January is National Mentorship Month, highlighting the power of mentorship and its benefits.
Mentoring fosters trust and understanding between a more experienced person (mentor) and someone with less experience (mentee). Ideally, mentoring is mutually beneficial, provides routine exchange of perspectives, and builds on knowledge and trust.
Mentorship between students and educators and between industry experts and people new to their industry are two examples of how mentorship typically play out. Being mentored by someone who has experienced what you’re going through helps to avoid pitfalls.
There are many people I can name who have served as mentors for me, both academically and professionally. As someone who seeks advice and has provided advice, I’m growing more curious about 1) whether mentorship is truly beneficial and 2) whether mentorship promotes equity.
The phrase “send the elevator back down” is credited to French actress and singer-songwriter Édith Piaf. I don’t remember where I first heard this phrase, but it’s stayed with me. When someone sends the elevator back down for others, several things can happen. It creates opportunities for visibility, creating space for mentees to join mentors on the elevator. It also encourages mentors to not only make space, but to let go. For others to have these leadership experiences and become more visible, leaders have to be ok with making space and letting go.
But what happens when mentors are better at one and not the other?
At its core, equity acknowledges historical and sociopolitical factors that affect opportunities and experiences, in order to create policies that promote fair treatment, access and advancement.
How does equity play into mentorship? I think a lot of the challenges with centering equity in mentorship have to do with power dynamics.
Power dynamics impact equity in mentorship as a mentor can determine the level of advice they offer. Mentors often control access to information, networking opportunities, and resources. There’s also a false assumption that mentors can’t learn from their mentees.
Power dynamics also occur when mentees determines how and when they seek out their mentor. Reaching out for advice and never following up, wanting to meet at inconvenient times, and more are just a few ways that mentorship sucks for mentors. At the same time, while mentors are very good at inviting mentees to experience opportunities, more consideration should be given to the types of opportunities mentors provide and their intentions. Sending a mentee to a meeting the mentor doesn’t want to physically be at on the surface may benefit the mentee, but does it meet the mentee’s academic and career goals?
Recognizing the ways each person holds power in the mentor-mentee relationship can improve equity in the mentoring relationship. Also, recognizing the various structures mentoring takes place can also improve equity in mentoring. While addressing this may be more challenging in certain spaces (i.e. academic spaces where students are expected to receive mentored by faculty in specific ways), co-creating a process that makes the most sense for both the mentor and mentee can assist with this.
Key takeaway
Sending the elevator back down means co-creating a positive mentoring process that recognizes power dynamics and mutually benefits the mentor and mentee can lead to equity in the mentor-mentee relationship. Understanding goals, recognizing power dynamics, providing routine feedback (and pivoting when needed), can lead to fulfilling mentorship processes where everyone benefits.
Raise Your Voice: How can “sending the elevator back down” promote equity? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.
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