2. Outline
Define mentoring
Benefits of mentoring
Mentoring roles
Mentorship process
What makes or breaks mentor-mentee relationships?
Building your credibility
Mentoring programs
Personal experiences
3. What is mentorship?
Mentoring is a power-free relationship based on mutual
respect, trust and confidentiality; and involves reciprocal roles
Its a mutual learning process that fosters critical thinking for both
parties as they challenge and engage each other
It foster personal, professional, career growth through the mentor
enabling rather than directly teaching
Mentors do not
Find mentees a job
Get mentee out of a difficult situation
Solve problems for the mentee
Teach specific skills to do the job
Serve as mentees therapist, counselor or social worker
AREF
4. Benefits of mentorship
Develop new relationships and share experiences
Give back to the industry and pay forward the support and
guidance you have received during your own career
Help shape the future leaders in the field and cultivate a
diverse and high quality pool of candidates in the workforce
Get exposure to fresh and different perspectives; learn from
those at different levels of their careers
Society for Scholarly Publishing
5. Benefits of mentoring to the field
Develops and fast tracks
identified high potential
talent
Expands and uses the internal
knowledge base of the
organization
Serves as a means of
succession planning in the
organization
Cost savings enhances the
bottom line:
– Saves the organization dollars by using
internal (rather than external) mentors
– Improves retention rate and lowers turnover
costs
– Attracts talent to an organization with an
internal mentoring program
– Enhances talent productivity
Positions the organization as
innovative and forward-
thinking
“Rounds out” the cultural
diversity of the organization,
as talent of all types and
backgrounds partner together
Instills pride in the
organization and its talent
Symbolizes an investment the
organization is making in its
talent
Ken State university https://www.kent.edu/yourtrainingpartner/value-establishing-mentoring-program-
within-your-organization
6. Benefits of being a Mentor
Reinforce your own study
skills and knowledge of your
subject(s)
Gain recognition for your
skills and experience
Engage in a volunteering
opportunity, valued by
employers
Enhance your CV
Develop leadership and
management qualities
Improve communication
and personal skills
Increase your confidence
and motivation
Increase your circle of
friends
Benefit from a sense of
fulfillment and personal
growth
Aston University http://www.aston.ac.uk/current-students/get-involved/mentoring-at-aston-university/peer-mentoring/benefits-of-
mentoring/
7. Benefits of being a Mentee
Gain practical advice,
encouragement and support
Identify goals and establish a
sense of direction
Learn from the experiences of
others
Gain valuable insight into the
next stage of your university
career
Become more empowered to
make decisions
Develop your communication,
study and personal skills
Develop strategies for dealing
with both personal and
academic issues
Increase your social and
academic confidence
Make new friends across year
groups
Aston University http://www.aston.ac.uk/current-students/get-involved/mentoring-at-
aston-university/peer-mentoring/benefits-of-mentoring/
8. Highly structured, short
term.
The relationship is formally
established for a short
period of time, often to meet
specific objectives.
Highly structured, long term.
Often used for succession
planning, developing
someone over time to take
over a particular position or
master a particular skill.
Informal, short term.
This type of mentoring
ranges from spontaneous
advice as needed. There
may be no ongoing
relationship.
Informal, long term.
Often referred to as
“friendship mentoring” it
consists of being available as
needed to discuss problems,
to listen or share special
knowledge.
Length of Intervention
Formalityof
Relationship
Short-Term
Spontaneous
Long-term
Even for Life
Highly
Structured
Virtually No
Structure
Different types of mentoring
Adapted from: Shea, Gordon (2002)
11. Initiating the mentoring relationship
A mentee needs to acknowledge a need to acquire knowledge
and skills, and a mentor needs to be willing to ‘cascade down’
knowledge gained from their years of experience
Mentees should identify a specific ‘area of need’ and several
potential mentors who possess the right ‘skills mix’. This will guide
the mentor’s response and allow mentees to benefit from diverse
view-points and experiences
Mentors should indicate their availability (or unavailability) as
soon as possible to allow the mentee to seek out another mentor
in good time.
AuthorAid
12. Approaching your potential mentor
(written or verbal communication)
Introduce your self
How did you get to know about him or her e.g. you met at a
conference etc.
How would you like him or her to help you; what role will he
or she play in the personal boardroom
Follow through
ASLP
13. During the relationship
Both parties should be open to learning from each other as they
both come to the relationship with diverse experiences and views.
Mentors should have an ability to conceptualize the information the
mentee may have received from other mentors; after all it is
possible different mentors will have different points of view
It is possible that there will be ‘breakdowns’ in the mentoring
relationship. An environment of open communication (which is
sometimes difficult over electronic media) and ensuring that all
discussions are made in good faith will prevent or reduce such
incidences
Both parties should agree on a realistic time frame in which to
operate. In the event that a mentee does not meet some
expectations but indicates a willingness to repair the relationship, a
mentor should accord him or her another chance.
AuthorAid
14. How to get the most from your mentoring
relationship
Be prepared to be in charge of management of the relationship
Be prepared for the mentoring sessions
Use frequent questions to get the mentor to explain in more detail
for better understanding; Don’t be afraid to ask for and use the
mentor’s experience and wisdom
Be willing to let go of old practices
Accept criticism gracefully, take it seriously and learn from it
Reflect between meetings on what you have learned in your
discussion with your mentor; take time out to review, reflect and gain
insight to apply in future
Keep your mentor updated with your progress
Let your mentor know that they are doing a good job – but also be
honest with them if the relationship is not working for you
15. What makes mentorship fail?
Poor communication – generally
Differing expectations of the mentoring relationship
No rapport – pairs don’t feel comfortable with each other
Mentee feels mentor is not helping them / too hard on them
Little commitment – postponing / cancelling meetings
Mentee expects too much from mentor – vice versa
Lack of interest – going through the motions
No shared sense of purpose or direction
Mentor doing all the talking and not listening
Breach of confidentiality
17. Ending the relationship
Both parties should indicate their wishes to end the
mentoring relationship; one of the reasons mentoring
relationships break down is that either or both parties
suddenly ‘go silent’ after initially showing an interest in
working with together.
AuthorAid
18. After the relationship
Mentees should inform mentors of the outcome of ‘their work’ e.g.
publication of an article, completion of a doctoral or masters’
thesis etc. and acknowledge AuthorAID mentors in these ‘works’.
Mentors should also be allowed to document the mentoring
relationship as an activity on their resumes.
Going forward, both parties may either go their separate ways or
seek out potential future collaborations.
Mentees can also consider whether they have acquired enough
experience in the process to go on and become mentors
themselves; many AuthorAID mentees started out as mentees and
now pass on their knowledge and experience to others.
AuthorAid
19. Credibility
Personal credibility consists of honesty, integrity, trust, and
other personal characteristics that define you as a person
Professional credibility includes your education, experience,
performance, and demonstrated professional development
Your “say:do” ratio should be 1: 1
Reliable people are given more opportunities, granted more
leeway, and are more comfortable developing and
maintaining personal relationships
Renew leadership http://renewleadership.com/credibility/
Blog Post on …https://napaanesthesia.com/blog-how-do-you-rate-on-your-professional-credibility/
20. Developing mentor credibility
• Establishing credibility is the most important step a
mentor can take in the mentoring process. Without
credibility with the client, little can be accomplished
• Clear communication & trust
• Learning or contractual agreements
• Establishing client needs
• Professionalism based on expertise
• Offer options, advice rather than solutions
• Help client identify solutions and this helps
professional development (some form of altruism)
• Promoting junior colleagues builds your credentials
Mentor partnerhttp://mentorpartner.blogspot.co.ke/2010/08/developinig-mentor-
credibility-may-2008.html
21. Examples of Mentorship Programs
AuthorAid
Opportunity desk
Society for Scholarly
Publishin
Coursera
PACE
MCDC
Clinical mentorship
programs
HIV Tree Leadership
Kenya Pediatric
Association
PACE
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27. Personal experiences in mentoring
Akaninyene Arnold
Sunday
Exercise Physiologist
University of Calabar
AuthorAid Mentee 2016
Preeti Shakya
Physician
Nepal
Opportunity Desk
Mentee2018
32. • Information roles
• Customer voice – someone who helps you understand markets, customers and business
opportunities
Expert – someone who gives advice based on their sector or challenge-specific expertise
Inspirer – someone who inspires new ideas and brings fresh thinking
Navigator – someone who can tell you who you need to know and who does what
• Power roles
• Unlocker – someone who provides access to resources (e.g. money, data, people’s time)
Sponsor – someone who speaks out to endorse you and your ideas to senior or important people
Influencer – someone who works behind the scenes to win support and helps you get things done
Connector – someone who makes introductions and connects you with people who can help you
• Development roles
• Improver – someone who gives candid, constructive feedback on your performance and
development
Challenger – someone who challenges your decisions and thinking and helps you see your errors
and blind spots
Nerve-giver – someone who strengthens your resolve at difficult times and gives you a sense of
purpose
Anchor – someone who keeps you grounded and holds you to account for the balance between
your work and the rest of your life
33. • What are the benefits of mentoring others in research?
• How does mentoring and giving back to the research community help
build one's own personal credibility?
• Does mentorship and giving back lead to better research and/or more
collaboration?
• What are different types of opportunities and options for mentoring in
research?
• What are some ways that people can become a mentor?
• Are there any specific organizations that can help people get started with
mentoring and giving back?
• What about people who would like to be mentored - how can they find
ways to connect with mentors?
• Do you have any personal experiences with mentoring and successes from
it (for you or for the people you worked with) that you would like to
share?
34. Pilot results on Survey of Mentorship
needs in East and West Africa
