building highly effective professional relationships march 4, 2015 jennifer r. cohen, ph.d....
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Building Highly Effective Professional Relationships
March 4, 2015
Jennifer R. Cohen, Ph.D.
[email protected]@jreneecohen
Tools For Building Highly Effective Professional Relationships
Focus on reciprocal relationships
Communicate to clarify expectations & progress
Be a productive village member Create your Board of Directors Develop your mentor philosophy
Recognize and respond to Pseudo-Mentors
Mission
Empower students to build effective mentoring relationships, lead discussion that creates a supportive learning environment, & help build a sense of community and collaboration.
Goals: Start a conversation about mentoring & provide Tangible takeaways on how to participate in an effective
mentoring relationship Tools for responding to Pseudo-Mentors
Outline
Define mentorship for ourselves
Discuss mutual benefits
Discuss components for effective mentoring relationships
Discuss strategies for identifying and responding to Pseudo-Mentors
Talk openly about questions/concerns
How do you define mentorship?
Concept of mentoring 1st introduced in Greek Mythology Ulysses entrusts his son under the care and direction of
an old friend named Mentor Epic journey + wisdom = success
Audience Poll: A mentor is _____ List some characteristics
You are responsible for identifying mentors who:
Promote mentee-driven progress
Provide intuitive feedback
Develop your capabilities
Help you to problem solve and build self-reliance
Promote you within their own networks
Have track records for successful mentor-mentee relationships
Mentors demystify the How and Why
Provide advice, share knowledge and experiences How do I prepare for this class/ write a grant proposal? How can I make myself more marketable? How did you transition from student to young
professional?
Provide personal support navigating environments /cultures, use critical reflection to give feedback and develop strategies Why wasn’t my grant proposal successful? Why is the system this way?
Mentoring relationships are dynamic
Formal Often arranged by an
organization Pre-articulated
expectations
Informal Often arranged by
individuals to focus on specific needs
Expectations articulated by the individuals
Long term Often include regular
meetings, updates
Short term Project-specific mentors Transition mentors
Reciprocity: Mentor Benefits
Increased motivation and sense of achievement
Refined interpersonal skills
Revitalized interest in work
Enhanced status
Extended influence
Satisfaction of seeing some one else grow
Opportunity to take time out/reflect
Improved understanding of generational differences
Fulfillment of own developmental needs
Reciprocity: Mentee Benefits
Positive role model
A source of guidance and perspective
A safe space to try out ideas
An opportunity for personal reflective space
A source of stretch and challenge
Access to networks and other learning sources
Increased responsibility for own training
Increased motivation and achievement
Personal growth and development
Enhanced existing skills & opportunities to learn new skills
Components for creating effective mentoring relationships
Preparation
Setting Expectations
Finding Common Ground
Exploration
Reflection
Prepare yourself
Know your personal / professional values What do you hope to gain? Strengths? Needs? Objectives?
Prepare questions you want to ask them Mentor philosophy Management style Cultural environment What has helped them the most?
Set Expectations
Set and communicate expectations early Time commitment Meeting frequency Preferred learning/teaching styles
Discuss limitations to the relationship
Write a simple agreement
Discuss built-in evaluation How will you know when the relationship is not working?
Find Common Ground
Look for ways to relate Discuss personal and professional interests
Ask why mentoring appeals to them
Discuss previous mentoring relationships and how they were helpful
Interact in various environments
Explore
Consider topic-specific meetings
Brainstorm on priorities
Create realistic timelines
Reflect
Is the mentorship working?
Take time to reflect after a meeting or interaction
What did you learn? What was / was not helpful? What would you do differently next time?
Long-term reflection on growth
The Pseudo-Mentor
Audience Poll: A mentor is NOT _____
It is important that you create a diverse Board of Directors Collect mentors, appreciate cross-racial/gender mentorship Do not rely on one person, too much is at risk
Realize when you are not being mentored and fix it immediately
You are accountable for what is AND is not on your resume
Strategies for identifying and avoiding the Pseudo-Mentor
WARNING!
Pseudo-Mentors Give minimal investment, use toxic communication,
known for having difficult personalities, have weak track records with student success
Solicit agreement, intimidate, humiliate, appear distracted from your project, can be forceful with choices, create competition amongst peers
Undermine your efforts, lack transparency, make you feel guilty, do not provide professional development opportunities, discourage extracurricular interests, allow conflicts to go unresolved
…
Strategies for identifying and avoiding the Pseudo-Mentor
Small group discussion Share examples of strained mentoring relationships How did you handle / resolve it?
One speaker/group will report back to the larger group
Index Card feedback: What was the most useful part of the workshop? What do you wish faculty realized about mentorship?
Tools For Building Highly Effective Professional Relationships
Focus on reciprocal relationships
Communicate to clarify expectations & progress
Be a productive village member Create your Board of Directors Develop your mentor philosophy
Recognize and respond to Pseudo-Mentors
