"Mentoring Up: Learning to maximize your relationship with your mentor" was presented as a workshop at Duke University's BioCoRE conference on 7/28/2016 to graduate and undergrad students.

1. Mentoring Up
Learning to maximize your relationship
with your mentor
Steve Lee, PhD
Graduate Diversity Officer
for the STEM Disciplines
Duke University
BioCoRE Symposium
July 28, 2016

2. 1. When you first began doing research, what
was your experience like? What did you
enjoy? What were some challenges?
2. As you started in research, was there a
positive mentor or leader who influenced
you?
a. List 3 words (items) that best describe what this
person contributed to your life
b. Share your 3 words and stories of this person
2
Group Discussion #1

3. Does this look familiar?
Common challenges with your mentor
3

4. What exactly is mentoring?
Traditional Mentoring
4
MentorMentee
Questions,
advice, etc

5. Any other aspects of mentoring?
Peer Mentoring
5
Peer Peer Peer

6. Any other aspects of mentoring?
“Mentoring Up”
6
Questions,
input, etc
MentorMentee

7. Based upon original concept of:
“Managing Up”
7
Gabarro and Kotter, Harvard Business Review, 1980.
Questions,
input, etc
Manager Boss

8. Mentoring up is:
8
Questions,
input, etc
MentorMentee
the mentee learning to pro-actively
engage with their mentor

9. What skills are essential in
managing and mentoring up?
9
Gabarro and Kotter point to 2 essential steps
in managing up:
1. assess yourself
and the other
accurately
2. apply this assessment
to develop a mutually
beneficial relationship

10. Why is self-assessment so important?
Recent update:
“We are All Confident
Idiots” Dunning, 2014
10
Dunning and Kruger, 1999 and 2003
0
20
40
60
80
100
Bottom
quartile
2nd
quartile
3rd
quartile
Top
quartile
%
Actual Test Score
Perceived Test Score
Because research shows we don’t self-assess accurately

11. Why is self-assessment so important?
Because self-awareness leads to better team performance
11
Teams with less self-aware members made worse decisions,
engaged in less coordination, & showed less conflict management.
PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS
DECISION
QUALITY
COORDINATION CONFLICT
MANAGEMENT
Dierdorff & Rubin, March 2015 HBR.ORG
High self-
awareness
teams
Low self-
awareness
teams
32%
68%
27%
73%
35%
65%

12. 12
Why is self-assessment so important?
Leadership experts stress self-leadership as the
greatest need
Dee Hock
founder of Visa and leadership guru
we should spend 50% of our time on self-management
Daniel Goleman
developed concept of emotional intelligence
successful people have high E.Q., which includes self-
awareness and self-regulation
Bill Hybels
founder of Willow Community Church and the Global
Leadership Summit
self-leadership is the most important and most difficult

13. 13
Take-Home Lesson
Assess
Apply
Assess yourself &Assess yourself &Assess yourself &Assess yourself &
othersothersothersothers accuratelyaccuratelyaccuratelyaccurately
Apply yourApply yourApply yourApply your
assessmentsassessmentsassessmentsassessments
strategicallystrategicallystrategicallystrategically
&

14. How do we assess ourselves?
How do we apply our assessment
in mentoring relationships?
14
Please refer to the handout, pages 1-2
Complete the individual & group activities
Group Discussion #2

15. Mentoring up is both:
Engaging pro-actively
act with confidence
seek to understand
your mentor’s
expectations
communicate your goals
and expectations
15
Following respectfully
practice “follow-ship”
actively listen
determine and fulfill
your responsibilities
adapt to your mentor’s
needs
&
Doing both is not easy!

16. What mentoring up is and isn’t
16
Pro-active
Engagement
Respectful Follow-ship
“mentoring up”
actively engaged
collaborative
action-oriented
active listening
collegial
disengaged
apathetic
withdrawn
non-communicative
uncooperative
passive
“door mat”
uncritical
mindless
obsequious
forceful, pushy
difficult, disrespectful
unmanageable
demanding
insubordinate
manipulative

17. Mentoring up is NOT
False-flattery
17
Manipulating your mentor

18. 18
Main Lesson
Assess
Apply
&

19. Assess your needs as a mentee
A Gallup survey of 10,000 people asked:
What leader has the most positive influence in your daily life?
List 3 words that best describe what this person contributes
to your life.
19
Followers’ Four Basic Needs:
security, strength, support, peace
caring, friendship, happiness, love
honesty, integrity, respect
direction, faith, guidance, initiating
Trust
You will need to find multiple mentors to fulfill your needs
Compassion
Hope
Stability

20. Assess yourself and more
Assess yourself
Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder, etc
seek research-based, multiple assessments
myIDP website, 7 success stories, journaling, etc
Assess your mentor
are they receptive to doing a self-assessment?
how do I engage and follow?
Assess your context
seek to understand the different aspects of
mentoring relationships
20

21. Framework of multiple aspects of
mentoring relationships
Communication
Aligning expectations
Assessing understanding
Ethics
21
Handelsman, Pfund, Branchaw, etc at U of WI
Entering Mentoring and Entering Research
Addressing equity and
inclusion
Fostering independence
Promoting professional
development

22. How do we align expectations?
What are some common hidden
expectations?
22
Read Questionnaire for Aligning Expectations
Reply to statements #1, 3, 9, 11
Group Discussion #3

23. We need to mentor not only up &
down, but 360 degrees
23
“mentoring up”
peer mentoring
“servant-leader”
traditional mentoring
“mentoring down”
Mentoring 360 is
developing full circles
of relationships with
• mentors
• peers
• mentees
through all your career
stages

24. Mentoring 360
24
creating full
circles of
mentoring
communities
throughout
your career

25. Thanks for your participation!
What are your action items?
Any questions?
25
?
?
!

26. 1
Mentoring Up
Learning to maximize your relationship with
your mentor
Steve Lee, PhD
Graduate Diversity Officer for the STEM Disciplines
University of California, Davis
stnlee@ucdavis.edu
Duke University
BioCoRE Symposium
July 28, 2016
Group Discussion #1
1. When you first began doing research, what was your experience like? What did you enjoy? What were
some challenges?
2. As you started in research, was there a positive mentor or leader who influenced you? Feel free to
broadly define “mentor” or “leader”. You’re not limited to formal research mentors or faculty.
a. Write down three words that best describe what this person contributed to your life.
b. Share these three words with others in your group, and see if there’s any similarities or patterns.
Share how this person positively influenced your life with others in your group.
Group Discussion #2
A. Individual Activity: adapted Myers-Briggs test for introverts/extroverts < www.humanmetrics.com >
o Select the answer that more accurately reflects your preferred behavior.
Yes No
You enjoy having a wide circle of acquaintances.
You’re usually the first to react to sudden events and surprises.
You easily tell new people about yourself.
You spend your leisure actively socializing with groups of people, attending parties,
shopping, etc.
You rapidly get involved in the social life of a new workplace.
The more people with whom you speak, the better you feel.
It is easy for you to speak loudly.
You enjoy being at the center of events in which other people are directly involved.
You feel at ease in a crowd.
It is easy for you to communicate in social situations.
Totals
o Scoring: add up the number of statements with which you answered “Yes” and “No”. Extroverts will
tend to answer Yes to most of these statements, and Introverts will tend to answer No.
Success Types by John Pelley < http://www.ttuhsc.edu/SOM/success/ >
Well-developed type skills Underdeveloped type skills
Extraversion
Active approach
Bring breadth
Introversion
Reflective approach
Bring depth
Extraversion
Hyperactive
Superficial
Introversion
Withdrawn & secretive
Overly serious

27. 2
What the Types Can Offer Each Other
EXTRAVERTS
• Provide the outwardly directed energy
needed to move into action
• Offer responsiveness to what is going on
in the environment
• Have a natural inclination to converse and
to network
INTROVERTS
• Provide the inwardly directed energy
needed for focused reflection
• Offer stability from attending to deep
ideas, and listening to others
• Have a natural tendency to think and work
alone
B. Group Activity with Case Study: Please read the case study and answer the questions.
• Joseph has been feeling intimidated and overwhelmed with his research professor, and isn’t sure how to
improve his communications with her. He had heard many wonderful and positive things about
Professor Madden, and so had wanted to join her lab. She publishes regularly in high impact journals,
and recently won a couple of prestigious awards for her research and teaching. So when Joseph
applied to join her lab, he was pleasantly surprised when she welcomed him into her group.
• But Joseph has been feeling overwhelmed during his weekly individual meetings with her. She is very
friendly and talkative, and even shares personal stories about raising her young kids. But she also gives
him so many ideas, resources, and tasks to complete, that he has trouble writing down everything in his
notes. He’s constantly afraid that he’s forgotten to record important tasks or items to complete. She
also regularly spouts many terms and acronyms that are unfamiliar to him, but he’s afraid to ask too
many questions because he doesn’t want to look incompetent and because she seems so busy with her
own work and travel. He’s thought about asking if he could audio-record their meetings, but he’s
concerned that she might think it would a little awkward, or an invasion of her privacy to record their
individual meetings. He’s also thought about asking for advice from other members of the research
group, but they all seem to have their cliques and he’s feeling too timid to approach others. His past
research group had felt more comfortable with only 3 members, but his new group has 18 members
and feels so big to him.
• Questions:
1) Share your results from the test for introverts and extroverts. Do you think the test and the tables
helped you to determine or confirm your preference to be an introvert or extrovert?
2) Do you think Joseph is an introvert or extrovert? Is the professor an introvert or extrovert? Explain
your reasoning by referring to their specific interactions.
3) What exactly are the problems that Joseph is facing with his research mentor? Try to specifically
identify his difficulties.
4) How might Joseph adapt, to work better with his professor? How can he improve his understanding
of her expectations for his research?
a) How might Joseph use his strengths to help resolve his problem?
b) What underdeveloped type skills (see tables above for some ideas) might Joseph need to
address as he considers how to improve the communication with his professor?
5) Place yourself in Professor Madden’s role, and try to understand her perspective.
a) From Professor Madden’s perspective, what might she perceive about Joseph?
b) What are Professor Madden’s challenges and priorities? What might Professor Madden
realistically do, to help improve communication and to work more effectively with Joseph?
6) How would this relationship differ if Joseph and his professor had their opposite types? This is a
tough, but important question! Think carefully and hard. What conflicts and miscommunications
might arise? How would they address their conflicts?

28. 3
Questionnaire for Aligning Expectations in New Mentoring Relationships
Mentor / Supervisor: Mentee / Student:
Time Period: Dept / Program:
Read each pair of statements and estimate your position on each. For example with statement 1, if you believe
strongly that the ideal mentoring relationship focuses on the research interests, you would circle “1” or “2”. But if you
think that the ideal relationship focuses on the working and communication styles, you would circle “3” or”4”.
The Mentoring Relationship
1
For an ideal mentoring relationship, it’s
important for both mentor and mentee to
have similar research interests
1 2 3 4
For an ideal mentoring relationships, it’s
important for both to have similar working
and communication styles
2
Mentors should only accept mentees when
they have specific knowledge of the
mentee’s chosen topic
1 2 3 4
Mentors should feel free to accept mentees
from a broad range of disciplines, to provide
overall guidance
3
A personal and friendly relationship
between mentor and mentee is important
for a successful relationship
1 2 3 4
A professional relationship is advisable to
maintain objectivity for both mentee and
mentor during their work
4
The mentor is responsible for providing
emotional support & encouragement to the
mentee
1 2 3 4
Personal counselling and support are not the
responsibility of the mentor; mentees should
look for these elsewhere
5
The mentor should develop an appropriate
plan and timetable of research and study for
the mentee
1 2 3 4
The mentee should develop their own plan
and timetable of research and study, and
seek input from the mentor as needed
6
The mentor should decide how frequently
to meet with the mentee
1 2 3 4
The mentee should decide when she/he
wants to meet with the mentor
7
The mentor should check regularly that the
mentee is working consistently and on task 1 2 3 4
The mentee should work productively and
independently, and not have to account for
where time is spent
8
The mentor is responsible for ensuring that
the mentee is introduced to the appropriate
services of the department and university
1 2 3 4
It is the mentee’s responsibility to ensure
that she/he has located and accessed all
relevant services and facilities
Research Topics
9
It is the mentor’s responsibility to select a
research topic for the mentee
1 2 3 4
The mentee is responsible for selecting
her/his own research topic
10
It is the mentor who decides which
theoretical framework or methodology is
most appropriate
1 2 3 4
Mentees should decide which theoretical
framework or methodology they wish to use
11
When choosing research topics, I prefer to
work on projects with potential for high
payoffs, even if it involves high risk
1 2 3 4
When choosing research topics, I prefer to
work on projects that have a high & safe
chance of success, even if the payoff is low
12
I prefer to work on projects independently
by myself
1 2 3 4
I prefer to work on projects collaboratively
with other team members.
Dissertation, Papers, and Presentations
13
The mentor should insist on seeing all drafts
of work to ensure that the mentee is on the
right track
1 2 3 4
Mentees should submit drafts of work only
when they want constructive criticism from
the mentor
14
The mentor should assist in the preparation
of presentations & writing of the thesis,
papers, and reports
1 2 3 4
The preparation of presentations & writing
of the thesis, papers, and reports should be
the mentee’s own work
15
The mentor is responsible for decisions
regarding the standard of presentations, the
thesis, papers, and reports
1 2 3 4
The mentee is responsible for decisions
concerning the standard of presentations,
the thesis, papers, and reports

29. 4
Using the “Questionnaire for Aligning Expectations in New Mentoring Relationships”
The Role of Expectations
Aligning expectations and goals is a constant theme in the literature on mentoring relationships and
supervision. The expectations do not need to be identical for both sides (and would be unrealistic), but a
thorough discussion of expectations can greatly increase the likelihood of a productive collaboration and
minimize conflicts. Relevant expectations in the context of research mentoring and supervision can relate
to:
• understandings of what research is
• appropriate roles of mentors and mentees, supervisors and employees, etc
• what is professional behavior and how respect is expressed to the mentor and mentee
• the likely consequences of asking questions or acknowledging problems
• how both the mentor and mentee can be pro-active and actively listen to each other
• and many other issues.
Mismatches of expectations are a constant theme in the literature on supervision and mentoring. To help
bring some of these differences in expectations into the open for discussion, a possible strategy is using this
questionnaire. This tool has been designed as a discussion starter for use by supervisors and students.
Our experience suggests that the tool is especially effective when users of this form recognize that
• there are no “right” answers to the items on the questionnaire
• responses are likely to be different at different stages of academic or professional progress
• even identical numerical responses can correspond to different thoughts and expectations
• the purposes of using this form are:
o to structure a fruitful discussion about the reasons why different responses may have been selected,
and
o to decide on appropriate ongoing actions for the current participants and stage
Suggestions for Use
We suggest the following process for using this form.
○ make sure both parties have a blank copy of the questionnaire
○ both parties fill out the questionnaire separately
○ set up a meeting that will be focused on this questionnaire
○ at the meeting, start by comparing the responses given for each statement by each person
○ discuss thoroughly the significance of each response (i.e. answer what each response means for each
person)
○ provide suggestions on how you’ll address different responses and expectations
○ consider repeating the process at various points (e.g. once per year, during critical transitions of the
mentee’s academic timeline, etc)
This document was originally from work by Ingrid Moses (Centre for Learning & Teaching, University of Technology,
Sydney); adapted by Margaret Kiley & Kate Cadman (Advisory Centre for University Education at the University of
Adelaide); further adapted by Steve Lee (Graduate Diversity Officer for the STEM Disciplines at UC Davis), with
input by Chris Golde (Stanford University).

30. 5
Success Types in Medical Education by John Pelley
http://www.ttuhsc.edu/SOM/success/
Characteristics of each type: Comparison of well-developed skills and underdeveloped skills
Well-developed type skills and
Positive Perceptions
Underdeveloped type skills and
Negative Perceptions
Extraversion
Active approach
Bring breadth
Introversion
Reflective approach
Bring depth
Extraversion
Hyperactive
Superficial
Introversion
Withdrawn & secretive
Overly serious
Sensing
Practical
Brings data
Intuition
Imaginative
Brings perspective
Sensing
Slow & dull
Narrow focus
Intuition
Careless
Impractical & dreamy
Thinking
Analyze situations
Bring consistency
Feeling
Affiliate people
Bring harmony
Thinking
Cold & uncaring
Overly competitive
Feeling
Easily hurt
Overly sentimental
Judging
Decisive
Bring a plan
Perceiving
Inquisitive
Bring options
Judging
Overly opinionated
Controlling
Perceiving
Indecisive
Procrastinating
Contributions of Opposite Types to Each Other: What the types can offer each other
EXTRAVERTS
• Provide the outwardly directed energy needed to
move into action
• Offer responsiveness to what is going on in the
environment
• Have a natural inclination to converse and to
network
INTROVERTS
• Provide the inwardly directed energy needed for
focused reflection
• Offer stability from attending to deep ideas, and
listening to others
• Have a natural tendency to think and work alone
SENSING TYPES
• Have a mastery of the facts.
• Bring a knowledge of what materials and resources
are available.
• Appreciate knowing and doing what works.
INTUITIVE TYPES
• Know by way of insight and attention to meanings.
• Bring a grasp of what is possible and what the
trends are.
• Appreciate doing what hasn't been tried before.
THINKING TYPES
• Take a hard look at the pros and cons of situations,
even when they have a personal stake.
• Have an ability to analyze and solve problems.
• Want to discover the "truth" and they naturally
notice logical inconsistencies.
FEELING TYPES
• Know what is important to and for people, and
adhere to that in the face of opposition.
• Have an ability to build relationships and to be
persuasive.
• Want to uncover the greatest "good" in a situation
and they notice when people may be harmed.
JUDGING TYPES
• Can organize, plan, and follow through on
projects.
• Push to get things settled and decided.
• Appreciate well-oiled efficiency at work.
PERCEIVING TYPES
• Can respond quickly and flexibly to the needs of
the moment.
• Strive to keep things open so new information may
be gathered.
• Appreciate the need for spontaneity and
exploration at work.
Looking at Type: The Fundamentals by Charles Martin, 1997, Center for Applications of Psychological Type

31. 6
References and Resources
General Resources on Mentoring Relationships
• Research Mentor Training: http://www.researchmentortraining.org/index.aspx
• Handelsman, J.; Pfund, C.; Lauffer, S. M.; Pribbenow, C. “Entering Mentoring: A seminar to train a new generation
of scientists” (the first edition is available for a free download)
o http://www.hhmi.org/sites/default/files/Educational%20Materials/Lab%20Management/entering_mentoring.pdf
• ‘‘Biomedical Workforce Diversity: The Context for Mentoring to Develop Talents and Foster Success Within the
‘Pipeline’’’ Richard McGee, AIDS and Behavior, July 2016.
• Beyond “Finding Good Mentors” to “Building and Cultivating your Mentoring Team”
o Rick McGee, Steve Lee, Chris Pfund, and Janet Branchaw
o book chapter in National Postdoc Association’s “Advancing Postdoc Women Guidebook”; free pdf available
at: http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/?page=ElsevierGuidebook
Mentoring Up:
• Gabarro, John and John Kotter. “Managing Your Boss” Harvard Business Review, 1980, pp 92-100.
• “Mentoring Up”: Learning to Manage Your Mentoring Relationships. Lee, S.; McGee, R.; Pfund, C.; Branchaw, J.
book chapter in The Mentoring Continuum: From Graduate School Through Tenure, Syracuse University Press,
Glenn Wright, editor, 2015. http://syracuseuniversitypress.syr.edu/spring-2016/mentoring-continuum.html
Managing Up in Science
• “The Care and Maintenance of your Advisor” Hugh Kearns and Maria Gardiner, Nature, Vol 469, 2011, p 570.
o http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7331-570a
• “Managing Up: An industry skill you can learn in academia” David Jensen, Science, June 8, 2016.
o http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2016/06/managing-industry-skill-you-can-learn-academia
Self-Awareness
• Dunning, D. and Kruger, J. "Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence
lead to inflated self-assessments." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77 (1999): 1121-1134.
• Dunning, David. “We Are All Confident Idiots” Pacific Standard, Oct 27, 2014.
o http://www.psmag.com/health-and-behavior/confident-idiots-92793
• Dierdorff, E. and Rubin, R. “Research: We’re not very self-aware, especially at work” Harvard Business Review,
March 12 2015. https://hbr.org/2015/03/research-were-not-very-self-aware-especially-at-work/
Self-Assessments
• A free, unofficial version of the Myers Briggs Type test: www.humanmetrics.com
• An introduction to the Myers Briggs types by John Pelley. He refers to this as “success types”
o http://www.ttuhsc.edu/SOM/success/
• “Please Understand Me II” by David Keirsey
o A more thorough explanation of Myers Briggs types
• StrengthsFinder materials: http://strengths.gallup.com/default.aspx
o I recommend the book “Strengths Based Leadership”, which provides a code to take the online test.
• myIDP website (IDP = Individual Development Plan): http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/
Mentoring Compacts and Evaluating Mentoring Skills
• Example Mentor Compacts: https://mentoringresources.ictr.wisc.edu/ExampleMentoringCompacts
• Fleming, M.; House, S.; Hanson, V. S.; Yu, L.; Garbutt, J.; McGee, R.; Kroenke, K.; Abedin, Z.; Rubio, D. M. (2013).
The Mentoring Competency Assessment. Academic Medicine, 88(7), 1002–1008.
• Example Mentor Evaluation Forms: https://mentoringresources.ictr.wisc.edu/EvalTemplates
• “Defining Attributes and Metrics of Effective Research Mentoring Relationships” C. Pfund, A. Byars-Winston, J.
Branchaw, S. Hurtado, K. Eagan, AIDS and Behavior, April 2016.