S u p p o r t i n g R e s e a r c h S t a f fi n t h e M e d i c a l S c i e n c e s

w w w . m e d s c i . o x . a c . u k / m e n t o r i n g - c i r c l e s

M E N T O R I N G C I R C L E S

Mentoring Circles

Mentoring Circles support research staff across the Divisionby encouraging self-reflection, increasing networkingopportunities, and providing access to senior researchersoutside of mentees’ home departments.

With one senior mentor and three or four mentees,Mentoring Circles are proving a great way of allowingresearchers to meet others from outside their departmentand giving them the space to discuss issues outside of theirimmediate research project.

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“Meeting people from other departments andhearing both new perspectives on my situationand similar concerns to mine makes me feel lessalone.”

“Great to have ‘neutral’ feedback from people ina similar situation. Often it is surprisingly usefulto simply describe a problem and (with advice)arrive at a series of possible actions.”

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Who can be a mentee?

Anyone from a participating department who is employedfor the purpose of research. Many mentees are postdocsbut we also have more senior researchers, lab managers,statisticians, research nurses…It is open to any researcherand we will try to match you as best we can with peoplewho have similar goals to you.

This scheme is not open to students but a range ofsupport is available from: www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare ousu.org ox-fest.org/mentoring

You should also speak to your supervisor if you require anyadditional support.

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Who can be a mentor? Mentoring Circles

Any experienced researcher or academic can be a mentor.You should be willing to pass on experiences you have hadand be interested in developing yourself and others.

Mentors are facilitators who allow their mentees todiscover their own direction by offering guidance. Somementoring relationships rely on the mentor offering advicefrom their own experience and perspective; while this willbe a part of your role, this scheme is more about youlistening and creating the space for your mentees to reflecton whatever issues are important to them, to allow theirpeers’ perspectives as well as your own to inform theirthinking, and to encourage them to take action.

If you have had some experience in motivating a team orbeen a mentor you will already have many of the skillsnecessary for this scheme. You should be able to buildtrust, rapport and confidence among the group in a non-threatening and friendly space. You will act as an enabler,helping the mentees to realise their potential and uncoverhidden talents or abilities while your mentees activelyengage in a non-judgemental, caring yet challengingmanner. We particularly encourage mentees who have‘graduated’ from the scheme to become mentorsthemselves. 4

The impact for mentors

"Became more in touch with certain challengingaspects of postdoc life at Oxford."

"Confidence that I can make a difference to people."

"I've really enjoyed supporting my mentees indiscussing their career aims and how to get there. It'salso helped me develop more skills to support PDR formy own team."

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How much time will Ihave to commit?

Mentoring Circles

Mentoring Circles should run initially for a 12 month period(or for at least four meetings) but the relationship maycontinue by mutual consent. Face to face meetings shouldbe agreed upon and scheduled at the first meeting.Sessions should be held at a mutually convenient location,which can be the mentor's office and should generally lastfor at least an hour. Individual meetings will be available atthe discretion of the mentor; however, please note thatthe mentor is not obliged to offer this to their mentees.

Mentees in a circle are encouraged to meet more regularlyand peer to peer mentoring can also take place betweenmeetings via email to sustain the momentum of themeetings and support each other through any specificconcerns.

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“It was useful to have time away from work,and in a supportive environment, to reflecton personal and career goals.”

What other support isavailable? At the end of this booklet you can find links to the widerange of support for research staff available at theUniversity. The aim of the scheme is that you will comeaway with actions to follow up, so there may well betraining that you have identified, people you want to talkto, or further self-reflection, that the University can helpyou with.

Before you start your mentoring, both mentees andmentors will attend a morning’s introductory session, toask questions and to set the scene for the mentoringprogramme. We will also be in touch with participants partway through the year to see if there are any workshops,resources, or information that we can provide tocomplement the conversations you’re having within yourcircles.

If you have any issues or queries at any time in theprogramme, you can always feel free to contact Dr BridCronin or Dr Laura Hodsdon, Researcher DevelopmentOfficer.

Mentoring Circles

brid.cronin@medsci.ox.ac.uk laura.hodsdon@learning.ox.ac.uk

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Resources Mentoring Circles

The following pages provide some prompts and tools tohelp guide your thinking or for you to use in the sessions.

Other resources and links can be found atwww.ox.ac.uk/supportforresearchers

www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/research/resources for researchers

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SMART ObjectivesThe best way to make the most of mentoring is to makesure that you set yourself concrete goals, ideally at the endof each meeting. Ask yourself whether your actions are:

Specific – rather than ‘I want to improve my relationshipswith colleagues’, say ‘I want to improve my relationshipwith Prof Bloggs by leaving our monthly meetings with aset of actions with which we are both happy’.

Measurable – rather than ‘I’ll publish more’, ‘I’ll publishtwo articles’

Achievable – is it possible? You might want to deliver fivelectures to improve your teaching experience, but do thereexist the opportunities to do so?

Realistic – it’s good to have aspirations, but if you’vedelayed for this long taking on extra managementresponsibilities are you sure you’ll be able to do so now?Perhaps there is something else stopping you.

Time-bound – Perhaps the most important one: giveyourself a deadline, and ask your mentoring circle to keepyou accountable!

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SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is a way to think about your strengthsand weaknesses and the opportunities and threatsassociated with them. It can provide a good starting pointfor discussion and tease out some actions you mightconsider taking. Text adapted from www.mindtools.com

StrengthsConsider your strengths individually and in relation to thepeople around you. If having a particular skill is a jobrequirement then it may be more of a necessity than astrength. Don't be modest – be as objective as you can.• What do you do better than anyone else?• What do other people (and your boss, in particular) seeas your strengths? (If you don’t know, perhaps you couldask them?)• Which of your achievements are you most proud of?

Weaknesses• What tasks do you usually avoid?• What are your negative work habits (for example, areyou disorganized, or are you poor at handling stress)?• What skills do you need to develop?

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SWOT AnalysisOpportunities• Do you have any contacts who can help you, or offergood advice? How could you add to that?• Is there a need or gap in the research that no one isfilling?• Are there any networking events, classes, orconferences that you could attend?• Could you take on some any extra projects orresponsibilities in your current role?

Threats• What obstacles do you currently face at work?• Is your job (or the demand for the things you do)changing?• Could any of your weaknesses lead to threats?

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Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

Researcher DevelopmentFrameworkThe descriptors and areas of the framework can help youto think about the various skills and experience that youwill have as a researcher. What would you like to developmore, either because you want to be more confident orbecause you need it for your career development (orboth)? Why haven’t you done so yet?

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Record of Discussion:Meeting 1

Area Identified:

Actions:

Support Needed:

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Record of Discussion:Meeting 2Progress since last meeting:

Area Identified:

Actions:

Support Needed:

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Record of Discussion:Meeting 3Progress since last meeting:

Area Identified:

Actions:

Support Needed:

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Record of Discussion:Meeting 4Progress since last meeting:

Area Identified:

Actions:

Support Needed:

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Further Information:

Support for researchers websitewww.ox.ac.uk/supportforresearchers Parents and carers informationwww.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/parentsandcarersinformation

Childcare Services www.admin.ox.ac.uk/childcare

Occupational Health www.admin.ox.ac.uk/uohs

Harassment advicewww.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/harassmentadvice

Equality and Diversity Unit www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop IT Services www.it.ox.ac.uk

University and College Union (UCU)www.oxforducu.org.uk

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Support Services and Advice

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Further Information:

Oxford Research Staff Society www.oxrss.ox.ac.ukOxRSS is a collective voice for research staff at theUniversity of Oxford and provides opportunities to networksocially and professionally across the University.

Join the Research Staff mailing list by sending a blankemail to researchstaff_subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk.

Research Staff Twitter account Follow @ResStaffOxfordfor forthcoming events and useful info.

Black and Minority Ethnic Staff Networkwww.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/race

Oxford Women’s Networkwww.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/gender

LGBT Network www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/sexualorientation

University Club www.club.ox.ac.ukThe University Club is a sports and social members Clubfor staff, graduates and alumni.

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Societies and networks

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Further Information:

Careers Service www.careers.ox.ac.ukFree, impartial and objective advice to assist research staffin making well informed decisions about their career. Itoffers: careers advisers who work specifically withresearch staff; one-to-one confidential careers guidance;feedback on CVs and applications and help withinterview preparation; career management workshops andseminars specifically designed for research staff.

Medical Sciences Division Skills Trainingwww.medsci.ox.ac.uk/skillstrainingProgramme for graduate students and research staff.

Oxford Learning Institute www.learning.ox.ac.ukProvides personal and professional development for allstaff at the University, including; personal development(Springboard and Navigator), assertiveness, managingupwards, and a programme for Principal Investigators.

lynda.com, a huge library of video-based, online learningresources covering IT and Design skills and personaldevelopment.

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Career and ProfessionalDevelopment

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