1. Questions about mentoring
Think of an ideal mentor from your past. What made them so effective?
What are some strategies to avoid as a mentor?
Where can you find a mentor?
We’ll probably be able to remove this since Robin made us a new slide 1

2. Mentoring Graduate Students and Postdocs: Considerations for Future Faculty
Laura Harrington – Associate Professor, Entomology, Cornell University
Christine Holmes – Director of Postdoctoral Studies, Cornell University
Colleen McLinn – Program Director, CU-CIRTL
1-2 mins
We each introduce ourselves (the CIRTL hosts may do this).
Include Laura’s background/experience, Cornell resources for mentoring, etc.
Request for Audience Input: Who is in attendance? Please type your institution and stage in career into chat window.

3. What is mentoring?
"Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be."
-Eric Parsloe, The Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring
30 s-1min
Mentoring can be done formally or informally. In this presentation we will focus on formal roles (PI-grad student, postdoc etc.).

4. Objectives for this CIRTLCast
After this session, you will be able to:
List key traits and practices of an ideal mentor
Describe mentoring pitfalls and brainstorm solutions
1 min
Most faculty don’t get training in mentoring despite the importance of developing good skills

5. Outline Finding a good mentor
Fostering a better experience with your current mentor
Preparing to become the mentor
Mentoring needs at different stages: graduate students vs. postdocs
Questions and discussion
Resources to learn more about mentoring
3-4 mins?
CMM present and do poll.
This is the general organization for what we plan to discuss.
Poll (abcde): Which of these would you like to spend the most time on today? What one issue do you think is most important?
Type into chat or raise hand: What have we missed that you would like to talk about?

6. Considerations when seeking a faculty mentor
30 sec
So what sorts of traits should you look for in a faculty mentor?

7. Considerations when seeking a faculty mentor
Be proactive. Take control of your own education and opportunities.
Consider:
The career stage of the faculty member
What expectations they have for you
Opportunities available
Their policies on authorship/credit
Degree of autonomy
1 min
The first approach to seeking your mentor and then interacting with them is to be proactive!
Expectations for you might depend on sources of funding, how specific a project you are being recruited to work on, how many other students, postdocs or lab techs they already have
Opportunities available (e.g., grant writing, supervising, mentoring students)
Degree of autonomy: how closely linked will your research be to the PI’s?
Some sticky situations can arise if your work is closely related to the mentor – sometimes people can feel territorial or insecure – this is an important chance to practice empathy!

8. Fostering a better experience with your current mentor
Be aware of common pitfalls:
Shared position between two supervisors
Lack of clearly defined expectations
Individual differences in communication or learning styles
1 min
Some mentees have additional challenges when they are jointly mentored by two PI’s.
Communication is key
Consider that there may be cultural or gender-related differences in communication strategies.
Be sensitive to the cultural or other background of your mentor.
Consider whether your advisor will respond better to numbers, diagrams, etc.

9. Four Major Communication Styles
1 min?
CMM: would you like to cover this slide?
Re: Individual differences in communication styles
Direct vs. Indirect
Task-oriented vs. People oriented
Figure 4.1
The Now Habit at Work, by Neil Fiore

10. Fostering a better experience with your current mentor
Turning things around if necessary
Be proactive
Provide feedback professionally
Stay calm
Listen to the other person’s needs
Ask for what you need
1 min
Have the courage to create a better mentoring experience if your existing one isn’t going well.
Listening is a key tool.
Good Resources:
Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott
Nonviolent Communication: The Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg

11. Fostering a better experience with your current mentor
Find mentoring elsewhere (formal or informal)
1 min
CH: would you like to cover this slide?
CH: depending on Status, Postdocs vs grad students the resources will be different
Diagram: “Team Mentoring Concept” or “Academic Support Network”

12. If the mentoring relationship needs to be severed…
Confidential resources (use for advice)
University Ombudsperson
Human Resources
Graduate School Offices
Not confidential (use to help take action)
Director of Graduate Studies
Department Chair
1 min
Not necessarily mutually exclusive
Know when it is time to leave. Sever the mentoring relationship if necessary.
Note to you as faculty/future faculty: When you don’t think a mentee should continue, you need to follow official channels

13. Preparing to become the mentor
What do you wish you had known?
“To lay out expectations for the relationship at the very beginning.”
“To not do everything for my mentee - to encourage them to be in charge of their own experience.”
“To have the courage to say this is no longer working for us - to end the relationship even if it is your own graduate student.”
“To not suffocate my mentee with too much advice.”
“Not all mentors can be confidential - you have to be careful what you say and really know who you can trust.”
– Cornell faculty
1-2 mins
I added these from my informal (LCH) surveys

14. Scenarios for Discussion
You are mentoring a postdoc who thinks he/she has discovered a case of plagiarism in the lab. You…
You find out from a colleague that your postdoc mentee is getting ready to publish a paper. It is from work they did in your lab with your funding. You didn’t know this. You…
You have a graduate student mentee who is funded by NIH/NSF. You leave on a one-month research trip and return to find that the student left the lab to go surfing for the month in South America without telling you. You…
Your mentee approaches you after avoiding your efforts to reach out for weeks via and phone calls. They are clearly distraught and tells you that they feel like you don’t respect them. They say that you are often condescending in subtle ways towards them. They think you are discriminating against them because they are openly gay. You…
5-10 mins? Either load slides in 4 breakout rooms with Laura=A, Colleen=B, Christine=C, Robin=D, or do a poll for which one to tackle. We will adapt as we get to this section and check the time. I’m estimating that we will be about 15 minutes in by this time (if we don’t get any questions)
Could do a poll on which they want to address, or split into breakout rooms
Split into 4 discussion rooms - Load slides in each. Plan on at least 10 minutes for this.
I changed #2 to mentee – is that right?

15. Scenario A
You are mentoring a postdoc who thinks he/she has discovered a case of plagiarism in the lab. You….
Preparing to become the mentor:
LCH added a few scenarios in the notes. I have ideas for the approach to take for each based on the key skills we discussed, listening, being objective and open, that people need multiple types of mentors, etc. Plus it highlights a key tension – when you know about things that are clearly against the law versus things that are shades of grey….
Should we number these 1-4, and split into 4 discussion rooms?
LCH: Here is a scenario - 1) you are mentoring a postdoc who thinks he/she has discovered a case of plaguarism in the lab. You….
2) You find out from a colleague that your postdoc mentor is getting ready to publish a paper. It is from work they did in your lab, but you are not aware of the publication. You…..
3) You have a graduate student mentee who is funded by NIH/NSF. You leave on a one month research trip and return to find that the student left the lab to go surfing for the month in south america which out telling you. You…
4) Your mentee approaches you after avoiding your efforts to reach out for weeks via and phone calls. The mentee is clearly distraught and tells you that they feel like you don’t respect them. They say that you are often condescending in subtle ways towards them. They think you are discriminating against them because they are openly gay. You….

16. Scenario B
You find out from a colleague that your postdoc mentee is getting ready to publish a paper. It is from work they did in your lab, but you are not aware of the publication. You…
Preparing to become the mentor:
LCH added a few scenarios in the notes. I have ideas for the approach to take for each based on the key skills we discussed, listening, being objective and open, that people need multiple types of mentors, etc. Plus it highlights a key tension – when you know about things that are clearly against the law versus things that are shades of grey….
Should we number these 1-4, and split into 4 discussion rooms?
LCH: Here is a scenario - 1) you are mentoring a postdoc who thinks he/she has discovered a case of plaguarism in the lab. You….
2) You find out from a colleague that your postdoc mentor is getting ready to publish a paper. It is from work they did in your lab, but you are not aware of the publication. You…..
3) You have a graduate student mentee who is funded by NIH/NSF. You leave on a one month research trip and return to find that the student left the lab to go surfing for the month in south america which out telling you. You…
4) Your mentee approaches you after avoiding your efforts to reach out for weeks via and phone calls. The mentee is clearly distraught and tells you that they feel like you don’t respect them. They say that you are often condescending in subtle ways towards them. They think you are discriminating against them because they are openly gay. You….

17. Scenario C
You have a graduate student mentee who is funded by NIH/NSF. You leave on a one-month research trip and return to find that the student left the lab to go surfing for the month in South America without telling you. You…
Preparing to become the mentor:
LCH added a few scenarios in the notes. I have ideas for the approach to take for each based on the key skills we discussed, listening, being objective and open, that people need multiple types of mentors, etc. Plus it highlights a key tension – when you know about things that are clearly against the law versus things that are shades of grey….
Should we number these 1-4, and split into 4 discussion rooms?
LCH: Here is a scenario - 1) you are mentoring a postdoc who thinks he/she has discovered a case of plaguarism in the lab. You….
2) You find out from a colleague that your postdoc mentor is getting ready to publish a paper. It is from work they did in your lab, but you are not aware of the publication. You…..
3) You have a graduate student mentee who is funded by NIH/NSF. You leave on a one month research trip and return to find that the student left the lab to go surfing for the month in south america which out telling you. You…
4) Your mentee approaches you after avoiding your efforts to reach out for weeks via and phone calls. The mentee is clearly distraught and tells you that they feel like you don’t respect them. They say that you are often condescending in subtle ways towards them. They think you are discriminating against them because they are openly gay. You….

18. Scenario D
Your mentee approaches you after avoiding your efforts to reach out for weeks via and phone calls. The mentee is clearly distraught and tells you that they feel like you don’t respect them. They say that you are often condescending in subtle ways towards them. They think you are discriminating against them because they are openly gay. You…
Preparing to become the mentor:
LCH added a few scenarios in the notes. I have ideas for the approach to take for each based on the key skills we discussed, listening, being objective and open, that people need multiple types of mentors, etc. Plus it highlights a key tension – when you know about things that are clearly against the law versus things that are shades of grey….
Should we number these 1-4, and split into 4 discussion rooms?
LCH: Here is a scenario - 1) you are mentoring a postdoc who thinks he/she has discovered a case of plaguarism in the lab. You….
2) You find out from a colleague that your postdoc mentor is getting ready to publish a paper. It is from work they did in your lab, but you are not aware of the publication. You…..
3) You have a graduate student mentee who is funded by NIH/NSF. You leave on a one month research trip and return to find that the student left the lab to go surfing for the month in south america which out telling you. You…
4) Your mentee approaches you after avoiding your efforts to reach out for weeks via and phone calls. The mentee is clearly distraught and tells you that they feel like you don’t respect them. They say that you are often condescending in subtle ways towards them. They think you are discriminating against them because they are openly gay. You….

19. Things to consider as you become the mentor
What is your mentoring philosophy?
What are your core values, strengths and weaknesses coming into a mentoring relationship?
What responsibilities do you have as a mentor?
time investment
effort
confidentiality
accountability
2 mins
LCH can provide examples

20. What skills do mentors need?
Effective and timely communication
Clearly articulating expectations
Provide constructive feedback verbally and in writing
Hiring and interviewing skills
Stress relief and anger management strategies
Strategies for resolving conflict
2 mins

21. Mentoring Tips
Establish the nature of your relationship and expectations you both have
Set up regular meetings with your mentee
Listen fully without judgment
Maintain confidentiality at all times
Get feedback from your mentee
2 mins
Regular meetings allow you to stay in communication
Be flexible, everyone is human and makes mistakes, schedules change at the last minute, etc
Listen fully without judgment and be objective
Maintain confidentiality at all times (this is especially difficult when you are in the same department/program)
Feedback can be grouped, compiled by a lab manager or others to make it more anonymous

22. Mentoring Tips
Cultivate a non-intimidating environment – go for coffee/meals or a walk while you talk
Be flexible
Offer “insider advice” – what you wish you had known, where to get resources or help, who are key contacts to meet on campus
Keep notes and refer back to them to refresh your memory before meeting with the mentee
1-2 mins
Regular meetings allow you to stay in communication
Feedback can be grouped, compiled by a lab manager or others to make it more anonymous
Be flexible, everyone is human and makes mistakes, schedules change at the last minute, etc

23. Consider the stage
Answer in the chat window:
How do the mentoring needs of postdocs differ from those of graduate students?
2 mins
CH: do you want to cover this?

24. Mentoring Graduate Students
Encourage them to write as they go along
Assess progress biannually or annually
Help students network:
Encourage meeting attendance
Make introductions to colleagues
Encourage opportunities for them to practice presenting research
Send around position ads so they can see what skills employers are seeking
2 mins

25. Mentoring Postdocs
Help them to understand the bigger research endeavor
From the start, decide what is their research that they can take with them vs. lab research
Model lab management skills
Provide opportunities to practice teaching skills
Offer strategies on dealing with difficult students
Include them in manuscript and grant-writing process
Encourage them to seek professional development opportunities
Send them position advertisements
Help them move to their next step
2 mins
Model lab management skills (purchasing, compliance, permits, budgeting)

26. What Questions Do You Have?
CMM or CH, would you like to cover this slide and then we could all field questions. I can plan to have my mike off, but turn it on if I can address any questions so you can see that I’m planning to answer.
Ideally we will be mins in at this point (if you total my time estimates in the comments of each slide we are at 40 mins when we get to this point.
We have provided some resources on the additional slides at the end of this presentation for you to consider

27. Resources to Learn More
Individual Development Plan for postdocs:
Manuals from Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan):
How to Get the Mentoring You Want: A Guide for Graduate Students at a Diverse University
How to Mentor Graduate Students: A Guide for Faculty in a Diverse University
Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty, 2nd edition, Burroughs Wellcome Fund and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2006)
Chapter 5: “Mentoring and Being Mentored”
O mins

28. Resources to Learn More
Adviser, Teacher, Role Model, Friend: On Being a Mentor to Students in Science and Engineering,
Download free from National Academies Press
On the Right Track: A Manual for Research Mentors
Purchase from the Council of Graduate Schools store
Getting the Most out of Your Mentoring Relationships: A Handbook for Women in STEM, Donna J. Dean (2009) - Order from AWIS or Amazon
Entering Mentoring: A Seminar to Train the Next Generation of Scientists HHMI website (free) or Amazon
Research Mentor Training website
Tomorrow’s Professor Blog
O mins
Resource list for women of color – put in chat window instead?
Maybe (but a bit anti-men): “Women as Mentors: Myths and Commandments”

29. Closing Thoughts
Effective mentoring recognizes the need for lifelong learning
Effective mentoring recognizes that development occurs in stages
Effective mentoring is customized for the individual
Effective mentoring is facilitated when the protégé is proactive
Source: National Postdoc Association
O mins