Expectations
Why Develop Expectations?
Statistics say that we spend about 80% of our time communicating during any given day. It is likely that we spend about 80% of that communicating time puzzled about the perceptions, views, and responses coming from your mentee or mentor (e.g., what is this meeting about? why are we meeting now? what am I expected to do? I don't understand, what planet is my mentor/mentee from?). It is to minimize this puzzlement that we develop and use contracts that spell out the expectations we have for one another. To see some sample contracts, click here. Problems in mentorship often come about because we misunderstand what is expected of us. By developing and agreeing upon expectations on behalf of both the mentor and mentee, the chance of running into these potential problems will be minimized. In developing expectations, it's important to think about the following:
Mentor/Mentee Expectations
- Clarify roles and responsibilities.
- Set realistic goals and expectations.
- Develop a schedule for regular meetings.
- Develop an agenda for each meeting.
- Set rules surrounding feedback.
- Negotiate rules for reminders.
- Clarify expectations regarding papers.
- Clarify roles and responsibilities.
- Mentors should be realistic about what they can do for their mentees and help the mentees understand what kinds of assistance they can expect. It's important to analyze what mentees need and help them develop a productive balance between seeking help and taking on more responsibility over time as they move to independence.
- Set goals and developing a work plan.
- Mentees are often unable to develop realistic goal and timelines, usually trying to commit to accomplishing more that they can do in a given timeframe. Mentors and mentee should work together to develop a work plan that includes both short-term and long-term goals as well as a timeframe for reaching those goals with milestones for key products. While addressing the work plan occurs on an on-going basis, at least every six months, each mentor and mentee should meet to formally discuss the mentee's progress, as well as any additional training and experiences needed in order to achieve the defined goals. Mentors and mentees should agree upon a time to formally update progress. If modifications to the work plan are necessary, mentees should work with their mentors to develop and agree upon a new work plan.
- Develop a schedule for regular meetings.
- Both mentors and mentees need to have reasonable expectations for frequency of meetings. It's important to establish acceptable alternative means of communication (e.g., email, phone calls) and the boundaries of such communication. It is useful to discuss the kinds of issues that require a face-to-face meeting and those that can be dealt with in other ways.
- Develop an agenda for each meeting.
- Some mentors prefer that mentees take responsibility for arranging and leading meetings while others prefer to share the responsibility. Some prefer mentees to prepare agendas in advance so as to maximize the productivity of the time together. Mentors should determine whichever is true for them and communicate this to their mentees.
- Set rules about feedback.
- It is helpful to set up expectations how often feedback will be given and the type of feedback mentees can expect. Mentors should ensure that mentees understand that the feedback is intended to help mentees' intellectual and professional growth.
- Negotiate rules for reminders.
- Mentors should let mentees know how long it generally takes to review mentees' work, and let them know how best to follow up if the mentor is unable to reply within the specified time frame (e.g., through an e-mail or phone reminder a few days before the agreed-upon date).
- Clarify expectations regarding papers.
- Mentees should know what the mentor expects first drafts to look like before being submitted for review. If mentors do not want students to hand in rough drafts, the mentor can suggest they share their work with a trusted peer or writing group first.
