Outcomes
graduate employment opportunities ( Sandhu , 2021 ). The criteria guiding recruitment of student mentors , were that :
• we knew , and had established professional working relationships with them – e . g ., as personal tutees , student representatives .
• we felt confident that with briefing and support they would not be afraid to ‘ speak truth to power ’ ( Gurteen , no date ).
Four female students and one male student were recruited , reflecting the current gender imbalance in undergraduate psychology ( Johnson et al ., 2020 ). Although a small group , their demography was rich in terms of age ( early 20s to late 40s ) and ethnicity ( Black British , Asian , African ). Putting themselves forward as participants represented their ability and courage to set themselves challenging but realistic goals ( Demerouti , 2014 ). Four male and one female senior leader ( one Asian , four White ) volunteered to be mentored , reflecting the gender balance and demography of senior university leadership ( at that time ), and more widely in the sector ( Hewitt , 2020 ). Their willingness to engage as equal thinking partners in the mentormentee relationship represented courage and vulnerability , which are attributes of compassionate leadership ( Lawton-Misra and Pretorius , 2021 ), and a willingness to engage in ‘ power listening to truth ’.
A joint briefing session took place over lunch before randomised mentor-mentee matching took place ( see below ). This session introduced key principles and components of a thinking partnership : attention , equality , ease , and appreciation ( see Table 1 above ; Kline , 2009 ). To set the tone of being equal thinking partners everyone introduced themselves by saying : a ) first name / what they preferred to be called ; b ) favourite food and why . The rationale for b ) was to provide an opportunity for intercultural insights at an early point in the mentor-mentee relationship .
Students were given an additional briefing session to support development of their communication and reflective practice skills . They also received a copy of Neff and Germer ’ s ( 2018 ) The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook , which includes resources for writing a reflective journal ( see Neff , no date ). Students were encouraged to share with their mentees their thinking , stories , reflections , and resources related to self-compassion , which comprise : ( i ) self-kindness ; ( ii ) understanding our shared / common humanity ; and ( iii ) mindfulness . Introductory ‘ ice-breaker ’ activities that could be used in initial mentor meetings were also suggested , for example sharing thoughts on TED talks such as Chimamanda Adichie ’ s ‘ The danger of a single story ’. took place in public spaces inside / outside the university . Table 2 summarises key aspects of the mentoring process .
Key Aspects of the Mentoring Process
1 Students were trained in their role as mentors and offered supportive supervision meetings to enable them to ‘ speak truth to power ’
2 The lead author attended an introductory meeting with each mentor and mentee to clarify any issues / concerns
3 Mentors and mentees met for at least 30 minutes , minimum of 3 or 4 sessions based around a negotiated contract , and principle of being equal thinking partners
4 Mentors and mentees were encouraged to keep a reflective journal
5 Follow up individual interviews with students and staff Table 2 : Key aspects of the mentoring process
The study ran from April – July 2019 , and some mentors and mentees ( e . g . the Vice-Chancellor , who has given permission to be named as a mentee ), continued to stay in touch after this point .
Outcomes
Here we present highlights from preliminary interviews with all participants as work in progress . While there was understandable nervousness on both sides , self-compassion played a crucial role in facilitating mentor-mentee conversations . For example , one mentor shared material from Neff and Germer ( 2018 ) with their mentee , and overall the experience was viewed positively by students and senior leaders .
Mentors ’ Experience
“ Where was I and what was I thinking when I opened the email telling me who I would be mentoring ? I was on the bus and thought ‘ OMG ! I ’ m mentoring the VC !’ ”
“ It needs to be an ‘ egoless ’ conversation , so as a student I had to leave my slightly fragile ego outside to be able to share a ‘ proper conversation ’ about the similarities and differences in our experience of growing up as men . I had always thought the grass was greener for academics , but now I think it ’ s just cut differently .”
“ I think my mentee was a ‘ perfect match ’, there was a surprising amount of common ground [ coping with grief and loss ], and I really appreciated how they shared their personal stories in a way that was very warm and open .”
Mentor-mentee matching was done randomly by drawing ‘ names out of a hat ’. Meetings were encouraged outside of formal environments / offices to promote equality and ease ; typically , they
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