Are you ready to be an invested mentor?

Mentoring is often seen as a support tool through a challenging period or transition or as a catalyst for progression. New to the institution? Have a mentor. Starting a different role? Here’s a mentor. Want to progress in your academic career? Meet your mentor. 

But how well does it work in higher education? 

Sometimes it’s hard to say. Often the success of a mentoring relationship is not evaluated nor are the rationales for allocating mentors to mentees given deep consideration. So, the process can become a box-ticking exercise. 

Other variables may obstruct a mentoring relationship from achieving its goal. Mentors may feel obligated to accept a request from their line manager (rather than volunteering their expertise and time). They may feel that mentoring is necessary for career progression and so are not truly invested in the process.

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My MA research considers barriers to mentoring and characteristics of effective mentorship, including the long-debated “process v relationship” conundrum. My research found that although certain attributes and conditions (such as geographical proximity or expertise in the subject area) may well support the success of a mentoring relationship, the absence of any of these may not matter if the mentor is appropriately invested. 

So, what is an “invested mentor”?

Academic mentoring that goes the extra mile

Above all, an invested mentor will focus on the needs of the mentee, going beyond what may be usually expected of this role. This may include extra meetings, low-level counselling, checking in on a regular basis and being available for mentees to a reasonable extent (despite workload and time restraints).

An invested mentor should be in it for the right reasons. As a potential mentor, ask yourself: “Why am I doing this?” If the answer is to develop yourself, to support your institution and to help another individual, great. But if the answer is: “Get a pay rise” or avoid negative perceptions if you don’t participate in a mentoring scheme, then perhaps this isn’t the time for you to mentor someone.

The invested mentor model is built on the principle that the mentor’s approach has a significant influence on the success of the relationship, and that if the motivation of the mentor is primarily driven by investment in the mentee, common barriers to traditional mentorship can be overcome, including the absence of a formal mentoring process. 

The three primary areas of investment in this model are: the mentor themselves, the organisation and the mentee. The mentor must have confidence that mentoring benefits both their mentee and themselves (for example, developing an ability to support others as well as personal growth and developing deeper self-awareness). They must also be invested in the organisation – because mentoring also benefits the institution as a whole. This investment ensures the mentor will want mentees to be successful, perhaps even more successful than themselves, which can be a tricky dynamic, admittedly. 

Mentors may also be invested in other stakeholders, such as their students, who ultimately benefit from the success of the mentoring, too. But the mentor must invest in the three primary areas, and the greatest portion of time and energy has be be given to the mentee in the invested mentor approach.

How to put the invested mentor approach into practice

Make time and be approachable

It’s not always easy, but making time is important. The mentee should not feel that they are an imposition. Being geographically close more easily allows for informal and unplanned time together, but if their mentee is further afield, the invested mentor can check in via phone or Teams, for example. Having an approachable attitude helps mentees feel they can also reach out via different means. 

Ensure you are accessible as a mentor

You may demonstrate a friendly persona and you may be willing to devote time to your mentee, but if you are not accessible, these are in vain. Do mentees feel comfortable coming to your office? Are you easier to reach by phone, WhatsApp or email? Negotiate and communicate ways that you are most accessible and with which your mentee feels most comfortable early in the relationship. 

Take a holistic approach to your mentee 

An invested mentor builds a connection with the whole person. This means caring about meeting their mentee’s goals and targets, of course, but the remit also includes checking in about their well-being and feelings of inclusion. Support through the relationship may cover providing connections, supporting work-life balance, listening to their concerns or signposting to appropriate services.

Work on your own self-awareness

The invested mentor should understand how they themselves may be perceived by others in terms of how approachable they are, their accessibility or being non-judgemental. An effective mentor also knows and accepts their own limitations. Nobody can know everything, and nobody is good at everything. An invested mentor is self-aware, ensuring they seek advice from others when they may not be the best person to support the mentee with certain aspects. 

Mentoring as a bigger picture

The invested mentor model goes beyond processes and logistics. This does not mean that the mentor puts in all the effort or does all the work. It simply means that the mentor is totally invested in the mentee, creating a culture that can counteract other barriers to successful mentorship.

Rebecca Taylor is head of the department of education at University College Birmingham.

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