Inefficient meetings
Both students and supervisors find it irritating to attend wasteful student research meetings.
Individual mentoring is a rare luxury in a modern university setting. But it only turns into a true benefit if the opportunity is actually allowed to develop into one: setting up a meaningful mentoring relationship depends not only on the necessary time and dedication, but also on a culture of exchange that makes the mentoring actually generate traction. Mentoring does not only take two people in the same call or office, it takes an effective communication of what is needed and how it can be achieved. The quality of exchange is often the challenge.
The problem of inefficient meetings stems from a bilateral set of problems introduced by both academic mentors and students. Academic mentors tend to have busy schedules filled by a diverse set of commitments. Consequently, they find it difficult to allocate generous amounts of time to mentor each of the numerous students they are asked to supervise. Many students, on the other side, face a host of challenges to make the exchange with the mentors more productive: first, students who embark on their first research journey might not have enough experience in the research process to properly identify and articulate the challenge they are facing and require help with. Typically, students are unsure which options they have available to overcome challenges and find it difficult to prepare a recommendation on their own to discuss with their supervisors. Finally, it is easy to perceive the relationship with a supervisor as uneasy, as most organisations of student research determine the supervisor both as the mentor and the evaluator of the thesis as an examination. Thus, some students keep in particularly close touch with their supervisor to remain in good memory and help their evaluation, even if there are no problems that require assistance. Other students might decide to never show themselves around their professor’s office in order to rather not rock the boat and possibly benefit from not causing additional work for their examiner.
Instead of encountering wildly differing qualities of meetings with student researchers during their thesis, rather require concrete prerequisites for mentoring meetings: answers to the three questions “What seems to be the issue? What have you tried? How can I help you?” would be valuable to know before scheduling.
Successful mentoring depends on knowing what the mentee is struggling with, what they have tried so far, and where they are headed. Without this basic orientation, it is difficult to help and likely impossible to do so efficiently and successfully. Thus, academic mentors are not only doing themselves but also their students a service to set their requirements for successful and efficient meetings. It should not go unnoticed that inefficient meetings are not only a burden on the schedule, but also on both side’s perception of progress and success in the mentoring relationship. Thus, what looks like a scheduling and / or communication inefficiency also takes its toll on the overall experience of both mentoring and researching.
How do you try to avoid inefficient meetings? Have you learned tricks and tips from others to make the exchange with your students more efficient and desirable for both parties?