Mentoring Dyads Research Articles

What Is Meant By The Term Group Mentoring?

Much like traditional dyadic mentoring experiences, group mentorship has been practiced since time immemorial. Benjamin Franklin, for example, as a young entrepreneur created the Leather Apron Club, a group mentoring experience for a select group of Philadelphia tradesmen. Since the late 1990s, when group mentoring became a serious focus of academic research, scholarship has focused primarily on the rationale for group mentoring and has explored the outcomes. As a community of scholars and practitioners, we have yet to fully explore or explain what we mean by group mentoring. In this article, I bring attention to, establish a foundation, and set appropriate parameters for group mentorship.

Mentoring from Afar: Nurse Mentor Challenges in the Canadian Armed Forces

There is an integral connection between leadership, mentoring and professional career progression within the nursing profession. The purpose of this article is to examine recommendations and best practices from the literature and provide a basis to construct a formalized successful mentoring dyad program with guidelines on establishing and maintaining a productive mentoring relationship over long distance. Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) nurses practice within a unique domain both domestically and abroad. The military environment incorporates many aspects of mentoring that could benefit significantly by distance interchange. Supported through examining literature within nursing, CAF publications and other professions along with contrasting successful distance mentoring programs, the findings suggest that a top-down, leadership-driven formal mentoring program could be beneficial to CAF nurses. The literature review outlines definitions of terms for mentorship and distance mentoring or e-mentoring. A cross section of technology is now embedded in all work environments with personal communication devices commonplace. Establishing mentoring relationships from afar is practical and feasible. This article provides a guided discussion for nursing leaders, managers and grassroots nurses to implement mentoring programs over distances. The recommendations and findings of this article could have universal applications to isolated nursing environments outside of Canadian military operational frameworks.

Mentoring with(in) care: A co-constructed auto-ethnography of mutual learning

Research into workplace mentoring is principally focussed on predictors and psychosocial and instrumental outcomes, while there is scarcely any in-depth research into relational characteristics, outcomes and processes. This article aims to illustrate these relational aspects. It reports a co-constructed auto-ethnography of a dyadic mentoring relationship as experienced by mentor and protégé. The co-constructed narrative illustrates that attentiveness towards each other and a caring attitude, alongside learning-focussed values, promote a high-quality mentoring relationship. This relationship is characterised, among other things, by person centredness, care, trust and mutual influence, thereby offering a situation in which mutual learning and growth can occur. Learning develops through and in relation and is enhanced when both planned and unplanned learning takes place. In addition, the narrative makes clear that learning and growth of both those involved are intertwined and interdependent and that mutual learning and growth enrich and strengthen the relationship. It is concluded that the narrative illustrates a number of complex relational processes that are difficult to elucidate in quantitative studies and theoretical constructs. It offers deeper insight into the initiation and improvement of high-quality mentoring relationships and emphasises the importance of further research into relational processes in mentoring relationships. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Dialectical tensions experienced by diversified mentoring dyads

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine diversified mentoring relationships (DMRs) at a mid-sized Midwestern state university (MMSU) in the USA.Design/methodology/approach– The author conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 MMSU faculty members and professional personnel who comprised seven diversified mentoring dyads. The mentees were primarily members of underrepresented minority (URMs) groups, whereas the majority of mentors were members of the dominant culture.Findings– A thematic analysis of the data, grounded in the literature on developmental relationships and relational dialectics theory (RDT), reveals tensions that diversified mentoring dyads experienced, as well as communication strategies that dyad members used to manage these tensions.Research limitations/implications– Although this research is limited by its small sample size and unique geographic location, the findings offer in-depth insight and practical implications for URM faculty members in predominantly white institutions around the globe.Practical implications– The findings of this study have important implications for training supervisors, mentors, and senior colleagues of URM faculty members.Originality/value– This study is unique in that it examines DMRs from a dyadic communication perspective; moreover, it applies RDT to DMRs in organizations.

Group Peer Mentoring: An Answer to the Faculty Mentoring Problem? A Successful Program at a Large Academic Department of Medicine.

To address a dearth of mentoring and to avoid the pitfalls of dyadic mentoring, the authors implemented and evaluated a novel collaborative group peer mentoring program in a large academic department of medicine. The mentoring program aimed to facilitate faculty in their career planning, and targeted either early-career or midcareer faculty in 5 cohorts over 4 years, from 2010 to 2014. Each cohort of 9-12 faculty participated in a yearlong program with foundations in adult learning, relationship formation, mindfulness, and culture change. Participants convened for an entire day, once a month. Sessions incorporated facilitated stepwise and values-based career planning, skill development, and reflective practice. Early-career faculty participated in an integrated writing program and midcareer faculty in leadership development. Overall attendance of the 51 participants was 96%, and only 3 of 51 faculty who completed the program left the medical school during the 4 years. All faculty completed a written detailed structured academic development plan. Participants experienced an enhanced, inclusive, and appreciative culture; clarified their own career goals, values, strengths and priorities; enhanced their enthusiasm for collaboration; and developed skills. The program results highlight the need for faculty to personally experience the power of forming deep relationships with their peers for fostering successful career development and vitality. The outcomes of faculty humanity, vitality, professionalism, relationships, appreciation of diversity, and creativity are essential to the multiple missions of academic medicine.

How to interact, when and with whom? SMEs and public procurement

Research consistently shows that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) struggle with public procurement processes. The aim of this paper is to extend the research agenda using the lens of supplier development. Dyadic mentoring theory is used to classify three role sets that buyers are willing to use in order to develop small firms. This paper's findings distinguish budget holders from traditional buyers in terms of how and what processes they are willing to use to develop SMEs. Role theory is used in the paper to explain the different mentor behaviours.

Family involvement in the youth mentoring process: A focus group study with program staff

Although youth mentoring is most commonly understood to be a relationship between an at-risk youth and a non-related adult, programs are increasingly developing practices intended to involve youth's families in the mentoring process. However, due to the tendency to focus largely on the mentoring dyad, these practices are rarely examined leaving us with little sense of what family involvement entails and how it may influence the mentoring process. Six focus groups were conducted with staff members (n=39) from 24 agency affiliates of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America in order to identify and describe the ways that agencies are involving families in the mentoring process. Three distinct approaches emerged: (a) involving, (b) engaging and serving, and (c) collaborating. These approaches were characterized by both the philosophical approach to families articulated in these groups and the day-to-day practices that appeared to grow out of these values and beliefs.

Developmental climate: A cross-level analysis of voluntary turnover and job performance

This research investigates the influence of shared perceptions of developmental climate on individual-level perceptions of organizational commitment, engagement, and perceived competence, and whether these attitudes mediate the relationship between developmental climate and both individual voluntary turnover and supervisor-rated job performance. Survey data were collected from 361 intact employee–supervisory mentoring dyads and matched with employee turnover data collected one year later to test the proposed framework using multilevel modeling techniques. As expected, shared perceptions of developmental climate were significantly and positively related to all three individual work attitudes. In addition, both organizational commitment and perceived competence were significant mediators of the positive relationship between shared perceptions of developmental climate and voluntary turnover, as well as shared perceptions of developmental climate and supervisor-rated job performance. By contrast, no significant mediating effects were found for engagement. Theoretical implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.

Advancing workplace spiritual development: A dyadic mentoring approach

Workplace spirituality has become the focus of several major business organizations and scholars. Research has found spirituality to be most beneficial when fostered at the individual rather than collective level (Herman & Gioia, 1998; Krishnakumar & Neck, 2002). Yet, little is known about how leaders deploy workplace spirituality to the individual level and sustain it over time. To address this question, the case is made that spirituality at work may best be fostered through a dyadic mentorship. Accordingly, a concept of spiritual mentoring is proposed, which takes an authentic self perspective to spirituality while approaching spiritual development as best served through a co-created, dyadic process. Drawing on previous research, spiritual mentoring is organized into three categories – inner life, meaningful work, and context/connectedness – and presented as a temporal process through which leaders may provide these supportive behaviors. Prospective outcomes of spiritual mentoring are described, and potential barriers are considered.

“How to Do Things with Words”: The Discursive Dimension of Experiential Learning in Entrepreneurial Mentoring Dyads

The purpose of this article is to assess the mentoring impact in an experiential learning entrepreneurship program. We did three‐year participant observation in the major business school incubator of the Paris area with the aim to identify the interpersonal communicational strategies that mentors, which are confirmed entrepreneurs, use in order to influence nascent entrepreneurs' attitudes and behaviors in dyadic interaction. These communicational strategies are categorized as persuasion, engagement, criticism, and provocation. An additional two‐year field research allowed us to assess the impact of these communicational strategies at the individual (commitment, compliance, resistance) and the enterprise levels (business launching and fund‐raising).

Mentor Networks in Academic Medicine

Career development award programs often require formal establishment of mentoring relationships. The authors sought to gain a nuanced understanding of mentoring from the perspective of a diverse national sample of faculty clinician-researchers who were all members of formal mentoring relationships. Between February 2010 and August 2011, the authors conducted semistructured, in-depth telephone interviews with 100 former recipients of National Institutes of Health mentored career development awards and 28 of their mentors. Purposive sampling ensured a diverse range of viewpoints. Multiple analysts thematically coded verbatim transcripts using qualitative data analysis software. Three relevant themes emerged: (1) the numerous roles and behaviors associated with mentoring in academic medicine, (2) the improbability of finding a single person who can fulfill the diverse mentoring needs of another individual, and (3) the importance and composition of mentor networks. Many respondents described the need to cultivate more than one mentor. Several participants discussed the use of peer mentors, citing benefits such as pooled resources and mutual learning. Female participants generally acknowledged the importance of having at least one female mentor. Some observed that their portfolio of mentors needed to evolve to remain effective. Those who seek to promote the careers of faculty in academic medicine should focus on developing mentoring networks rather than on hierarchical mentoring dyads. The members of each faculty member's mentoring team or network should reflect the protégé's individual needs and preferences, with special attention toward ensuring diversity in terms of area of expertise, academic rank, and gender.

Can Protégés be Successfully Socialized Without Socialized Mentors?

Using social cognitive career theory as a theoretical foundation, we examined the relationship between mentor and protégé organizational socialization as well as the mediating role of career, psychosocial, and role-modeling support received by protégés. We also examined the moderating role of mentorship formality in the relationship between mentor socialization and the receipt of career, psychosocial, and role-modeling support. Using survey data collected from 209 ongoing mentoring dyads from five banks in Taiwan, regression results indicated that mentor socialization was positively related to career functions and role modeling that protégés received, as well as protégé socialization. Career support partially mediated the relationship between mentor socialization and protégé socialization. Mentorship formality moderated the relationship between mentor socialization and psychosocial support, suggesting that the positive relationship between mentor socialization and psychosocial functions only bears out in informal mentoring relationships. We offer a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Effects of Online Mentoring in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Environments: Mentor Presence and Cognitive Engagement

This study examines online mentor roles and effects with the online mentoring process in computer-supported collaborative learning environments in communities of in-service teachers. Interest in the online mentors' activity encompassed their participation in the online interactions, the influence of their activity on participants' patterns of interaction, and their varying facilitating styles. Transcripts of interactions among a small group (n = 8) and a larger group (n = 20) of in-service teachers and their mentors were analyzed at the macrolevel and microlevel: at the macrolevel by Social Network Analysis and at the microlevel by content analysis (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer 2001; Zhu 2006). Based on the analyses, the researchers identified mentor approaches such as interactive and directive. The researchers detected relations between mentor approach and network interaction structures and also between mentor presence and participants' cognitive engagement. Mentoring in collaborative in-service teacher communities was found to be an alternative to the more traditional mentoring dyads.

The positive impact of a facilitated peer mentoring program on academic skills of women faculty

BackgroundIn academic medicine, women physicians lag behind their male counterparts in advancement and promotion to leadership positions. Lack of mentoring, among other factors, has been reported to contribute to this disparity. Peer mentoring has been reported as a successful alternative to the dyadic mentoring model for women interested in improving their academic productivity. We describe a facilitated peer mentoring program in our institution's department of medicine.MethodsNineteen women enrolled in the program were divided into 5 groups. Each group had an assigned facilitator. Members of the respective groups met together with their facilitators at regular intervals during the 12 months of the project. A pre- and post-program evaluation consisting of a 25-item self-assessment of academic skills, self-efficacy, and academic career satisfaction was administered to each participant.ResultsAt the end of 12 months, a total of 9 manuscripts were submitted to peer-reviewed journals, 6 of which are in press or have been published, and another 2 of which have been invited to be revised and resubmitted. At the end of the program, participants reported an increase in their satisfaction with academic achievement (mean score increase, 2.32 to 3.63; P = 0.0001), improvement in skills necessary to effectively search the medical literature (mean score increase, 3.32 to 4.05; P = 0.0009), an improvement in their ability to write a comprehensive review article (mean score increase, 2.89 to 3.63; P = 0.0017), and an improvement in their ability to critically evaluate the medical literature (mean score increased from 3.11 to 3.89; P = 0.0008).ConclusionsThis facilitated peer mentoring program demonstrated a positive impact on the academic skills and manuscript writing for junior women faculty. This 1-year program required minimal institutional resources, and suggests a need for further study of this and other mentoring programs for women faculty.

A Review of Developmental Networks

During the past decade, mentoring research has broadened from its traditional dyadic perspective to examine the support provided by a “developmental network.” This article reviews the literature on developmental networks—groups of people who take an active interest in and action toward advancing a protégé’s career. Building on positive organizational scholarship (POS) research on high-quality connections and relationships, the authors propose that a “mutuality perspective,” or taking the viewpoints of all members of the developmental network into account, is a notable gap in developmental network research. They apply this perspective to developmental networks research and discuss implications and avenues for future inquiry. As part of their review, the authors clarify the boundaries of the developmental network construct. They also identify and discuss four research streams that encompass extant studies of developmental networks. This article extends previous reviews of the broad field of dyadic mentoring by providing the first systematic review of developmental network research.

Negotiating Relational Boundaries in Adult-Adolescent Mentoring Relationships

This study explored communication processes between adult mentors and adolescent mentees as they negotiate their roles and enact a mentoring partnership. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with mentoring pairs (10 adolescents, 10 adults) in a community mentoring program. Findings indicated two key communication issues in these relationships: defining relational boundaries, and negotiating tension around freedom and control within the partnership. The study revealed that defining the relationship and establishing boundaries must occur not only within the mentoring dyad but also with the familial network of the mentees. Additionally, an important, ongoing tension in these relationships involved freedom and control as partners managed the intergenerational nature of the relationship, which made them “friends” but not equals. These findings indicate that in order to understand communication within adolescent mentoring relationships we need to consider the unique intergenerational nature of this relationship and the influence of familial relationships on interaction between mentors and mentees.

Facilitated Peer Group Mentoring: A Case Study of Creating Leadership Skills Among the Associate Program Directors of the APPD

I t is well recognized that academic faculty benefit from mentoring relationships in order to achieve their professional goals, facilitate their scholarly productivity, and make meaningful contributions to their colleagues, trainees, institutions, and departments. Junior faculty are faced with many challenges in developing effective mentoring relationships, including lack of available senior faculty members with proper skill sets or interest in mentorship. Although many mentoring models exist, the most commonly pursued by academic faculty is dyadic mentoring. In traditional dyadic mentoring, one mentor is matched with one mentee (often geographically) based on common interests. Ideally, the dyad participates in a bidirectional relationship. There is a growing body of evidence that other innovative mentoring models, such as facilitated peer group mentoring (FPGM), may be more successful. In FPGM, a senior mentor is assigned to a small group of mentees. The group members serve as peer mentors to each other while working on common interests or projects. The process is facilitated by the senior mentor, who may or may not be a content expert. In this paper, we discuss a case study in which effective, productive mentoring was provided through the use of FPGM. This case study involving associate program directors is illustrative of a successful mentoring experience that resulted in academic productivity and enhanced leadership skills. Associate program directors are involved directly in the

Role reversal within the mentoring dyad: collaborative mentoring on the effective instruction of English language learners

Two purposes guided this mixed‐methods investigation of the collaborative mentoring of teachers in a large school system in the south‐eastern United States. The first was to examine collaborative mentoring as unstructured peer‐to‐peer coaching that emerged spontaneously as teachers shared experiences about effectively teaching English language learners (ELLs). The second was to examine how licensure courses contributed to the emergence of collaborative mentoring. Data collection consisted of questionnaires, mentoring stories, phone interviews, and electronic surveys. After completing courses, 84 teachers reported significant increases in frequency and duration of interactions for sharing best practices with colleagues. The data analysts identified course components, causal links, and catalysts as having created conditions for mentoring. Of 33 novice teachers recently trained in teaching ELLs, most found themselves mentoring veteran teachers yet untrained in teaching this student group. This unexpected reversal of the traditional novice/veteran roles within mentoring dyads addresses a gap in the educational literature.

Facilitated peer-mentorship: the challenges faced by facilitator mentors

W omen doctors who wish to advance academically face many challenges. The important role of mentorship for female teaching staff who are pursuing such career development has been previously described. However, the current environment in health care has negatively affected the pool of qualified and willing mentors. Confronted with increased demands for clinical productivity, many senior teaching staff do not have the time or resources to commit to this activity. The resultant paucity of women in the upper ranks of academia precludes the development of sufficient dyadic mentoring partnerships.

Protégé and mentor self-disclosure: Levels and outcomes within formal mentoring dyads in a corporate context

This study examined the role of self-disclosure within protégé/mentor dyads in formal mentoring partnerships within a corporate context as a means of learning more about specific relationship processes that may enhance the positive outcomes of mentoring. While both protégés and mentors self-disclosed in their relationships, protégés disclosed at a higher level than mentors. Protégé self-disclosure, but not mentor self-disclosure, was related to protégé outcomes including mentoring received, relationship satisfaction, and positive influence of mentoring. The study contributes to a mentoring literature that has become more interested in examining mentoring relationship micro-processes from both the protégé and mentor perspective.