One size does not fit all: the role of mentoring context in proactive individuals' scholarly impact

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda E. Ghitulescu ◽  
Shalini Khazanchi ◽  
Zhi Tang ◽  
Yang Yu
Keyword(s):  
Structural Features ◽  
Proactive Personality ◽  
Gender Composition ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relationship Length ◽  
Mentoring Relationship ◽  
Scholarly Output ◽  
Scholarly Impact ◽  
The Impact

PurposeMentoring relationships have been proposed as a potential intervention to alleviate gender disparities in scholarly output. Yet, previous research has not provided a systematic understanding of the relationship between mentoring and scholarly output. The authors propose that individuals with a proactive personality are especially suited to leverage mentoring relationships to enhance scholarly outcomes. Structural features of mentoring relationships – gender composition, mentor supervisory status, and mentoring relationship length – provide cues that encourage the expression of proactive personality and result in higher scholarly impact.Design/methodology/approachData were collected via surveys from faculty members in a US university and were matched with objective scholarly impact data. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used for hypothesis testing.FindingsThe impact of proactive personality on scholarly impact was more positive for women protégés with women mentors than for all other mentor-protégé pairings. Results also showed support for two hypothesized three-way interactions with mentor status and mentoring relationship length.Originality/valueThis research provides insights into the contexts where mentorship makes the most difference in protégés' scholarly achievement. Gender composition of mentoring dyads and mentor status are important boundary conditions that impact the effect of proactive personality on scholarly output.

scholarly journals Making the mission visible: altmetrics and nontraditional publishing

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 294-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Bonnet ◽  
Marisa Méndez-Brady
Keyword(s):  
Community Outreach ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Scholarly Output ◽  
Scholarly Impact ◽  
Traditional Scholarship ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

PurposeWhereas traditional book and journal publishing remain the gold standard for many post-secondary institutions, nontraditional publishing is just as prolific at the flagship university in Maine. The university has strong land and sea grant missions that drive a broad research agenda, with an emphasis on community outreach and engagement. However, the impact of researchers’ contributions outside of academe is unlikely to be accurately reflected in promotion, tenure or review processes. Thus, the authors designed a series of altmetrics workshops aimed at seeding conversations around novel ways to track the impact of researchers’ diverse scholarly and creative outputs. Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a case study of the instructional approach taken at the University of Maine library to facilitate discussions of alternative impact assessments that reach beyond traditional publications. FindingsEvaluations revealed an increased awareness of, and interest in, impact tracking tools that capture both traditional scholarship, like journal articles, and nontraditional scholarly and creative outputs, such as videos, podcasts and newsletters. The authors learned that altmetrics provides an entry point into a broader conversation about scholarly impact, and was best received by those whose scholarly output is not always captured by traditional metrics. Practical implications Scholars are equipped with novel methods for describing the value of their work and discovering a broader audience for their research. Future initiatives will target the needs identified through initial conversations around altmetrics. Originality/valueAltmetrics workshops provide spaces to explore the potential for new tools that capture a range of previously unconsidered measures of impact, and to discuss the implications of those measures.

Are you my mentor? A study of faculty mentoring relationships in US higher education and the implications for tenure

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-237
Author(s):  
Karen B. Etzkorn ◽  
Ashton Braddock
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Faculty Perceptions ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Senior Faculty ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mentoring Relationship ◽  
Multicampus System ◽  
Higher Education Organizations ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study identifies (1) differences that exist between junior and senior faculty in their beliefs about the impact of mentoring; (2) interest among tenured and tenure-track faculty in participating in a mentoring relationship and (3) the extent to which faculty perceive mentoring as a critical component of the track to tenure.Design/methodology/approachAcross a multicampus system of higher education, 1,017 faculty responded to an anonymous online survey that included both quantitative and open-ended items (response rate 51%).FindingsAlthough all faculty perceive mentoring as valuable, there are significant differences among junior and senior faculty in their beliefs and perceptions about mentoring, as well as their participation in mentoring relationships.Research limitations/implicationsAll five participating campuses operate in the same state under the same governing board, so the findings are not necessarily generalizable to other institutions or populations of faculty.Practical implicationsTo support effective mentoring, it is necessary that higher education organizations institutionalize mentoring and develop a purposeful program in which they train/support mentors and allow for flexibility; it is also critical to solicit input from the faculty at various stages.Originality/valueThis study considered multiple aspects of tenure from multiple institution types within a system of higher education. Furthermore, this study compares junior and senior faculty perceptions and outcomes, which few previous studies have done.

Being “adopted” into a teaching community

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erinn Bentley ◽  
Madison Workman ◽  
Alex Overby
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Mentor Teachers ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Field Placement ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Impact

Purpose In order to prepare new members of the education profession, it is imperative that teachers enter their classrooms with the confidence, knowledge, and skills to serve their students from day one. One method for preparing such teacher candidates or student teachers is through school-based field placements during their preparation program. The purpose of this paper is to describe one example of a yearlong field placement and the mentoring relationships that emerged among participants. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study used the following data sources: focus group interviews among the teacher candidates, focus group interviews among the mentor teachers, field placement reflections and teaching analyses composed by the teacher candidates, and interviews conducted among teacher candidates and mentor teachers. Findings Analysis of the data revealed that the yearlong field placement promoted positive mentoring relationships between teacher candidates and their classroom teachers. Specifically the following themes emerged: the “adoption” of teacher candidates into the high school classrooms, risk-taking within the classrooms, the mentor teachers’ use of constructive feedback, and collaborative “mentoring-down-the-hall.” Originality/value In recent years, various scholars have investigated the impact of field placement experiences on teacher candidates; however, these studies have lacked a detailed analysis of how such experiences impacted mentoring relationships among candidates and their mentor teachers in a collaborative setting. This paper provides an in-depth study of the perceived experiences of mentor teachers and their candidates.

Exploring mentoring across gender, race, and generation in higher education

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydney Freeman Jr ◽  
Frances Kochan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
White Female ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mentoring Relationship ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Extensive Body ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine a long-term mentoring relationship between a White female from the Traditional Generation and an African American male from the Xennial Generation, as engaged in a mentoring relationship within higher education institutions in the USA. The study investigated if, how and to what degree the differences and similarities between them influenced their mentoring relationship. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an autoethnographic approach involving extensive questioning, dialoguing, note keeping and analysis over eight months. Findings The analysis suggested that race had the greatest influence on the relationship. The primary reasons for mentoring success were similarities in family backgrounds and commonly held values. Research limitations/implications This study may not be generalizable to mentoring relationships that do not involve cultural differences in race, age or gender. Practical implications The paper offers a model for the types of strategies individuals can use in cross-racial mentoring endeavors to help build and sustain these relationships. It also includes suggestions for individuals engaged in mentoring relationships, which include gender, race or age differences, and organizations seeking to enhance diversity within their institutions. Originality/value There is not an extensive body of research on individual cross-racial, gender and generational mentoring that provides an analysis of the experience of those involved. Additionally, the model presented for examining cross-racial mentoring relationships is unique.

The role of mentoring relationships in counseling programs

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer N. Boswell ◽  
Angie D. Wilson ◽  
Marcella D. Stark ◽  
Anthony J Onwuegbuzie
Keyword(s):  
Counselor Education ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
Communication Style ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Counseling Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mentoring Relationship ◽  
The Usa

Purpose – The goals of a mentoring relationship are important to the development of mentees. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the specific needs of students and junior faculty in counseling programs. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used a psychological phenomenological research approach to understand the role and significance of a mentor and the mentoring relationship. In this qualitative research study, pre-tenured faculty, doctoral- and master’s-level students in counselor education programs in the USA were interviewed (n=30), to explore the mentorship needs. Findings – In the study, the authors identified 28 codes that emerged from the participants’ lived experiences, which then were organized into seven meta-codes. The seven meta-codes were: relationship between mentor and mentee; communication style or patterns; preferred gender of mentor; introduction to the relationship; mentee needs; mentee benefits; and experiences as a mentee. Originality/value – In the paper, the authors sought to explore the mentoring needs of students and junior faculty in counselor education programs and how these needs can begin to be addressed effectively.

The impact of effort-oriented epistemological beliefs on mentoring support

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 345-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frankie J. Weinberg ◽  
Jay P. Mulki ◽  
Melenie J. Lankau
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Latent Variables ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Measurement Instrument ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of mentor beliefs about effort related to the knowledge and learning process on their extent of mentoring at work, and to determine the role that the mentor’s perception of psychological safety plays in tempering this relationship. Design/methodology/approach – This study was conducted at an 820-member organization maintenance and operations organization consisting of a number of professions in which apprenticeship-style learning is prevalent. Data collection resulted in 570 members self-identifying as having mentored a less experienced colleague. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to confirm that the measurement instrument represents one unified factor, and a structural equation modelling approach was used to assess the relationships among the study’s latent variables. Findings – Results reveal that mentors who hold sophisticated effort-oriented beliefs are more likely to offer psychosocial support to their protégés. Further, although the relationship between effort-oriented beliefs and vocational support is not significant, the mentor’s perception of a psychologically safe work environment significantly moderates both sets of relationships. Research limitations/implications – As approximately 88 per cent of respondents work in service, as opposed to administrative groups, caution should be exercised in generalizing this study’s findings to the general workforce population. Further, the present study did not differentiate mentors who identified a current or previous subordinate as their protégé from those whose protégés were not a subordinate, nor did the authors differentiate formal from informal mentoring relationships. Thus, further investigation is needed to determine whether our hypothesized relationships differ in any unique manifestations of mentoring relationships at work. Practical implications – By providing a better understanding of the relationship between effort-oriented beliefs and mentoring at work, this study may help in the design of more effective mentoring relationships and ultimately enhance knowledge management and workplace learning. Originality/value – There is no previous research that investigates how one’s cognitions about the effort associated with the knowledge and learning process, in particular, influence mentoring at work. This study provides a model for understanding and developing enhanced mentoring relationships, which are considered a critical element of organizational learning.

Ethical leadership and employee task performance: examining moderated mediation process

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 1506-1520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Yang ◽  
Hua Wei
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Organizational Identification ◽  
Proactive Personality ◽  
Mediation Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Performance Examining ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of ethical leadership on employee task performance, specifically the mechanisms through which ethical leadership impacts employee task performance and the moderating role of employee proactive personality. Social identity, social learning, and self-concordance theory were used to explain the way ethical leadership affects employee task performance, and provided another way to understand this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected survey-based dyadic data from middle management team members and subordinates in Chinese companies. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the research hypotheses. Findings The empirical findings indicate that ethical leadership positively influences employee task performance. Organizational identification (OID) mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and employee task performance. Furthermore, the relationship between ethical leadership and employee task performance via OID is moderated by employee proactive personality. Originality/value Employee task performance is critical for a firm’s competitive advantage. This paper adds to knowledge about the relationship between ethical leadership and employee task performance and contributes to effective management.

Mentoring relationships between doctoral students and postdocs in the lab sciences

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-279
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Blaney ◽  
Jina Kang ◽  
Annie M. Wofford ◽  
David F. Feldon
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sequential Mixed Methods ◽  
Hands On ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Student Socialization ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to examine how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics doctoral students interact with postdocs within the research laboratory, identifying the nature and potential impacts of student–postdoc mentoring relationships. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 53 doctoral students in the biological sciences, this study uses a sequential mixed-methods design. More specifically, a phenomenological approach enabled the authors to identify how doctoral students make meaning of their interactions with postdocs and other research staff. Descriptive statistics are used to examine how emergent themes might differ as a product of gender and race/ethnicity and the extent to which emergent themes may relate to key doctoral student socialization outcomes. Findings This study reveals six emergent themes, which primarily focus on how doctoral students receive instrumental and psychosocial support from postdocs in their labs. The most frequent emergent theme captures the unique ways in which postdocs provide ongoing, hands-on support and troubleshooting at the lab bench. When examining how this theme plays a role in socialization outcomes, the results suggest that doctoral students who described this type of support from postdocs had more positive mental health outcomes than those who did not describe this type of hands-on support. Originality/value Literature on graduate student mentorship has focused primarily on the impact of advisors, despite recent empirical evidence of a “cascading mentorship” model, in which senior students and staff also play a key mentoring role. This study provides new insights into the unique mentoring role of postdocs, focusing on the nature and potential impacts of student–postdoc interactions.

Transformational leadership and employee voice: a model of proactive motivation

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 777-790
Author(s):  
Guilin Zhang ◽  
Michelle Inness
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Leadership Behavior ◽  
Proactive Personality ◽  
Employee Voice ◽  
Voice Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reported Data ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Drawing on the model of proactive motivation, the purpose of this paper is to examine how transformational leadership influences followers’ voice behavior through three proactive motivation states, namely, “reason to,” “can do” and “energized to.” It also examines the moderating role of followers’ proactive personality in the relationship between transformational leadership and employee voice. Design/methodology/approach The online survey was distributed through Qualtrics using a two-wave design. In total, 1,454 participants completed the survey at Time 1, of those 447 also completed the survey at Time 2. Findings Transformational leadership influences employee voice via followers’ promotion focus, role-breadth self-efficacy and affective commitment. Followers’ proactive personality attenuates the impact of transformational leadership on voice, supporting the substitute for leadership hypothesis. Research limitations/implications Self-reported data are the main limitation of the present study. Other limitations include treating employee voice as a unidimensional construct and oversimplifying the impact of positive affect on voice. Practical implications The present study suggests that training managers to demonstrate more transformational leadership behavior, enhancing employees’ proactive motivation and hiring proactive individuals are strategies to facilitate employee voice. Originality/value The present study contributes to a better understanding of employee voice from a proactive motivation perspective. It also demonstrates that followers’ proactive personality is important “boundary condition” to transformational leadership.

Exploring the benefits of mentoring activities for the mentor

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Grima ◽  
Pascal Paillé ◽  
Jorge H. Mejia ◽  
Lionel Prud'homme
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Multidimensional Analysis ◽  
Gender Composition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Informal Mentoring ◽  
Professional Performance ◽  
Mentoring Relationship ◽  
Personal Impact ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – Mentoring is more and more studied by researchers on account of its professional and personal impact on mentees. This contribution has two main objectives. First, to empirically validate the benefits for the mentor and to test links between mentoring activities and benefits through a multidimensional analysis. Second, to incorporate two variables structuring the relationship into the analysis: the formal vs informal nature of the mentoring relationship and the gender composition of the dyad. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 161 French managers have been surveyed. Findings – The results show that mentors value the personal dimension of the relationship more than the professional dimension. Moreover, informal mentoring favours the perception of a rewarding experience by the mentor, whereas formal mentoring is synonymous with improved professional performance. This research calls into question the advantage of same-sex dyads, suggesting that heterogeneity favours improved performance. Originality/value – The originality of the paper was to focus on the homogeneity of the mentor-protégé dyad in terms of gender.

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