Mentoring is A Fine Balance

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Mentoring is A Fine Balance
mentor
trainee
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Mentoring

• Helping a person to learn the skills and
  information needed to achieve their own
  professional goals.
• Helping them define goals that suit their
  talents.
• Helping promote their careers.

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Why do it? What is in it for you?

• Many older faculty will tell you it is their
  students, not their papers that give them the
  most pride in their career.
• Often trainees become valued colleagues many
  years later
• e.g. previous trainees now serve on NIH study
  section
• Students/fellows hear about good mentors and seek
  them out.
• Good mentors often have their choice of top
  students. This creates a cycle that enhances the
  research program

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Suggestions for mentoring

• Your role is as the group leader.
• You are the most experience member of your team
• Most programs do not do well if the PI does not
  have a heavy hand in guiding the trainees
  research, especially in the first few years.
• Constructive criticism is important.
• You are not being critical when you call on
  your experience and knowledge to provide
  constructive feedback.
• But have compassion and remember the challenges
  they face.
• You also want to be approachable.
• Listen to trainees
• Value their opinions

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Suggestions for mentoring

• Let the student know you are listening and that
  you want to help them achieve their specific
  career goals.
• Not every student wants to be a PI, so finding
  out what the student wants to do is key to
  effectively mentoring them.
• Try to pick trainees with goals that are matched
  to your view of who you want in your lab and the
  kind of student you want to train.
• Watch students reactions to your input so you can
  gauge what is working and helpful. Each student
  is different.
• Mentoring must be tailored to the individual -
  one size does not fit all.
• Be aware of culture differences - they may impact
  how you approach your trainee and how your input
  is perceived.

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Suggestions for mentoring

• Dont overly burden the trainee with your
  stresses.
• They have their own
• But at the same time, dont shelter them,
  especially senior postdocs aiming to be a PI.
• People vary in how much they socialize with
  trainees, but if you do, you cant be exclusive.

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Suggestions for mentoring

• Mentoring trainees is very time consuming.
• Students and fellows require a considerable
  amount of time, especially in the first year or
  two.
• Be sure you have the time to mentor a student
  before you accept them in your lab.
• Students who are struggling take more time.
• Dont ignore the good students!

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Areas that can create synergy of purpose

• Maintaining a vibrant well-funded research
  program
• Getting grants
• Accomplishing aims of the grant
• Publishing
• Data for key talks

• Developing into a productive, independent,
  successful scientist
• Publishing
• Generating strong data

mentor
trainee
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Areas that can cause conflict in optimal use of
time and energy for the PI

• Maintaining a vibrant well-funded research
  program
• Getting grants
• Accomplishing aims of the grant
• Publishing
• Data for key talks

• Developing into a productive, independent,
  successful scientist
• Classes/exams
• learning to write and give talks
• branching out from defined aims, especially
  postdocs
• Skills for a career that is not as PI
• getting teaching or other experience

mentor
trainee
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What is the balance in the situation of writing
papers?
Typical first paper experience. Trainees
provides numerous drafts Mentor usually guides
writing and teaches
mentor
trainee
Can be a lot of work for the mentor, and often
takes more time than just writing it themselves.
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Are there times when this approach may not be
best for the overall program?
There is sometimes a reason why the mentor writes
the paper. E.g. if time is of the essence grant
due, approaching promotion, worried about being
scooped, etc.
mentor
trainee
If you feel you must go this route, talk to the
trainee and make sure they understand this is a 1
time deal with a plan for later
Trainee does not get training they need to
succeed.
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Find the right balance that considers both your
programs success and the students training needs
mentor
trainee
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Consider the long-term implications

• Consider the long term, not just the short term
  view
• A good student/fellow will be writing papers
  mostly on their own by the time the last one
  comes around and they can help others in the lab.
  
• Thus helping them to learn good communication
  skills initially will pay off later.
• Those trainees who feel they get good training
  will promote your lab, eventually leading to your
  being able to recruit better and better students
  and fellows

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Other challenges of mentoring

• Does the person fit into the square that
• you have envisioned for them?
• they have set as a course for themselves?

Helping a person to learn the skills and
information needed to achieve their own
professional goals. Helping them define goals
that suit their talents.
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Be aware of the power/control imbalance
mentor
trainee
Resources such as senior faculty or an Ombudsman
office can be helpful if tensions arise and
arent resolved because he/she is impartial and
does not have an impact on either of your
careers.
You have a lot of impact on your trainees future
and they can be intimidated by this.
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Mentoring Promoting a trainees career

• Suggestions for mentoring
• Help promote your trainees by sending them to
  meetings, having them present their data whenever
  possible and introducing them to colleagues.
• But sending a trainee who gives poor talks may
  not be good, either for them or for your
  reputation, so insist on quality. Make sure they
  are ready.
• Give trainees opportunities to demonstrate their
  independence and leadership.
• Pace of providing such opportunities may vary for
  each trainee, and will depend on their efforts
  and success with the prior opportunities.

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Helping postdocs become independent
This is usually a process initially the trainee
will most likely start tied to your projects,
grants etc. The balance works you see
progress on projects central to your group they
usually get quick papers and training. For the
subset of fellows who show potential for an
independent academic career, it is important to
encourage them to explore new paths over time.
This may be a gradual process, with the goal
that when they are ready to give a job talk/write
a grant, they have a clear distinct path from
your ongoing work. -gt remember to pay
attention to this.
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Finding a mentor for yourself

• Junior faculty benefit from having senior faculty
  mentors
• A recent survey we conducted of junior faculty
  strongly suggested that having a mentor or a
  mentoring committee is beneficial.
• If your institution has formal mentoring
  committees, take advantage of that option. If
  not, seek out a senior faculty mentor on your
  own.

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Faculty mentoring

• Areas where the faculty mentor or faculty
  mentoring committee can be a resource
• Reading grants, drafts of papers
• Strategies for growing the lab
• Trainee issues and advice on mentoring
  students/fellows
• The balance of research and other activities
  outside requests
• Helping you network

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Faculty mentoring

• Choosing faculty who
• Know your field
• They can read grants, introduce you at meetings
• Will make the time
• You feel has good judgment and a similar style
• To advise on trainees, size of lab, lab culture
• You dont feel is in conflict
• For some people, having a faculty member who is
  also going to vote on their promotion can be
  uncomfortable when it comes to discussing
  concerns. If having such a person as mentor will
  inhibit you from discussing tough issues, choose
  someone else.
• Who can help you navigate promotion

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Some days are like this
trainee
mentor