About one and a half years ago, I wrote about the topic of mentoring morphogenesis of a Ph.D. You can read my thoughts here on the essential traits that make a good candidate for being a researcher. As with all mentor-apprentice relationships, the relationship is a two-way street. In this post, I'd like to share my current view of good mentoring... (hum... "A good mentor, will be" Master Yoda is watching) :)
One of the biggest and most important jobs (responsibilities, actually) in academia is mentoring. It is a tremendously rewarding process. As a mentor, I cherish a wide variety of talents—often hidden in their raw form (as raw as rocks sometimes). As a craftsman, I have an unstoppable impulse to polish a piece of raw rock into a shiny gem; it is the most gratifying experience. This "polishing" process itself is not always smooth and easy. It requires discipline to adhere to core philosophical principles while embracing consistent adjustments tailored to each piece of precious "raw material"!
Core Values
- Mutual respect (very, very important!)
- The desire for excellence (very, very important!)
- Empathy, honesty, and unconditional love (very important for coaching effectively!)
- Humility (hard to have when you're at the top, so it is even more important!)
Mentoring Philosophy
- Give back to trainees who give their best (mutual respect).
- Build capacity to enable and empower trainees' full potential.
- Build a flat organizational structure. The best idea wins. No authoritarianism!
- Build a team as a caring family working toward the same mission while achieving personal goals.
Goals in Execution
- Structure strategic and interdependent projects to maximize core competency and improve operational efficiency.
- Build a versatile platform to enable high-level research training possibilities.
- Provide a strategic and deliberate plan for trainees.
- Provide swift, thoughtful, substantive, and achievable feedback to the trainees.
- Set measurable goals in daily communications.