpected. Bad time management can lead to stress. There are time management courses but, often, like New Year resolutions, the resolve to follow what they teach fades quickly. Nevertheless, some suggestions can become useful habits, such as not opening e-mail until mid-afternoon, using a Do Not Disturb sign, and building in 15 minutes of thought time between meetings.

By planning ahead for eventualities, some sources of strong, negative emotion can be alleviated. For example, when planning an article, the mentee might also select not one but two or three suitable journals for it. If the first rejects it out of hand, the article can be quickly submitted to the next with a minimum of heartache.

8 Newton, D.P. (2014) Thinking with Feeling, London, Routledge.9 Direct the mentee’s attention to the services of the University’s Occupational Health provision, for which see the website.

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While mentors might help a mentee seek opportunities in adversity (see above), the long-term aim is to have the mentee routinely do that unprompted. This is where a mentor might recount her or his own constructive response to some unwanted event.

What counts as a so-called ‘work-life balance’ is not a simple matter. Given the nature of the role and contract, an academic’s work could expand to fill the waking hours. While some may want and thrive on that, most do not but where a reasonable balance lies is a personal matter. Extremes – the effects of too much and too little work – may be noticed: signs of stress for the first and tasks not done for the second. In the long term, neither is in mentees’ interests. Established habits and dispositions can be difficult to change and, beyond advice or referral to the Head of Department or an occupational health specialist, this may represent the limits of what a mentor can achieve.

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7 Managing Disagreement

New colleagues, in particular, often feel vulnerable because they are on probation and feel that they must always be on ‘good’ behaviour. When their work does not seem to be going well, some may become defensive. Being unsure about work practices, norms and rights opens the possibility that they respond or perform inappropriately to legitimate direction. Someone may also try to exploit their lack of experience and the mentee may feel aggrieved but not be in a position to respond appropriately. You may have the disagreement brought to your attention.

If the disagreement involves other colleagues: Some are minor and unimportant and the mentee may be re-assured by a conversation with

you. Some disagreements stem from misunderstandings and may be readily remedied and soon

forgotten. For disagreements, injustices, and contraventions which are not minor, the University has

procedures for conflict resolution. These involve a number of steps, the first of which is for the mentee to pass the matter to the Head of Department. For more information on these procedures, direct the mentee to the Human Resources website.

If the disagreement is with you: Recall that your role is not to coerce, confront or require compliance, only advise. You may

wish simply to note that your advice was not taken. If, on reflection, you find you are at fault, correct it quickly. If the dispute is insurmountable and impedes further progress, it may be better to step

down as the mentor. (This parallels the mentee’s right to request another mentor.)

Experienced or long-standing colleagues usually are familiar with work practices, norms and rights but they may still wish to seek advice from a colleague before taking action. You advice may be to recommend that colleagues seek more specialised help from a union or association representative, Head of Department, or Human Resources. Experience teaches most of us some elements of minor conflict resolution but, sometimes, it is better dealt with by a mediator with appropriate training. Whatever the disagreement, do nothing to make it worse.

Some Afterthoughts Off the cuff responses to conflict are not always the best. There are often two sides to a

disagreement and both can be right. Finding some truth in both opponents’ views can disarm an argument.

Some people seem to attract, even seek, conflict. How would you respond? Loss of face matters, particularly if it is public. How would you save face and allow a mentee the

same?

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8 Becoming a better mentor

A good mentor helps mentees make the most of themselves for the mentees’ good and for the benefit of the department. Of course, mentees are not all equal in ability and attributes so the success of mentees will be varied. This means that mentee success is not always a good measure of the quality of mentoring: you do your best with whoever you are given. It is, however, a starting point, provided that its limitations are kept in mind. A better way to view it is from what you have helped the mentee achieve, given his or her starting point. Some potential indicators of your contribution follow.

Some indirect indicators of mentoring quality The successful achievement of the mentee’s goals, such as the targets of a Probationary

Agreement, or the action plans of a post-probationer. What constitutes success here may be judged by a third party. This may be an endorsement of the quality of a piece of work (e.g. the construction of a new course, commented on by a Divisional Director, a reviewer’s comment about an article submitted to a journal). Ultimately, for the probationer, the final judgment rests with the Head of Department and the PVC. For the post-probationer, evaluation may be by a Divisional Director, as above. In both cases, where goals and targets have been defined objectively, success is often self-evident (e.g. an improvement in the student-evaluation of a course, or the publication of an article).

Peer observation of the mentee’s practice, as when a session of teaching is evaluated by a colleague, an event which often happens at least once a year but could take place at any time and in addition to the normal, departmental expectation. Sometimes, the written comments of students about a course or supervision can provide useful insights.

Awards, prizes, and public recognition, something probably more relevant for the post-probationer is the evidence represented by awards, prizes, and other such recognition of worthiness (e.g. a University Award for the Supervision of Higher Degrees, gaining a Fellowship of a society or academic body).

Of course, it could be argued that your mentee would have achieved these without your help.

Some more direct indicators of mentoring quality More or less routine reflection, undertaken by yourself to judge the effect of a mentoring

conversation and to inform forethought about the next conversation. Peer observation of a mentoring session, undertaken by a colleague who is also a mentor.

The aim of the observation is to observe the nature and quality of your interaction with a mentee. Given that only three people will be present, this can be a somewhat stilted and uncomfortable event. It may be more useful for the mentee and more effective if the second mentor joins in the mentoring process (but allows the first mentor to take the lead).

The Kirkpatrick hierarchy10 is a structure to help mentors go beyond superficial evaluations of effectiveness (and has wider application). It comprises four levels, set out in the diagram.

o The first level is the mentee’s feeling of satisfaction with the mentoring. o The second is evidence of the acquisition of relevant knowledge and know how on

the part of the mentee. o The third level is evidence of adaptive actions taken by the mentee. o The fourth level is evidence of suitable outcomes or achievements on the part of the

mentee. Evidence from the other sources above often applies to this level. The Kirkpatrick hierarchy identifies various kinds of desirables, each of which may be appropriate at different times. Crucially, it also points to what matters: it is of little use if a

10 Kirkpatrick, D.J. (1967) Evaluation of training. In: R. Craig & J. Bittel (eds), Training and Development Handbook, McGraw-Hill, New York.

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mentee feels a warm glow of satisfaction when talking with a mentor if it does not, in due course, lead to learning, action, and achievement.

The hierarchy may also be used for different kinds of mentoring (e.g. Teaching, Scholarly Activity, and Administration) and for mentoring as a whole. An enlarged version (Appendix E) could be populated in discussion with or entirely by a mentee or by another colleague with specific examples offered at each level.

Moderation in all thingsAcademics are subject to frequent evaluation, not always considerate, necessary or useful, and often stressful. The aim here is not to add to that burden but to offer a tool for moderate, occasional use to help the mentor aim high and the mentee achieve more. It can be particularly useful at the end of a sustained period of mentoring and may provide food for thought about improvement. Evidence of the effectiveness of mentoring will accumulate from a variety of sources of which the Kirkpatrick structure is one.

Afterthought: The mentor-mentee relationship can be perceived as one in which the mentor has

power and the mentee does not. This can influence how the mentee might to the Kirkpatrick hierarchy test, particularly in the earlier levels. How might this be overcome?

Team workMentoring is generally a rewarding activity but few activities are entirely free of tensions and irritations. Some to be aware of are:

Some people’s notions of mentoring may be narrow and simplistic but they will claim to know all about mentoring.

Mentoring takes your time and this is not always recognised. Expectations of what you can achieve may be unrealistic in the short-term; mentoring is a

relatively long-term process which is unlikely to produce large returns in a week or two. You will have privileged information about a mentee but be required to report on a

mentee’s progress and feel unable to give the full picture. What is in the best interest of the mentee may not always be in the best interest of the

department. The boundary between professional matters and personal life is not always clear and the

latter can affect professional performance but you are not, for instance, a marriage counsellor.

You should assume that mentor/mentee relationships will be productive but, if they are not, a clear way forward is needed. This is where a mentoring team can be useful.

1 Level 1 Mentee Satisfaction

2Level 2 Mentee Learning

3 Level 3 Mentee Action

4 Level 4 Mentee Achievement

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Mentors do not have to work in isolation. They can get together to form a mentoring team to, for instance:

Share ideas. Aim for consistent support. Benefit from economy of effort and scale. Plan events. Guide new mentors.

Afterthoughts: What has priority, the mentee’s best interests or those of the department? What would you do if impaired work performance stems from a mentee’s personal

problems? (There are times when you may need advice about what to do and say!)

The menteeIt is important to remember that what you can do has limits and that a mentee may fail to perform in suitable ways in spite of your mentoring. We must accept that people vary and, as adults, they are free to go their own way.

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A Departmental Certificate in Mentoring

If you feel that your mentoring gives you some satisfaction and is making a useful contribution, you may consider applying for a Departmental Certificate in Mentoring. To obtain the Certificate, you must complete one year of mentoring and provide evidence of success according to the Kirkpatrick hierarchy.

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Appendix AThe JoHari Window

1.Public Area

Matters known to the mentor, and

also known to the mentee

2.Blind Area

Matters known to the mentor, but

not known to the mentee

3.Avoided or Hidden Area

Matters not known to the mentor, but

known to the mentee

4.Area of Unknown Activity

Matters not known to the mentor, andnot known to the

mentee

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Appendix BToolkit for reflection: Scholarly Activity/Research

Scholarly Activity Local « National ¬ International ¯

Active membership of a professional body

Applying for a HEA teaching development grant

Applying for research funds

Attending a research seminar

Attending a teaching conference

Being an editor of a journal

Developing teaching skills

Devising a new approach to teaching

Giving a seminar to colleagues

Organising a conference

Preparing a poster for a conference

Presenting a TV programme/series

Promoting subject via the media

Raising the public profile of a subject through writing

Reviewing a research article

Speaking at a teaching conference

Study for a further qualification/for additional skills

Submitting a paper to a research journal

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Updating subject knowledge

Writing an academic book

Writing a textbook

Writing a textbook review

Writing for a professional journal

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Appendix CManagers Checklist for New Employees

Employee InformationName: Start Date:Position: Manager:Prior to Employee’s First Day

Call to officially welcome the new hire to Durham after confirmation of acceptance Inform the employee of the New Staff Network

(https://www.dur.ac.uk/lets.network/new.staff/) Send an informal announcement (via email) to the department announcing the new

employee Prepare the employee’s first day and first week agenda Schedule time to meet with new employee and familiarise them into the department Prepare the new employee’s workspace with appropriate supplies Set up new employee’s computer, printer and phone Assign peer “mentor” if not already done so Consider arranging a welcome lunch on their first day with colleagues

Employee’s First Day Welcome new employee Greet the new employee at the designated time and location -discuss day 1 agenda Introduce new employee to mentor

Introduction to Department Introduction to the department

including: Communication Channels

Department strategic plan Relation to other

departments/Faculties Organisation of department –

Organisation chart, if available Department & University

Communication ChannelsUniversity and Department Policies

Review key policies.Reporting absenceProbationHolidayPerformance ReviewsStaff BenefitsE-mail and Internet useSecurityCar ParkingConfidentialityStaff induction event

Introduction to the Post Review General

InformationOffice/deskWork hoursKeys (if applicable)Building access/securityID badgesConference room booking

Staff listImportant phone numbersMail (incoming/outgoing)ExpensesPurchase requests

Introduction & Tours

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Introduce new employee to department staff and key individuals during tour Tour

FacilityIncluding

Toilets Mail Room Copy

Machine

Parking Printers Office Supplies

Water Coolers Kitchen Emergency

ExitsPost Information

Review Job Description, responsibilities, and performance expectations/goals Review initial assignments and development plans. Including training opportunities Discuss Probationary assessment stages (If applicable) Facilitate enrolment in required training courses

Computers & TelephoneHardware and software reviews, including: Email

Outlook How to set up Voicemail How to use the telephone system

Employee’s First Week

Have new employees meet for 30minutes, one to one, with members of department or key individuals to discuss:

Job dutiesHow job roles interactHow they may work together in the future

Schedule in bi-weekly meetings with new employee

Schedule 30 day meeting with new employees

Schedule 90 day meeting with new employees

Employee’s First Month

Meet with the new employee at the end of the first month to:

Review observations, issues, priorities

Continue to clarify role, responsibilities and expectations, as needed

Ensure any Data Protection and any other required training has been completed

Establish a plan for professional development and encourage training opportunities

Answer any questions and concerns

Arrange probationary meetings in accordance with grade and type of post

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Appendix D

Probationary Agreement targets

Many new academics will have a period of probation, usually lasting 36 months. An early task will be to help the mentee construct a probationary agreement. This has two parts:

Interim (extending over the first 15 months), and Final (16 to 30 months).

Targets have to be agreed, typically amounting to about two or three per term (up to the 30 month point). Each part is subdivided into:

Research or Scholarly Activity11 Education (Teaching), and Good Citizenship and Conduct (e.g. Administration and Contributions to the general work of

the department and University in general). Targets are needed in each subdivision unless the new colleague is on a contract which excludes an area of activity. (Note that Teaching Fellows offer Scholarly Activity targets in lieu of Research targets but please state clearly at the outset that the colleague is a Teaching Fellow.)

Targets are meant to be constructed in consultation with the relevant line managers. The research targets have, in recent years, received a lot of attention. They should include the intention to aim for the acceptance of articles in bone fide academic journals by the end of probation and the involvement in a bid for research funds (at least as a co-investigator). It is also important that the intention to complete the PGCap (or its HEA equivalent) is stated as an Education target if this or an accepted equivalent has not already been completed.

Targets should be stated as precise objectives (e.g. R1: I will write a paper with the working title, ‘XXXXXX’ of about 5000 words in length and submit it to, ‘XXXX Journal’. Back-up journals will be, ‘XXXX and XXXX’. Evidence of target achievement: Acceptance for publication by ‘date’. Similarly, an Education target might be of the kind, ‘E1: I will prepare and deliver a successful course on ‘XXXX’ to a cohort of ‘n’ students. Evidence: Course preparation by ‘date’. Students’ evaluations are expected to be 3.5 on average or higher. An administration target might, for example, be: GCC1: I will complete a training course on Admissions Procedures. Evidence: Course attendance and completion by ‘date’.) Further examples are appended below.

Targets and the evidence should, of course, be achievable and reasonable. It may help if certain key people (e.g. the Director for Research) are given sight of the targets for comment. On completion (within a month of joining the SoE), the draft should be submitted to the Head of Department for his/her consideration. When the Head of Department is satisfied with the agreement, s/he will submit it to HR and the Faculty PVC. (NB The mentor and mentee should keep electronic and paper

11 Scholarly activity describes that broad range of activities which can give a deep understanding, skill or authority to an academic’s professional life. Although, latterly, this is commonly seen as research related, the wider view described by, for example, Nichols (2005) includes both the personal development of that understanding, skill or authority as well as the construction and testing of new knowledge. See, for instance, Nichols, G. (2005) The Challenge to Scholarship: Rethinking learning, Teaching and Research (RoutledgeFalmer, 2005). The broad range includes, for example: Developing new materials to support learning in a field; Finding a business or company (or body within the university) who will fund a new approach to learning; Writing an article for a professional journal; Being an active member of a research interest group; Doing a Higher Degree; Using research to inform teaching (content and practice); Doing research; Writing a research report for publication in an academic journal; Giving a research seminar. (This list is not exhaustive.)

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copies of the Agreement for reference. The HoD may also file copies with appropriate administrators.

All academics are expected to complete an Annual Staff Review (ASR). If the mentee joins the staff at the beginning of the academic year, s/he will be included in that expectation. The mentee does not have to use the mentor as the reviewer of the ASR and it may be preferable to keep the role of mentor and ASR reviewer separate. The mentor should, however, explain the purpose of the ASR and advise the mentee to use targets in the Probationary Agreement in the ASR so that targets do not become too numerous. If the mentor is not the ASR reviewer, the mentee may need guidance on who to choose as the reviewer.

Time scale for form submission Probationary Agreement within one month of starting, brief progress report after 6 months, Interim Report is due at 15 months. Note that the Final Report is due at 30 months (although the period of probation usually extends to 36 months).Constructing targets for probationary agreements – further examples also illustrating their presentation.

1. The Probation Agreement form is on the HR website. Note that there are two versions, one for academics where research is an obligation (e.g. lecturers) and one for academics where it is not an obligation (e.g. teaching fellows). Also be aware that these forms change from time to time without notice.

2. Currently, the form must be approved by the PVC within three months of appointment. This means it must be approved by the Head of Department (HoD) at least a month before that.

3. Approval by the HoD does not mean it will meet with the approval of the PVC who may require changes.

4. The agreement has two parts: An Interim Probationary Report (extending to 18 months from the start of the contract) and a Final Probationary Report (for the period 18 to 30 months from the start of the contract). Note that the two periods are not of equal length.

5. Both parts must be completed. 6. Targets should be specific, precise and objective. They should also be realistic. Avoid

speculative and compound targets. 7. What will count as evidence should also be specified. Evidence should be kept in case it is

needed.8. Some indication of what targets might relate to is provided on the form but duties vary so

not all may apply and you may have role specific targets which are not mentioned.

Mentees must know that the probationary agreement is not a trivial document: failure to meet the targets is a serious cause for concern and has consequences, potentially serious. Some examples follow to illustrate the presentation.

EducationTarget Success criteriaE1 I will complete Part 1 of the PGCap. Passing the moduleE2 a. To prepare for and teach the xxxx module Student evaluation average score of >=3.5 (typically n students, over y weeks).E3 To prepare for and lead seminars on xxxxx A judgment that the seminars were at least (typically n students over y weeks) satisfactory made by my teaching mentor

during a peer observation of a mid-point session. (Written report to be available.)

E4 To undertake training on the use of DUO to Completion of the course by 31 Dec 201x. support student learning.

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E5 To supervise two MA students under the Judged to be satisfactory by N. (Written guidance of N evaluation to be available).

Good Citizenship and Conduct(This was called Administration but now includes wider contributions across the University, such as serving on committees. A new academic may not have the opportunity to make University-wide contributions during the early part of probation so the examples here are for intra-departmental matters.)

Target Success criteria

GCC1 As the person i/c the (title of course): Course programme constructed by to construction a programme and 2 Oct 201x. Management judged coordinate its delivery by n colleagues. as successful by (name). (Written

confirmation to be available.)GCC2 To become familiar with the admissions Reading of the departments’ relevant procedure relating to cccc students. documentation and completion of the

University’s admissions training course by (date).

GCC3 To become an effective member of the Judged to be so by the section director. interviewing team dealing with the (Written confirmation to be available.) admission of bbbb students.GCC4 To take responsibility for liaising with To recruit at least one extra school partnership schools for my area of the by 31 Jul 201x. curriculum.

Research/ScholarshipWhere this is a contractual obligation, some examples of targets follow. These should be constructed in consultation with the Director for Research.

Target Success criteria

R112 To prepare and submit a paper on (title) of Acceptance, preferably in one of the about x words in length to (journal title). Journals listed. (If unsuccessful, to adjust and submit to (journal x or journal y).R2 To prepare and submit a bid to the Submission of the bid by 20th Oct 201x. (funding body) for funding (about £mmmm) to support my study of (description).R3 To give a seminar on my findings on (state) Before the end of this academic year. to department colleagues.R4 To apply to the Research Committee for funds to Application made by 16 Jan 201x. attend the vvvv conference to give a presentation on kkkk.

OR

S1 Scholarship (teaching fellows only). To write a Chapter already agreed. To be completed by chapter entitled cccc for a book on dddd 31 Mar 201x (approx n words).12 It is likely that more than one paper will be listed. In general, list them as separate targets.

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S2 Scholarship (teaching fellows only). To review Completed by 30 Jun 201x. the research literature on vvvv to inform the planning of a course on hhhh (see also Final Prob. Report).S3 Scholarship (teaching fellows only). To explore Completed by 1 September 201x. Draft a topic to do with zzzz which may form the basis proposal constructed. of study for Higher Degree.

Finally Targets should be worthwhile, make a useful contribution to the Department and to the

mentee’s skills, knowledge and success and be achievable. Those new to academic life should take care to keep a balance between the Interim and

Final targets. The first year can be demanding in any new job. Use the Probationary Agreement to construct targets for your Annual Staff Review. Try not

to add additional targets.

A First Month Checklist for New Colleagues

During the first month:

Have you been through the Manager’s Checklist again to check that nothing needs elaboration? Have you identified interests, strengths, areas for development? Have you agreed or been given goals/targets extending over a timeline of 30 months? Have the targets been ordered and shared between Interim and Final Reports (15 & 30 mths)? Have the goals been cast these in the form of specific targets? Do you judge these targets to be reasonable, worthwhile, and achievable? Does the number of targets reflect the contract (i.e. pro-rata for part-time contracts)? After exploration of the PGCap and HEA membership routes, has one been selected? Has what will count as objective evidence of the achievement of each target been identified? Has the Probationary Agreement been set out in a Target, Evidence, two-column format? Has there been a final review to check that Agreement is realistic? (Last chance for changes.) Have an electronic and a hard copy been filed for future reference and use in the first ASR?

By the end of the first month, the Agreement is submitted to the Head of Department for his/her consideration. (Note that the Head of Department may want to discuss it further and may ask for changes.)

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Appendix EThere follows a Kirkpatrick template for the mentee to evaluate the effectiveness of mentoring in some aspect of their work or overall. The mentee should recall specific examples which illustrate each Level and write them in the boxes. A sharing of the completed form with the mentor could lead to adjustment and refocusing of the support process, if needed.

1Satisfaction

2Learning

3Action

4Achievement

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Index

Areas of control, 20

Blue Skies Questioning, 15Bridging gaps, 12

Certificate, 28Changing mentors, 5Checklist for new colleagues, 37Choice of mentor, 5Comfort zones, 15Conflicting pressures, 20Control, 20

Developmental mentoring, 6, 7Disagreement, 24Early career mentoring, 10, 16Experienced colleague mentoring, 11, 17

Facilitative mentoring, 6, 7

Indicators of progress, 18, 19Induction mentoring, 6, 7

JoHari Window, 13, 29

Kirkpatrick hierarchy, 25, 26, 38

Manager’s checklist, 32Mentoring quality, 25

Notions of mentoring, 6

Policy, 2Principles of mentoring, 9

Qualities of mentors, 7

Resilience, 22Reviews, 18Role, 4, 5

Self-advancement tools, 14, 31Self-evaluation, 19

Target setting, 16, 34Team work, 26, 27

Well-being, 22 D.P. Newton © 2015