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Maximizing our Impact as Mentors: Contemporary Approaches 6/27/07 Janet Bickel Career Development and Executive Coach Faculty Career & Diversity Consultant. Support/Challenge/Vision. VISION. high. C H A L L E N G E. Growth. Anxiety. Stasis. Confirmation. SUPPORT. high. low.
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Maximizing our Impact as Mentors: Contemporary Approaches 6/27/07Janet Bickel Career Development and Executive Coach Faculty Career & Diversity Consultant
Support/Challenge/Vision VISION high CHA L L E N G E Growth Anxiety Stasis Confirmation SUPPORT high low Source: Bower, D., et al., Support-Challenge-Vision: A Model forFaculty Mentoring, Medical Teaching, 20:595-7, 1998.
Spectrum of Advising/Coaching Methods NON-DIRECTIVE PUSH: Solving someone’s problem for them Listening Reflecting Paraphrasing Summarizing Asking Questions that Raise Awareness Making Suggestions Giving Feedback Offering Guidance Giving Advice Instructing PULL: Helping someone to solve their problems DIRECTIVE
Mentoring • bringing ourselves fully into the moment. • giving full attention to other person • letting the other know that he or she is heard and respected • listening with curiosity ONE MOUTH TWO EARS
Skillful Inquiry involves….. • a genuine wish to understand someone else’s thinking. • inviting elaboration and clarification, asking non-leading questions that invite the other person to reflect and piece together the elements of their own thinking, eg “Tell me more about that,” “How did you come to hold this value?” • temporarily putting aside our own ideas, letting the other person talk without interruption • silencing the inner voice in us that is formulating a response
9 Habits of Highly Effective Mentors • Identify “Coachable Moments” and select best coaching method • Create enough safety for learning • Together set goals for the relationship • Listen actively, avoiding assumptions • Ask reflective Questions, eg “how do you think you did?” • Give specific, constructive, timely feedback • Support transition to independence • Respect confidentiality • Continuously develop mentoring skills
relationships occur most naturally between “like” individuals • different cultural norms can be confusing • face higher hurdles to prove selves to potential mentors • the accents of some ethnic minorities interfere with communication Disadvantages Minorities Sometimes Experience in Obtaining Mentoring
Women’s Disadvantages in Obtaining Mentoring • less likely to view mentor as a role model • allowed a narrower band of “assertive behaviors” • leadership potential underestimated • work an invisible “2nd shift” at home • miss out on hallway conversations and “golf” • paucity of senior woman role models • may be “dropped” if mentor threatened by her increasing expertise
Nine Circles of Mentee Hell underestimate of potential failure to respect protégé’s goals failure to promote independence inappropriate praise or criticism taking credit for protégé’s work conflicts avoided expecting protégé To defer physical intimacy (or appearance of) ethical violations
4 Generations in workplace • Veterans 1922-1943 • 55 million • Baby Boomers 1944-1960 • 78 million • Gen X 1961-1981 • 47 million • Millenials/Gen Y 1982-2000 • 75 million
Baby Boomers • Unprecedented economic expansion in childhood • THE Generation [define perfection as “like us”] • Traditional family/upbringing • Driven, go the extra mile • Uncomfortable with conflict • Overly sensitive to feedback • Define professionalism in terms of hours and “complete dedication to the job”
Boomers • Work hard out of loyalty • Expect long-term job • Pay dues • Self-sacrifice is virtue • Respect authority • Generation X • Find most efficient way • Expect many job searches • Entitled to flexibility • Not gonna be “24/7” • “You’re not the boss of me” Source: J. Bickel and A. Brown. “Generation X: Implications for Faculty Recruitment and Development in Academic Health Centers.” Acad Med. 2005; 80:205-10.
Generation X • Weak USA/economic downturns • Absent parents • Reject rules • Multitask • Mistrust organizations • Pragmatic • Cynical • Millenials • 9/11 • Protective parents/Pressured • Rewrite rules • Multitask faster • Organizations relevant? • Seek personalized career/inventive • Optimistic
Millennials/Gen Y [why?] • Digital natives, expect innovations • More service-oriented and respectful • Prefer structured, highly interactive, supportive educational methods • Expect frequent candid feedback MESSAGES • Challenge me • Respect me • Be flexible • Team up with me
Senior Faculty say: • “I don’t think kids these days want to work as hard.” • “They act like they’re entitled to privileges I had to earn.” • “They just don’t make ‘em like they used to.” • “There is a tremendous gap between what the younger generation wants and what the older generation expects.” • “Junior faculty seem to want a lot of handholding.”
Gen X and Y say: • “I just don’t buy the values of many senior faculty ‘success stories’.” • “When I’ve made different choices than my mentors would, they treat me as if I were failing them.” • “I thought my chair was looking out for me. Turned out I was just gullible.” • “My mentor wants me to remain ‘monogamous’—but I’m ready to date!” • “Every time someone said they would mentor me, they simply gave me more work. But no one’s helping me seeing how my work fits into the larger picture.” • “How do I get help in creating a plan for my future, including milestones and choice-points?”
Ladder of Inference • I take Actions • I adopt Beliefs • I draw Conclusions • I make Assumptions • I add Meanings • (Cultural and Personal) • I select “Data” from what I observe • (The reflexive loop: Our beliefs affect what data we select)
Mentoring Across Differences • Use an exploratory survey • Discuss important influences and acknowledge differences, eg “this approach worked for me but it may not for you” • Break the ice: Recognize effects of differences in power, gender • Set goals for the relationship • Ask for feedback
Exploratory Survey for Advisees • Looking at last year: What are you proudest of? And what would have done differently? • What do you want to accomplish in the next 1-2 yrs? 5-10 yrs? What measures of success will you use? • What relationships outside our discipline and institution do you want to build? • What if anything is holding you back from reaching your potential? • What areas of personal and professional growth do you most want to work on now?
Mentoring Gen X and Y Examples of productive questions: • What qualities does excellent clinical judgment encompass? • How will you develop the necessary expertise? • What are your goals and timelines? • What is your plan for assuring that ..? • How will you evaluate your progress? • Let’s agree about the desired outcome, then discuss methods.
Contemporary Mentoring is: *a continuum: not “all or nothing” *differs by context and role—task-centered guidance and support. *collective approach in service of life-long co-learning *a scaffold for sharing expertise that could otherwise only be attained from experience See: Pololi, L.H., Knight S. Mentoring faculty in academic medicine. JGIM. 2005; 20:866-70
Activities To Support Mentoring • Offer resources and tools, eg programs, guides • Work with new faculty in selecting one (or a small “team”) • Address in faculty orientation • Create Peer and Group mentoring opportunities • Establish Mentoring Awards • Add mentoring to promotion criteria; return dossiers when inadequate • Evaluate mentoring skills • Acting as if Mentoring Were a Core Mission, eg CREAM
Three-headed Approach to Mentoring at Johns Hopkins • Team of 1 faculty and 2 GIM fellows mentored 1 intern and 1 resident on research projects over 18 months • Fellows gained experience in mentoring, picking up tips from the seasoned faculty member • All 3 able to observe “mentoring-in-action” • Multiple mentor approach modeled teamwork and communication skills [Source: The three-headed mentor: rethinking the classical construct by Rachel Levine, et al, Med. Educ. 2003; 37:473-89]
Mentoring Agreements • Accountability encourages: • deliberate planning • structure and follow-through • honest assessment of actions and attitudes • evaluation
Mentoring is critical… • To attract, retain and engage high performers • To maximize “return on investment” in faculty • To nurture the academic aspirations of residents and junior faculty • To swiftly acculturate new members • To foster a collaborative environment • To increase stability and productivity • To promote diversity • To develop leadership talent • Being a mentor is the most effective way of extending one’s professional contributions • Everyone can become a better mentor.
If Mentoring were a Core Mission, what would we do differently?