Thesis Mentoring Programme

An introduction to thesis mentoring

Dr Esther Allen

Researcher Development Manager

esther.allen@Sheffield.ac.uk

@ThinkAheadSheff

@DrEstherAllen

Todays Session

2) Changes to this cycle and

commonly raised issues from

previous rounds

2) Fundamentals of Thesis

Mentoring

1) Introductions

3) Establishing an effective

relationship

Who am I?

Previously: Chemistry researcher – MChem, PhD. PDRA

Submitted PhD in 2015 followed by PDRA post - UoS

Now: Researcher Development Manager, Research Services UoS,

Mentoring and coaching (Thesis Mentoring, Think Ahead Mentoring),

Researcher-led networks

++ About you++

Exchange names, Dept, experiences….

Discussion about your experiences of Thesis mentoring so far.

(Please respect the confidentiality of your mentee/mentor relationships).

The principles

of Thesis

mentoring

Mentoring is not counselling

Mentoring/coaching draws on many counselling & therapeutic

models, but it is not counselling or therapy.

Although it can be difficult to know when the line has been crossed between mentoring and

counselling remember that you are not a trained counsellor and the most responsible thing you can do

as a good mentor is recognise and articulate your limitations.

Mentoring is complementary to supervision

The Thesis Mentoring Programme was not designed to replace

or diminish/remove responsibilities from supervisors.

Difficult supervision relationships are a common issue raised during the Thesis

Mentoring programme but do not let yourself be used as a substitute supervisor!

Steer VERY clear of advising on content, analysis or proof reading!

Coaching/mentoring is not about providing

solutions!

Scenario:

Your mentee comes to you to ask advice about whether they

should move house to avoid the long commute that they

currently have.

You have previously talked about how the commute is

stressful for them and impacting on their work. The new

option would mean they could walk to work.

Discussion:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of offering

directive advice in this scenario?

Reasons to give non-solution focussed guidance

o We don’t know as much about the person as they do

o Listening to your suggestion halts their thinking process

o Dependency-like relationship

o Power dynamic where you always know more than them

o They can feel relieved that you’ve made the decision

o What if the advice doesn’t work?

o We are more likely to actually follow through and carry out ideas that are our own

o There isn’t always a right answer!!

Reasons to give directive guidance

o It’s quicker

o It makes you feel helpful and like you had something tangible to offer your team

o We always get to remain in control of the conversation

o It makes the team member feel grateful and value your time and wisdom – they expect advice?

o Your suggestion might be insightful

o Your suggestion might stop them from making a mistake, wasting time or getting into a difficult

situation

More of what you don’t do….

Proof reading

English Language Skills

Discuss data /

methods

Mediate issues or disputes

Advise or help

with admin

Cross the line into counselling

If you have consistent issues

about being asked to do any

of these then please do get

in touch.

You don’t need to do any

of this. Because you do

all of this…..

Some amazing things you do do!

o Provide 6-8 one-on-one sessions purely focussed on your mentee

o Volunteer your time to give your mentee a protected space and time to discuss

issues or thoughts

o Help grow self-awareness and confidence in the thesis writing process

o Use your experiences and expertise to help another person

Some things that Thesis Mentors have done in

the past….

● Helped with motivation

● Discussed how to deal with

procrastination

● Acted as an accountability measure

● Helped with supervision problems

● Helped with getting started

● Helped with setting goals

● Been a sound-board for ideas

● And lots more…

No two mentees are the same so no two mentoring relationships will look the

same. Do not try and base yourself of others. It can be hard to quantify the

difference you are making but the scheme gets overwhelmingly good feedback from

mentees who have participated.

Feedback from previous mentees about

their mentors

Handling emotional or challenging situations

Thesis mentoring is led by the mentee. They choose what to talk about, what they want to achieve, what they want to do, what they want to share etc.

o The focus of Thesis Mentoring is on writing practise but mentees may talk about personal issues which have affected their thesiswriting process.

o Remember you are not a counsellor!

o You can ask questions, explore issues, share experiences and empathise if you feel comfortable to do so BUT do not advise or solve problems

o Remember “What not why”

o Be an active listener but remain non-judgemental and neutral.

o Try and keep forward momentum. Emphasise don’t sympathise.

o Protect your own mental health and well-being.

o Set boundaries

Empathy vs sympathy – an overview!

Not every mentee will be having a problem or a

difficult time but some will. As mentoring forges these

confidential, personal relationships sometimes

mentees share things that are personal and difficult.

You are not there to be a counsellor or give advice

but empathy can be a very useful tool to help a

mentee move forward.

“That sounds difficult what do you think you can do

at the moment/what are your options etc.?”

“You sound like you are feeling overwhelmed with

workload – can you talk to your supervisor/PGR

director/a friend about this?”

So what are the fundamentals of the Thesis

Mentoring Programme?

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled”Plutarch

o A relationship based on trust, confidentiality and mutual respect

o A structured conversation held in reflection by the mentor but led by the mentee

o There should be agreed boundaries and ground rules determined by both parties

o Goals and aims should be determined by the mentee with support from the mentor

o You will listen, question and support but not judge or dictate

Staying reflective

What does it mean to hold a conversation in

reflection?

As a mentor/coach you guide people through the

reflective cycle. This can be useful when you feel

conversations need more structure or in helping

your mentee develop self-awareness relating to their

writing practises.

Other reflective methods include;

o Gibbs reflective cycle

o Kolbs learning cycle

Setting good goals and aims

SMART objective setting helps mentees set good goals that are clear, measurable

and have an achievable short time frame. This can help keep a mentee moving

forward with their writing.

For example taking the aim of “submit thesis” – I demonstrate 3 different

aims/goals for that purpose but show how helpful they are to achieving the goal.

BAD = I want to finish my thesis.

POOR = I want to write more so I submit on time in September

GOOD = I want to write 2000 words a day for 2 weeks.

Mentees may be tempted to set a goal of “submit thesis!”. Although this is obviously the end

goal this is not a very good goal or aim for a mentoring partnership!

Establishing the

relationship

The First

meeting -

Ground ‘rules’

Things to consider;

o Where will you meet?

o When will you meet?

o Who will arrange meetings?

o How often do you expect to hear from each other?

o What if they haven't done anything since they last saw you?

o How much notice do you need to rearrange a meeting?

o How will you feedback to each other?

Covering these types of questions in the first meeting helps

establish a good relationship

(Remember this is a mentee-led conversation but needs to work for both parties)

The First meeting -

Establishing aims

o Does your mentee have a clear aim or goal

for the mentoring relationship?

o Does it fit within what you can do as a

mentor?

o What is your goal for this session and before

the next?

o What is the lay of the land?

How to be a

great mentor:Feedback

o Put the mentee in the driving seat!

o Establish clear boundaries and aims

o It’s a mentee-led relationship. The mentee

must be open to being mentored

o Hold confidential, non-judgemental, open

conversations

o Ask for feedback!

o Give feedback!

o Communicate, reassess and adapt as needed.

Giving feedback is essential

Feedback encourages growth, reflection, can increase motivation and helps honest

conversations develop

Points from feedback from previous rounds

“I’m not sure if I was very helpful”

It can be difficult to quantify how helpful or useful you have been to a mentee. Their successes or challenges

are not an indication on your abilities as a mentor.

Always ASK. Are they finding it helpful? Do you need to change tracks as a partnership and try something

different? Is how often and where you meet working for you both? Do they want to try setting shorter time-

frame objectives? Etc.

Points from feedback from previous rounds

“I never heard from them”

Please contact me if you haven’t heard from your mentee in the first 2 weeks. Although mentees are asked to

read and confirm they agree to a number of requirements before joining the scheme this doesn’t always work

out.

Points from feedback from previous rounds

“I only saw them once/a few times and never heard back”

This unfortunately just seems to happen.

This can be particularly difficult if you felt like you were establishing a rapport.

It is always worth contacting them asking for feedback on the previous meetings.

Due to the nature of Thesis Mentoring you are often mentoring someone who is in a very busy period of their

lives and may be feeling overwhelmed.

Often we don't receive feedback on why mentees decide to stop participating with the programme. However it

does not appear to be linked to the mentor and can happen to anyone. Again ask for feedback and contact

myself.

Points from feedback from previous rounds

“They wanted English language help/proof reading/advice on data collection”

Mentees receive the same guidelines as to what a mentor is not for as yourselves. In your first meeting you will

have/should have agreed on boundaries to cover points such as this. It is also a requirement of joining the

scheme that mentees acknowledge limitations. Guiding to resources is ok, being a proof-reader is not.

If it is a reoccuring problem and you feel like you cannot move forward as a relationship please get in touch.

Variations this

round

A slightly adapted mentoring period

This round will be running March - July.

o The scheme duration remains 16 weeks (last meetings happening end of June)

o But I appreciate that fitting 8 sessions in as previously may be too difficult.

o Therefore I am suggesting that each mentoring partnership meets a minimum of 6 times within that period.

o You will be sent a feedback form 16 weeks after accepting your match - please do fill it in!

The next round will be returning to the usual dates!

An altered mentoring period

24th June

Relationships coming to a

close or continuing outside of

the programme

March – June

Mentoring period!

Coffee morning - May 12th!

10am Alfred Denny

conference room.

2nd March

Matching begins!

Please accept your match

promptly!

16 weeks from acceptance!

Feedback Forms sent.

To be filled in within 2 weeks

26/27th February

Thesis Mentees and Mentors

attend training.

Mentee’s Invited to make

profiles. Please update yours.

Questions?

Comments?

Thank you and good luck!

Useful extra resources

o Academic writing retreats are a great space to get some focussed writing done-

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/rs/ecr/events/retreat

o Interesting paper with some good advice about the benefits of getting feedback on drafts rather than

completed work - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03098260902734943

o Work discussing self-sabotaging behaviours identified as being present in some PhD. Students.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360701658781

o Some useful, more practical advice and guidance (how to submit, formatting etc.) can be found here -

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/rs/code