Mentoring

Two-way learning. Developmental relationships. Genuine partnerships.

MENTORING PARTNERS VOLUNTARY INPUT IN MATCHING DEVELOPMENTAL NETWORK APPROACH

MENTORING PARTNERS

Mentoring Partners

To promote a mutual partnership, AHRD is opting for a relational mentoring model where participating faculty/advanced doctoral student/post-doctoral scholar will be mentoring partners to each other (Ghosh, Hutchins, Rose, & Manongsong, 2020; Ragins & Verbos, 2007; Ragins, 2011). In other words, both parties in the mentoring relationship can be mentors and/or mentees depending on their developmental needs. Rotating the mentor/mentee roles between each other will enable them to reciprocate each other's learning.

For example, a junior HRD faculty can be a mentee when he/she is learning from a senior or a mid-career HRD faculty (enacting a mentor's role) about how to publish in HRD journals. The same junior HRD faculty can mentor the mid-career/senior HRD faculty on a new topical area that is gaining traction in HRD research in recent years (e.g., engagement, incivility etc.).

This model emphasizes two-way learning characterizing high-quality developmental relationships and challenges the traditional notion that views mentoring as a top-down hierarchical relationship where one who is relatively senior in the relationship typically assumes the mentor's role (Ghosh, Reio, & Haynes, 2012).

VOLUNTARY INPUT IN MATCHING

The participating faculty will be allowed to choose their top 3 preferred mentoring partners from the list of all participants in this program. So, for example, if 10 faculty participants have enrolled, each faculty will be asked to choose 3 mentoring partners from the list of 9 participants for themselves.

Each faculty participant will complete a "Mentoring Partner choice Form" where they will need to justify their choice by explaining why their chosen mentoring partners are best suited/prepared to meet their developmental needs and how they are best suited to meet their chosen partners' developmental needs. Developmental needs of all participating faculty will be made available to inform these choices.

Once each participating faculty has indicated their 3 preferred mentoring partners, the Mentoring Program team will facilitate the pairing/matching by ensuring that they are paired with one of their 3 preferred mentoring partners.

Seeking voluntary input into matching/pairing will help to build ownership of the mentoring partnerships among the participants (Allen, Eby, & Lentz, 2006; Hegstad & Wentling, 2004).

DEVELOPMENTAL NETWORK APPROACH

The participating faculty need to remember that the mentoring partnership they will develop in this program will be ONE developmental relationship among many they can establish for their professional and personal growth.

So, this program is not promising to meet all of their developmental needs as it is not possible for one mentoring partner to meet all developmental needs (Dobrow, Chandler, Murphy, & Kram, 2012; Higgins & Kram, 2001).

It is to provide an "in-discipline" resource that helps each support the development needs of each partner. Each faculty will be encouraged to consider their mentoring partnership as a valuable resource in their developmental network which will include other developmental relationships inside or outside the AHRD.

Benefits of Mentoring Program

General Benefits:

Getting oriented and acclimated to particular institutions (understanding academic culture, identifying research and teaching resources, creating a network of trusted affiliates)
Finding ways to develop collegiality among peers and mentors
Staying accountable to one another/tracking progress/celebrating success
Developing a record keeping strategy
Developing a networking plan to understand campus, regional, and national affiliations
Support in creation of a career plan (CV updates, project suggestions, agenda shaping, etc.)
Suggestions for balancing competing responsibilities in life and work
Identifying strengths and leveraging them to enhance one's career
Time management suggestions, advice, feedback to establish appropriate balance of research, teaching, and service (based upon institutional requirements)

Benefits for Research:

Learning about the essentials of the tenure process
Soliciting feedback from annual review process
Identifying and exploring sources of internal and external funding
Soliciting feedback on manuscripts and grant proposals
Assistance in understanding professional norms for publication
Help developing a tenure dossier
Help with identifying scholars in the field who share mutual research agendas
Assistance to identify relevant professional affiliations

Benefits for Teaching:

Accessing resources to advance teaching practice, grading, technology, and lesson planning
Co-teaching opportunities, sharing of resources and content
Understanding student expectations
What are norms for teaching loads in the field
Help with advising and counseling of undergrad, grad, and doc level students
Assistance in instructional design
Examples and support for syllabus development
Best practices shared by both partners
How to handle student evaluations, feedback (both solicited and unsolicited)
Filing practices for student assignments, records, background information, etc.

Benefits for Service:

Help navigating campus involvement in committees
Where to get connected on the campus, regional, and national levels
Understanding norms and expectations of the institution and the field
Assistance to develop an excellent record of service and outreach
Help identifying service opportunities that align with both research and teaching interests
Suggestions for approaching local and regional organizations with service outreach
Help identifying expectations for program recruitment and community engagement
Assistance with understanding effective Program Management/Direction/Coordination

Mentoring News

Announcing the Excellence in AHRD Mentoring Partnership Award

The Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD), in formal partnership with the International Mentoring Association (IMA), is pleased to introduce the Excellence in AHRD Mentoring Partnership Award, a new award established to recognize and celebrate exemplary mentoring partnerships within the AHRD Mentoring Partner Program. AHRD and IMA will co-sponsor and administer this award in alignment with shared commitments to advancing high-quality, impactful mentoring practices.

This award reflects AHRD's dedication to excellence in scholarship, practice, and professional service, while elevating the transformative role of developmental relationships in strengthening individuals and the broader field of Human Resource Development. By honoring outstanding mentoring partnerships, AHRD and IMA seek to highlight reciprocal learning, mutual support, and sustained collaboration as essential elements of effective mentoring.

Learn More About the Award

Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) Mentoring Partners Program (MPP)

We are excited to continue the AHRD Mentoring Partners Program we launched in 2016 to address the career/professional development needs of HRD faculty/post-doc/doctoral students across different career levels (i.e., junior, mid-career, senior). 75 + pairs (around 160 AHRD members) have participated in the Program. This program is a great chance to expand your HRD professional network, learn new skills, and help meet your professional goals.

Watch Meet & Greet Recording

Mentoring Testimonies

Applications for the 2026-27 cohort

Here are the steps for the 2026-2027 cohort:

Complete the "Participant Input Form" by April 20, 2026.
The Program team will share the Profiles received with all who submits the Participant Input Form and schedule a Zoom Speed Dating by mid-May.
Following the Zoom Speed Dating Session, the Program team will request all participants to complete the "Partner Choice Form" by May 31 where they can list up to 3 choices of mentoring partners from the pool of participants.
The Program team will then use the information in the Partner Choice Forms to assign Mentoring Partner pairs (Dyad or Group) by June 15.
The Program Team will schedule a Mentoring Partnership kick-off Webinar by June 30, 2026 where the AHRD Mentoring Agreement form and other process steps will be explained.

Note: We have expanded the Mentoring Program scope to include advanced level doctoral students in addition to faculty members of the AHRD.

Deadline: May 31, 2026 - All participants will need to complete the Mentoring Partner Choice Form (closed).

Partner Choice Criteria

Use the following when considering who you should partner with in the Faculty Mentoring Partner program:

Institutional setting (e.g. research vs. teaching; size/load)
Research and/or teaching and/or service interests
Academic career experience
Non-academic career experience
Demographic similarity
Personal preferences (e.g. if a major focus is work/life balance, would it make sense to pair people with similar life circumstances/preferences…kids, partner, etc.)

See References

Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., & Lentz, E. (2006). The relationship between formal mentoring program characteristics and perceived program effectiveness. Personnel Psychology, 59(1), 125-153.
Dobrow, S. R., Chandler, D. E., Murphy, W. M., & Kram, K. E. (2012). A review of developmental networks incorporating a mutuality perspective. Journal of Management, 38(1), 210-242.
Ghosh, R., Reio, T. G., & Haynes, R. K. (2012). Mentoring and organizational citizenship behavior: Estimating the mediating effects of organization‐based self‐esteem and affective commitment. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 23(1), 41-63.
Ghosh, R., Hutchins, H. M., Rose, K. J., & Manongsong, A. M. (2020). Exploring the lived experiences of mutuality in diverse formal faculty mentoring partnerships through the lens of mentoring schemas. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 31(3), 319-340.
Hegstad, C. D., & Wentling, R. M. (2004). The development and maintenance of exemplary formal mentoring programs in Fortune 500 companies. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 15(4), 421-448.
Higgins, M. C., & Kram, K. E. (2001). Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 264-288.
Ragins, B. R. (2011). Relational mentoring: A positive approach to mentoring at work. The handbook of positive organizational scholarship, 519-536.
Ragins, B. R., & Verbos, A. K. (2007). Positive relationships in action: Relational mentoring and mentoring schemas in the workplace. Exploring positive relationships at work: Building a theoretical and research foundation, 91-116.