Posted by We spoke to a number of research project managers about how they view their role of being a mentor to their staff or doctoral students. Some, focused on their work, saw it as an additional task in their busy schedules of conferences, speeches and publications. However, there are research project managers who recognize the benefits of serving as a mentor to their colleagues. What are these benefits?
Below is a list of benefits for the project manager in the so-called “hard” area of research project management. In subsequent posts, we will show what personal and relational benefits can be had from the role of a mentor in a research project, that is, we will focus on the “soft” area of research project management.
Benefits of understanding the research problem:
- If you explain the research problem to the mentoree, it facilitates a better understanding of the problem.
- In your conversation with the mentoree, you gain knowledge of what you should do to clearly define the research problem.
- Being a mentoree, you can learn from someone else’s mistakes, not just your own.
Benefits in terms of ideas for solving a research problem:
- You have the space to find solutions that you wouldn’t come up with on your own.
- You can get feedback on an idea you want to apply.
- You get a new approach to solving a problem.
- You enrich your own scientific practice through discussion with the mentoree.
- You get fresh new ideas from the mentoree, often going beyond the usual patterns.
Benefits in terms of organizing work in a research project:
- Being a mentoree helps you better organize your time.
- You can better manage your team and delegate responsibilities.
- You can operate in a more structured and transparent way.
- The mentoree will often take over some of the responsibilities.
- You gain trust in the person who is the mentoree, which solves many organizational problems (e.g., reduces control).
If you want to develop your competence of being a mentor, contact us: contact us: icrk@us.edu.pl