Mentoring isn’t extra. It’s the work.
Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash
Mentorship is often treated as if it’s secondary to the “real” work of academia—or worse, treated as if it’s optional. In some departments, the responsibility falls disproportionately on a few people: the default caretakers of the institution. But mentorship isn’t separate from research, teaching, or service. It’s how knowledge is carried forward, how future leaders and scholars are promoted and supported, and how the culture of our fields is built (and rebuilt). If you care about advancing science and education, start by looking at how you mentor—and how your institution supports mentorship.
Mentorship as legacy and lineage. As academics, we intuitively appreciate how ideas, methods of study, and even the habitual phrases and odd quirks are passed down through generations of researchers—from supervisors to their students, and then on to their ‘academic grandchildren’, etc. Case in point, I had a meeting with a colleague recently during which I had been discussing where we were headed with some of our research. I paused when I noticed he was looking at me quizzically, and then he said, “The older we get the more you sound like Neal [my graduate supervisor]”. Certainly, there are phrases I have adopted from Neal outright, but I also appreciate that, over the years, I have embraced some of the values that he taught, including the notion that there’s no limit to how much you can achieve when you don’t care who gets the credit (i.e., take the ego out of it). Just like parents pass down their values to their children, so too do mentors to their mentees. You can choose to pass along the valuable lessons and teachings you have embraced. You can even develop the ideas and mindsets that did not serve you and help them evolve; with some tweaks, they may more appropriately support the next generation.
Mentorship as culture change. Relatedly, as a mentor, by creating opportunities to share sets of values and standards, you can start to effect real culture change. When I was first being interviewed for my job at the Rotman Research Institute, Don Stuss told me that there was not only a standard to uphold in terms of research excellence to be worthy of the ‘Rotman Scientist’ moniker, but also a personal standard that was even more important and non-negotiable: you can’t be an asshole. Like Don, you can set the standards in your lab, institution, or field, establishing the academic environment. Do you want cutthroat competition or collaboration and collegiality? You can also choose to model inclusive behavior, promote psychological safety, and demonstrate how to establish—and maintain—firm boundaries, all built upon your own set of values and standards. Model the culture you want to experience.
Mentorship as justice work. Navigating the complexities of academia can be incredibly challenging, particularly for people from under-represented groups, those who are first-generation students and researchers, and/or those who are mature students entering academia after having worked for years in a different field. In these instances, having a strong mentor can be the difference between thriving and embarking upon an exciting new career, lifted by the experience, or leaving academia altogether, feeling unsupported and overwhelmed. By proactively and mindfully mentoring people with lived experiences that are different from our own, we can counteract system inequities. Mentorship alone can’t erase structural biases and inequities, but it can provide a buffer against them, opening doors for people that would otherwise remain closed.
Being a mentor can have a powerful impact on your communities. Mentorship invites us to reflect on who supported us in our own academic journeys, how we may wish to replicate the styles of our mentors, and what we may wish to do differently. The practice of mentorship can deepen your empathy, broaden your understanding of others, and even challenge your assumptions. Consequently, mentorship invites you to grow as a leader and as a person.
What mentoring practices have you inherited? Do they align with the kind of mentor you want to be and the kind of culture you want to build? Mentorship is how we shape the future of our fields. If you want to develop a mentorship practice that is aligned with your values, I’d love to help—book a free discovery call.
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Next week: Mentoring the whole person, not creating a ‘mini-me’.
