Mentoring Contracts and Individual Development Plans to Align Expectations

and Support Professional Development

Center for Faculty Excellence Mentoring Summit

May 18, 2019

Susan Girdler, Ph.D. Professor of Psychiatry

CFE Faculty in Residence for Faculty Mentoring

Mentoring Competencies

Fleming et al. (2013). Acad Med, 88(7).

Maintaining effective

communication

Constructive feedback; active

listening; communicate

effectively across differences

Aligning expectations

Consider expectations of the

mentee; how personal differences

may affect expectations;

communicate and align expectations

Assessing understanding

Assess mentees understanding of core constructs (not ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions); identify reasons for

lack of understanding; use

multiple strategies to enhance

understanding

Mentoring Competencies (cont.)

Promoting professional development

Periodic conversations on professional goals and career objectives;

engage in open dialogue on balancing competing demands

Fostering independence

Operationalize independence; employ

strategies to build confidence and trust;

create an environment in which mentees can

achieve

Addressing Equity and Inclusion

Recognize the impact of unconscious biases and acquire skills to

manage them; identify strategies for learning about and addressing issues of equity and

inclusion

“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” —Steven Spielberg

Objectives

Strategies for:

Establishing and aligning expectations for the mentoring relationship

Promoting professional development of mentees using a written document

Case study

Dr. Sam Jones is a postdoc who recently made some contacts within the local Chin community who would like to work with him to understand and address the high rates of asthma among local Chin children. Dr. Jones is very excited about this potential partnership having a direct impact on children’s health and wants to apply for a grant to pursue a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project. Ideally, this would form the basis for his career development application. He approaches his faculty mentor, Dr. Hunter, to ask her to be a mentor on the grant. She is very reluctant, letting him know that she has never done CBPR research and doesn’t know if she can guide him adequately. Sam assures her that this is not necessary, that he has identified a faculty member in another department with CBPR expertise who can play that role. He further points out that there is no one in their department who has this expertise and that his community contacts will be able to help guide and mentor him. Dr. Hunter is still uncertain how well she can assess his study design and progress and wonders how well the other mentors can play that role and how they can coordinate assessment and feedback on the project.

Particularly important for aligning expectations about the mentee’s independence

“It is always disturbing when you see your data that you thought had become your own project end up as a major thrust of your mentor’s grant.”

(Mentee)

“My mentor and I have very similar interests. What am I going to be doing that she does not do? How do I differentiate?” (Mentee)

“They work in your environment and then they come up with all these bright ideas. Well, is it their ideas or the environment you provided? Do you actually own some of that intellectual property? It’s one of those things…that probably would be best discussed up front…” (Mentor)

Huskins et al., Clin Trans Sci, 2011.

Tips for Developing Mentor-Mentee Expectations

Masters & Kreeger, PLOS Computational Biology, 2017

WRITE IT

DOWN!

Convey the bigger picture

Don’t forget the nitty gritty!

Expectations are a two way street

Articulate boundaries

The expectations document is a

living document

Tailor your expectations

What roles do mentors play in the overall professional

development of their mentees?

Case Study

You are currently mentoring two postdoctoral fellows. Both are very talented and hardworking; however, one has made it clear that once his fellowship is over, he wants to find a position outside of academia. The other scholar has her heart set on a tenure track position at a top research university. Lately, you find yourself spending more time giving professional development advice to the mentee who intends to apply for faculty positions. You rationalize this by saying that you are more familiar with this career path and thus have more to offer. Secretly, you worry that you are neglecting the other scholar, believing that he is not worth your time or advice if he is pursing a career outside of academia.

Individual Development Plans (IDPs)What to Include

• Long term career goals

• Professional skills needed

• Calendar/Timeline

• Constructive Criticism

• Acknowledge outside things that impact work

•Major Milestones

•Realistic Time Estimates

•Broad

•Generous

Accomplishments Research Goals

Professional/ Personal

Development Feedback

Vincent et al. (2015). Molecular Cell, 58.

Feedback Comes Last –

the PI Receives feedback from the

Trainee First

Mentor Responsible for ensuring every Goal

has Actionable Outcomes

Start with Accomplish-

ments

Work from Printed Copies

The Trainee Leads the

Conversation

Vincent et al. (2015). Molecular Cell, 58.

Mutual Respect

& Trust

Be Specific

& Timely

Keep, Discard, Improve

Mindset: How Can I Help?

Giving Constructive Feedback

Advantages of the IDP Process for the Mentee

Strengths & Accomplishments

formally acknowledged

Opportunity to give feedback

to mentor

Concrete goals are

motivating!

Personal goals are formally discussed

Advantages of the IDP Process for the Mentor

Motivated Individuals

Are Productive

Paying It Forward!

Progress Checks – if discrepancies between progress and timeline, the IDP frames conversations to

be more specific.

Personal/Interpersonal/

Equity and Inclusion Issues Discussed

Thank You!

Benefits to Menteesinterviews with CTSA KL2 Assist. Profs

Huskins et al., Clin Trans Sci, 2011.

•“ So, if you don’t have expectations explicit up front, it makes it difficult to then go back and say, ‘Are you getting what you need?’”

Helps to ensure that mentees get what

they need

•“I’m seeing a mentoring relationship that went sour. These are both very bright and talented people…somehow there were some different expectations….they were open and honest and realized they can’t work together.”

Early alignment of expectations can help

avoid a mentee-mentor mismatch

•“If you’ve got enough communication to be able to tell each other what you expect, then you’ve got enough trust and …ability to deal with each other in a professional way.”

Has additional, positive effects on the interpersonal

aspects of the mentoring relationship

Benefits to Mentors

• “It’s the first place that helps them negotiate….it teaches them. Can you imagine agreeing to do something for four years and not putting anything in writing?”

The alignment process as a mechanism for

developing the scholars’ negotiation skills

• “If I were to enter a co-mentoring situation, there would be something in writing about who is going to be doing what and how things are going to work.”

1. Helps to ensure the scholars remain ‘on track’

2. Particularly important for confirming the responsibilities and commitment of individual mentors on a mentoring team

Huskins et al., Clin Trans Sci, 2011.

Personal and Professional Identity Iceberg