Chapter 3- Cultivating Diverse Forms and Functions of Mentoring Relationships Within Academia

While mentoring is shown to have several positive benefits within academia, it is necessary to focus on the range of different high-quality relationships that are a necessary yet complex aspect of mentoring relationships. Thus, mentoring represents a complex, dynamic, and diverse range of mutually beneficial developmental relationships across diverse functions (career and psychosocial) and types (hierarchical, peer, group, and reverse) of mentoring. The impact of mentoring within academia demonstrates that these relationships are essential for developing a wide range of knowledge, skills, and abilities and developing social relationships and networks that are significant for learning, development, success, and well-being. Our chapter looks at the various forms and functions of mentoring within an academic context that includes hierarchical, peer, group, and reverse mentoring. In addition, we outline directions for future research and practice that explore the ideas of mentoring as a buffer, a tool for social influence, and a catalyst for identity work as people journey throughout their academic and professional pathways

Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia

This book, Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia, makes a unique and needed contribution to the mentoring field as it focuses solely on mentoring in academia. This handbook is a collaborative institutional effort between Utah State University’s (USU) Empowering Teaching Open Access Book Series and the Mentoring Institute at the University of New Mexico (UNM). This book is available through (a) an e-book through Pressbooks, (b) a downloadable PDF version on USU’s Open Access Book Series website), and (c) a print version available for purchase on the USU Empower Teaching Open Access page, and on Amazon

Stories of Leadership: Leading with Empathy through the COVID-19 Pandemic

Leader–follower interactions during times of complexity are critical in managing rapid change demands and ensuring organizational sustainability. Between early 2020 and 2023, many organizations worldwide witnessed an unprecedented need for organizational change that rapidly transformed the work environment. This study focused on understanding the contexts of leader and follower interactions during times of change using the shifting organizational landscapes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Applying a qualitative methodology, we collected data from 12 leaders across multiple business sectors in Africa, Asia, and the United States using semi-structured interviews. We then transcribed the interviews and applied an iterative phronetic approach to analyze the data by engaging complexity leadership, emotion in organizations, leading with empathy, belonging, and power and control as theoretical lenses for data analysis. We analyzed how individual leadership experiences during a time of complexity fostered a shift in leadership paradigms and leadership styles within organizations. The findings indicated that due to the unprecedented situations faced during COVID-19, leaders shifted from leadership styles that applied a lens of power and control to an adaptable model that follows the framework of complexity leadership and applies a lens of leading with emotional intelligence. The findings provided a nuanced understanding of the leader–follower relationship by allowing for a complex and varied description of how individuals discursively situate their experiences around issues of power and control. The findings also showed that leaders became more intentional about leading, purposely changing their leadership style to create an environment that supported open communication, belonging, empathy, and awareness. The findings also suggested that when leaders adapt elements of emotional intelligence in leading during times of organizational complexity, they do so with the goal of motivating others and creating a feeling of connection with followers. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed