Signs of an excellent advisor
Research Advisor Series: Part 2
Are you pursuing a Ph.D.? If yes, you probably will realize that you communicate with your advisor on a weekday more than you do with your family. That being said, having a strong relationship with your mentor is extremely important and goes a long way.
I consider myself fortunate to have been blessed with the kindest person on earth as my mentor, both during my Masters’ and Doctorate studies. While over the past 6 years, I have noticed some exceptional traits in the kindest of advisors like mine; I have also observed some of the worst advisors. Unfortunately, the person I share my household with is not so blessed with the best mentor and I could not help but notice how it has affected his work and mental health.
The saddest part is that it does not just end here. Even after you graduate, the skills you have learned, and the impact you will create, will already have been defined for you. Not only you can be less productive, but you may likely end up becoming more like your worst advisor, stubborn, vindictive, ungrateful, and less worthy in your field. Hence, identifying the potential signs is critical to detach yourself from an unhealthy mentor-mentee relationship.
In this article, I will discuss the qualities of an excellent mentor by identifying 5 signs that your mentor is kind and passionate. Let’s get started.
- He is passionate about his research
This is one of the obvious and foremost signs that you need to look out for to evaluate any person. Is your advisor passionate about his work and really likes his job? If he does, he will be passionate about guiding and mentoring his students as well. He will be excited to pass on his knowledge and experience to you. He will see you as his reflection and his representative, and that is why he will want you to be successful and build a wonderful career.
2. He cares about you
A good mentor cares about his students and invests his time and energy into guiding them. He is available for you when you need a review or even a signature. He communicates with you and helps establish and execute your goals. He knows about your strengths and weaknesses and considers those while guiding you. He does not just see you as a student but his peer. And most importantly, he treats everyone as a distinct individual. He does not compare them to one another and is empathic.
3. You respect him more than you fear him
This is another obvious sign that if you fear him, either there is a communication gap between you two or he is simply not a good advisor. If he has not been nice to you, you certainly would not feel good about sharing your challenges or even accomplishments with him. In that case, you would not respect him from heart, but just out of fear.
4. He criticizes you positively to lift you, not to degrade you
As we stated earlier that a good advisor would find out your strengths and your weaknesses as well, but he would not use them to degrade you or make you feel bad about yourself, rather he would use them to improve your work. If he finds any flaws or mistakes in your written work, he will try to address those and make you understand the art of writing rather than telling you that you are a terrible writer. A toxic mentor on the other hand may find pleasure in bringing up your mistakes, again and again, to put you down.
5. He appreciates you and inspires you
A good advisor will always be appreciative of his students’ work. He will motivate them to do better but he will always acknowledge their achievements. He will validate your good ideas and bring them up in front of others to encourage you, indirectly showing that he is so proud of you. A good mentor in any field, is always a source of motivation for his students, he inspires them, and they would want to be like him. And if you got one, you are the luckiest person on earth, like me 😊
