By Philip A. Cola, PhD, Associate Director, Academic Affairs, DM Programs For me, February 17, 2022, marked 7 years to the day that I successfully defended my dissertation and completed the DM/PhD program at the Weatherhead School of Management. A lot has changed over those 7 years, but one thing has remained constant and that is how the (now titled) DBA\PhD program at the Weatherhead School of Management remains at the top and most well respected programs of its kind in the world.
Three days before reflecting on that 7-year anniversary, I received notification from the President of the Executive Doctor of Business Administration Council (EDBAC) that CEO Magazine named Weatherhead as a “Premier DBA Provider." Read the informational release on this significant achievement. It is very gratifying to see such recognition internationally of the continued relevance and rigor demonstrated by this program to conduct research that matters in order to address “wicked” real world problems. The program has now graduated 234 DM\DBA students (1995-2022) and 101 PhD students (2012-2022). Four of these individuals have gone on to become college presidents, 29 published textbooks have emerged from the alumni (that we are aware of), and 982 articles and presentations (again that we know of) have emanated from this distinguished group of alumni. So many more accomplishments have been achieved with the help of this transformative program. I am fortunate to have opportunities to represent this program and to be on the receiving end of the tremendous recognition that the program and everyone associated with it has worked so diligently to earn. We can point to many factors that contribute to such high levels of success, but one aspect that is often overlooked are the literally countless hours of hard work and diligence that goes into building and sustaining resonant mentor\mentee relationships. I study mentorship and have done so with regards to academic medicine and recently in a more general sense across disciplines including management. I am hopeful to publish some practitioner scholar works on mentoring soon while continuing a research agenda on the topic of mentorship for the foreseeable future. This work has changed my perspective on the importance of mentoring in doctoral programs. Many times students feel dissatisfied with mentors because “no one ever seems to have enough time” for the students. Therefore, I have recently added to my research methods course curriculum information on “how to be a good mentee” and also "how to manage your advisors." Mentors must help mentees to be successful, to develop as independent researchers (practitioner scholars for the DBA\PhD program), advocate on behalf of advisees, and provide constructive feedback (Barnes & Austin, 2009). Additionally, there exists a paradox in the way we educate doctoral students. As professors and mentors, we feel pressure to ensure that students learn and do well while becoming independent thinkers and experts on various topics that might exceed our own expertise (see Gardner, 2008). There is much consideration given to the socialization of students throughout their doctoral journey and their ability to build, maintain and execute on building strong relationships (I would call this relational capacity) within their cohort and with their instructors and advisors. This is one reason why the DBA\PhD program is very committed to cohort based learning in its pedagogy. This approach eases the journey from early doctoral students who learn a lot by observing and experiencing in the classroom, to doctoral candidates who continue learning through the conduct of research and the dissemination of results, and finally earning peer respect as the holder of a doctorate degree. Whether students realize it or not there are consistently formal and informal mentors helping them navigate these stages throughout the program. Information is now available to DBA/PhD students on how to be a great mentee, which includes the following (adapted from Johnson, 2016; summarized on page 109):
- Being proactive
- Keeping commitments
- Striving for excellence in your work
- Demonstrating openness to feedback and seeking feedback
- Communicating honestly and directly
- Accepting increasing responsibility and autonomy
- Being mindful of mentor’s goals, time and constraints
- Keeping reasonable expectations
- Maintaining a sense of humor
- Building a mentoring network (it should not all be on one mentor’s shoulders)
Being mindful of the importance of mentor/mentee relationships and how such is a shared responsibility will continue to ensure the success of the DBA/PhD program well into the future.
References:
Barnes, B. J., & Austin, A. E. (2009). The role of doctoral advisors: A look at advising from the advisor’s perspective. Innovative Higher Education, 33(5), 297-315.
Gardner, S. K. (2008). Fitting the mold of graduate school: A qualitative study of socialization in doctoral education. Innovative higher education, 33(2), 125-138.
Johnson, W. B. (2016). On being a mentor: A guide for higher education faculty. Routledge.
