January is National Mentorship Month, highlighting the facility of mentorship and its advantages.
Mentoring fosters belief and understanding between a extra skilled particular person (mentor) and somebody with much less expertise (mentee). Ideally, mentoring is mutually helpful, offers routine trade of views, and builds.
Mentorship between college students and educators and between trade specialists and folks new to their trade are two examples of how mentorship sometimes play out. Being mentored by somebody who has skilled what you’re going by way of helps to keep away from pitfalls.
There are various individuals I can title who’ve served as mentors for me, each academically and professionally. As somebody who seeks recommendation and has supplied recommendation, I’m rising extra inquisitive about 1) whether or not mentorship is actually helpful and a couple of) whether or not mentorship promotes fairness.
The phrase “ship the elevator again down” is credited to French actress and singer-songwriter Édith Piaf. I don’t bear in mind the place I first heard this phrase, but it surely’s stayed with me. When somebody sends the elevator again down for others, a number of issues can occur. It creates alternatives for visibility, creating area for mentees to hitch mentors on the elevator. It additionally encourages mentors to not solely make area, however to let go. For others to have these management experiences and change into extra seen, leaders should be pleased with making area and letting go.
However what occurs when mentors are higher at one and never the opposite?
At its core, equity acknowledges historic and sociopolitical components that have an effect on alternatives and experiences, so as to create insurance policies that promote truthful remedy, entry and development.
How does fairness play into mentorship? I feel a variety of the challenges with centering fairness in mentorship should do with energy dynamics.
Energy dynamics impression fairness in mentorship as a mentor can decide the extent of recommendation they provide. Mentors typically management entry to data, networking alternatives, and assets. There’s additionally a false assumption that mentors can’t be taught from their mentees.
Energy dynamics additionally happen when mentees determines how and when they search out their mentor. Reaching out for recommendation and by no means following up, wanting to satisfy at inconvenient occasions, and extra are only a few ways in which mentorship sucks for mentors. On the similar time, whereas mentors are excellent at inviting mentees to expertise alternatives, extra consideration ought to be given to the varieties of alternatives mentors present and their intentions. Sending a mentee to a gathering the mentor doesn’t wish to bodily be at on the floor might profit the mentee, however does it meet the mentee’s educational and profession objectives?
Recognizing the methods every particular person holds energy within the mentor-mentee relationship can enhance fairness within the mentoring relationship. Additionally, recognizing the varied buildings mentoring takes place also can enhance fairness in mentoring. Whereas addressing this can be tougher in sure areas (i.e. educational areas the place college students are anticipated to obtain mentored by college in particular methods), co-creating a course of that makes probably the most sense for each the mentor and mentee can help with this.
Key takeaway
Sending the elevator again down means co-creating a constructive mentoring course of that acknowledges energy dynamics and mutually advantages the mentor and mentee can result in fairness within the mentor-mentee relationship. Understanding objectives, recognizing energy dynamics, offering routine suggestions (and pivoting when wanted), can result in fulfilling mentorship processes the place everybody advantages.
Increase Your Voice: How can “sending the elevator again down” promote fairness? Share your ideas beneath within the feedback part.
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