A strong faculty mentoring program enhances success, boosts satisfaction and fosters a sense of community. It is a mutually beneficial program for both mentors and mentees. Here are some guidelines for developing or enhancing your faculty mentoring program:

Mentor-Mentee Matching: Junior faculty should suggest one, or ideally two, senior faculty members to serve as their mentors. The department head can  then discuss these choices with the junior faculty and the nominated senior faculty to ensure a good fit.

• Regular Check-ins: Ideally, assigned mentors should meet with their mentees regularly, at least once per semester, to discuss progress and offer guidance. Department heads can support this effort by checking in on meetings and reminding pairs to connect.
• Encourage Social Interaction: Informal social meetings, like lunch or coffee, can often be a more successful way to connect. Departments may provide a modest budget to cover the cost of these social gatherings and in some cases, the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty may also contribute resources.
• Suitable Discussion Topics: Mentors can cover a wide range of topics, including:
  • Time management
  • Student advising and supervision
  • Navigating promotions 
  • Securing funding
  • Teaching strategies and dealing with difficult student situations
  • Self promotion
  • Peer review processes (e.g., reviewing papers and responding to referee reports)
• Thoughtful Advice: Mentors should offer advice thoughtfully, perhaps prefacing it with disclaimers like “in my opinion” or “this approach worked for me.” Mentees should also feel comfortable seeking advice from many sources, including the department head. 
• Biannual Q&A Sessions: These can be hosted by the department to provide another opportunity for junior faculty to learn and to form a community. A group of senior faculty can serve as panelists for these events. The role of the panel is to respond to questions and share anecdotes about their own experiences. 
• Promotion and Reappointment Guidance: During the spring of a promotion or reappointment year, mentors have the added responsibility of guiding their mentee through the process. They can help prepare dossiers and materials, reviewing drafts and providing feedback before submission. This is an initial step; the department head and other senior faculty will typically also review drafts before final submission.
• Be Proactive: Junior faculty should actively engage in their mentoring relationships, both in terms of professional ties and affinity groups. Faculty can also practice peer mentoring and work to build and maintain collegial networks in the department and nationally in the discipline.

Effective mentoring relationships are built on individual needs and mentor resources. Mentoring relationships can face challenges, but many can be easily avoided with open communication and realistic expectations.

• Hesitation to Engage: Mentees might be reluctant to reach out, concerned about their busy mentors' time or their own autonomy. Conversely, mentors might assume their mentees prefer not to be contacted without a direct invitation. While respecting a colleague's time is always important, the success of a mentoring relationship often hinges on the trust built through consistent interaction. Both mentors and mentees need to be proactive in initiating contact and sharing concerns. Remember, mentors can only help if they know what questions and concerns you have.
• Unrealistic Expectations: Mentees can sometimes have unrealistic expectations, relying on one or two mentors as their sole source of guidance. It is crucial for mentees to seek out additional mentors and resources to address all of their questions and needs. A robust network of advisors will better support your development
• Relationships That Don’t “Click”: Sometimes, despite best intentions, a mentoring relationship simply doesn’t work. This is less likely to happen if you begin with an open dialogue about mutual expectations, needs, and how each person views their role. Regularly reviewing these initial expectations can help maintain a healthy and beneficial relationship. It's also important that any mentoring relationship has a "no-fault" termination option if it's not serving its purpose.

Evolving Relationships: All mentoring relationships evolve as the mentee's needs are met and they become more independent. Mentors and mentees should understand that the "seasons" of a mentoring relationship will change, and the frequency of contact may naturally vary over time. This evolution is a sign of success.

Each mentoring relationship is unique and must be developed to match the needs of the mentee and the resources the mentor brings to the relationship.

Qualities of Effective Mentors

• Commitment to the time required for meeting and advising
• Commitment to reviewing the mentee’s work
• Guidance on setting realistic career vision, goals and objectives
• Collaborative development of appropriate goals and strategies for achieving goals
• Guidance and resources for developing academic competencies, in scholarly research, teaching, scholarly presentations, and overall career management
• Facilitation in the development of academic networks
• Careful and active listening, ability to work across boundaries of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, culture and religion 
• Provision of constructive feedback
• Attention to measuring progress
• Consideration of sponsorship when appropriate and possible
• Maintenance of confidentiality when appropriate and creation of an environment of trust
• Respect for personal boundaries

Ideas for Successful Mentors

Establish a Strong Foundation

• • Assess Your Capacity and Connect Resources: Recognize and evaluate what you can offer, and be prepared to direct your mentee to additional resources or mentors for specific questions or needs. No single mentor can cover everything.

• Negotiate Expectation: Early on, discuss and agree on meeting frequency, topics, and mutual expectations to avoid misunderstandings. Be open to renegotiating these as the relationship evolves.

Provide Constructive Guidance

• • Deliver Effective Feedback: Offer both praise and criticism, ensuring it is descriptive, focuses on behavior, and includes actionable suggestions for improvement.  Point your mentee to any available institutional support for career development. When possible, provide critical and constructive feedback on proposals and papers. 

• Share Practical Wisdom: Advise on topics such as: 
  • University, college, and departmental policies, including unwritten rules.
  • Strategies for effective teaching, grading, and grant writing.
  • Managing time and learning to say "no" to excessive demands.
  • Research, publication, and conference presentations.
  • Effective interactions with students and colleagues.
  • Navigating tenure and promotion requirements and processes.
  • Informal rules for advancement and showcasing their work.
  • Long-term career planning, including balancing teaching, research, and service. 

Champion Your Mentee

• Advocate Actively: Champion your mentee for resources within your department and, if possible, promote them within the profession.
• Facilitate Networking: Make introductions to colleagues in other departments and fields.

Nurture the Relationship

• Proactive Engagement: Actively maintain the relationship through regular contact. Don’t hesitate to tell your mentee if their requests for your time are too little or too much.
• Encourage Growth: Avoid confrontation and do not prevent mentees from taking reasonable risks to achieve their objectives. 
• Support and Confidentiality: If your mentee needs help you can't provide, find ways to connect them with other faculty or resources without compromising confidentiality.

Successful mentees effectively manage their relationships with their mentors and proactively engage in both the relationship and their career development. Here are some things to think about as you work with your mentor(s):

• Be Proactive and Prepared: Initiate meetings, and come prepared with a "game plan" for your conversations and a clear agenda for each session.
• Define the Relationship: Discuss and agree upon the parameters of your mentoring relationship early on. Clarify topics, meeting frequency, and mutual expectations for both mentee and mentor roles. Outline specific developmental goals you seek guidance on. These expectations can be renegotiated as needed.
• Collaborate on Your Plan: Clearly articulate your career needs and goals, then work with your mentor to get feedback and establish a timeline for achieving them.
• Follow Through: Take initiative in setting and completing agreed-upon goals. When providing deliverables for review, ensure you allow your mentor adequate time and respect their schedule.
• Be Open to Feedback and Growth: Develop strong listening skills and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone, including working across diverse perspectives (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, culture, religion). Actively solicit and thoughtfully consider both positive and negative feedback.
• Cultivate Independence: Make an active commitment to developing your scholarly independence.
• Respect Boundaries: Always respect your mentor's personal boundaries.
• Diversify Your Network: Remember, no single person has all the answers. Seek out multiple senior faculty mentors, both on and off campus, and actively develop a peer network within CMU and nationally. Connecting with peers in similar situations can provide invaluable advice and support.
• Utilize CMU Resources: Make the most of professional development opportunities offered at CMU, such as faculty development seminars from the Vice Provost for Faculty and teaching seminars from the Eberly Center.