The Art of Mentorship

As a doctoral student in English literature, Maria LaMonaca Wisdom didn’t give much thought to mentoring. She and her fellow students had a sense that it was important, but the quality of the experience was a matter of luck. “Our mentoring models were extremely traditional and hierarchical, based heavily on advising and role modeling,” she says. “We didn’t expect anything else.”

Later, as a professor teaching at a small college, she started to identify gaps in her preparation that effective mentoring might have addressed. “I learned on the fly or from painful experiences,” she recalls. “Traditional mentoring didn’t even serve me for a traditional career.”

Wisdom decided to take her career in a different direction, and today she is an assistant vice provost for faculty advancement and a campus partner of The Graduate School at Duke as well as a professional certified coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation. To write her new book, “How to Mentor Anyone in Academia,” Wisdom drew on her experiences as a graduate student, postdoc, faculty member, author, higher ed administrator and coach.

Mentoring practices are uneven across the academy, and most people who serve as mentors don’t receive training. “There’s a big gap between the research to support mentoring development and the way it is practiced — and not practiced — at universities across the board,” Wisdom points out. “One common ingrained assumption is that people will instinctively know how to mentor or should just figure it out or do it the same way they had [as a mentee].”

Other common assumptions are “that mentoring is basically being a role model and giving advice, and that a mentee will have one mentor to meet all their needs.” The problem with this approach, Wisdom says, is that “too often there’s a gap between what the mentee needs and what is provided.”

Wisdom has coached many faculty members on mentoring, at their request. “We’ve had a lot of conversations on the widening gap between the experience of their mentees and the mentors,” she says. “For example, there are fewer faculty jobs available now, and many graduates will go into nonacademic careers.”

So, how should academics approach the role of mentoring?

“I don’t claim any one right way,” Wisdom says, “but there are lots of strategies people can use to better meet mentees’ needs.”

She cites increasing evidence to support the efficacy of peer mentoring as well as the value of thinking holistically. Considering people as whole human beings is a good place to start. Faculty could ask themselves, who are their mentees and how do their life experiences shape what they need right now?

As an example, Wisdom brings up a first-generation student who might be wondering if they’re a good fit for their program. Without a network of family members who have successfully navigated college or graduate school, they might experience imposter syndrome or face concerns that the mentor may not be aware of.

“It ultimately comes down to human relationships,” Wisdom says. “Every human is unique, and mentoring is not a science — it’s often more of an art. No two people are alike. It’s hard to overestimate how much that [realization] has influenced the book.”

Wisdom inserts “coaching moments” throughout the book to help readers build in time to reflect. What was the reader’s own experience of having a mentor? What was helpful or not helpful? Develop self-awareness of how you are coming across to your mentee. For example, how much are you talking as opposed to creating space for your mentee to share their ideas?

The book also highlights evidence-based coaching practices, including exercises that help individuals focus on their mission, vision and values. Getting people to articulate their values, for example, is a powerful tool. “Mentors [might] ask, What do you care about? What are you passionate about?,” Wisdom suggests. “People are more motivated to take action if there is something positive to move toward.”

Wisdom encourages readers to talk with others — “mentoring mentors” — about their visions of mentorship. “People flourish in peer mentoring networks,” she says. “If we just ask faculty to hammer away in isolation on individual mentoring competencies, we won’t change the culture. Start with self-reflection, then have conversations with peers, colleagues and especially mentees.”

“How to Mentor Anyone in Academia” is now available from Princeton University Press.

Duke Faculty Advancement offers several channels for faculty members to receive professional coaching from Maria LaMonaca Wisdom. Chairs and unit leaders who would like 1:1 coaching support in their administrative roles may self-nominate. Alternatively, they may nominate any faculty colleague for 1:1 coaching for a critical research, teaching or service role. Any faculty member, anywhere at Duke, may sign up directly for group coaching. The Graduate School offers faculty opportunities to learn best practices in mentoring. Faculty are encouraged to watch their email for messages about upcoming training sessions or can contact Wisdom directly.