AI for Mentoring

 

Like reflection, I find it hard to reach out for mentoring. 4 complaints quickly come to mind:

1.       Perhaps it is because I see so many activities that need to be done, I find it hard to take the time to get perspective from a mentor.

2.       Perhaps I find it challenging to make myself vulnerable in sharing my thought processes.

3.       Perhaps I believe that I see work processes so clearly, it is hard to feel like finding a mentor with the right experience will be worth the effort in obtaining it.

4.       Perhaps I have too much hubris in thinking what I see as the issue is in fact the root cause to be addressed.

The more I learn, the more I realize that my 4 complaints hold me back. Failing to discuss my situation with a coach or a mentor misses the many benefits building on others experiences. Bennett et al, deals with many of my issues in Chapter 13.

Extreme teaming and interdisciplinary work, consistently state that our individual experience is not the only truth. Different disciplines view problems through different lenses and solve with different frameworks. Additional perspectives and framing allow insight into an issue that a single perspective may leave obfuscated.

Beyond the text, there are many sources of mentorship guidance for my communities. Virginia Tech publishes a guide for developing a mentoring relationship with goal of developing as a member of a profession. The Navy offers programs in several commands in the local district. Each of them focus on a partnership built of trust, likely to allow for the psychological safety. Each calls for transparency of expectations, purposes, and respect, so as to ensure both parties can devote resources appropriately. Outside of my supervisors, I have found it hard to square my schedule with a regular meeting, even for coffee and discussion of our organization.

Interestingly, consulting an AI addresses my 4 complaints. Because AI is such a low threshold, I believe the technology will further supplant our relationships as sources for answers and mentoring. Why ask a friend when one can ask Google for a detail? Why setup a meeting when Claude, Cortana, and ChatGPT are ready to give advice without a search? In each case, the quality of the AI response remains unknown and changes without examination. The act of acquiring the mentor or coach, while taking time, develops because of confidence in their experience, decision-making, or coaching ability. While some would argue that the range of advice of available from multiple AI’s gives greater benefit than a mentor, the mentor relationship provides a connection and contribution beyond the answer.

Despite all of this, several of my coworkers have developed beneficial mentor relationships. I see time blocked in their schedules, usually in a junior / senior relationship, to build the awareness from the experience of others. Clearly, AI hasn’t supplanted this relationship yet. Knowing the value, NSF requires mentoring, but I wonder how much of it will be supplanted by AI.

Communication remains key

        From TraveLynn Family

Sometimes we ask ourselves if we are ready for a particular activity. Before I go on a trip, I consider what I will be doing, for how long, and how much room/time I have to pack. I consider with whom I will travel to help understand what unexpected matters I might face and need to resolve. When we setup a team for new activities, we should also be asking, what do we need to pack as resources for the team? 

Every team we build has successes and failures, but what do all teams have in common? They need to communicate with each other to achieve their goals. At the start of the development of a team, they need to pack all the items that will help them communicate. When a team agrees on ground rules that make that specific, then all people know what is packed for the team. As the saying goes, if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. To that I will add, trips and teams are both easier when you pack the right things.

For any team, I would recommend we add specifics on the nature and style of communication. For each of these, I would want to answer, how should my team benefit? Some of my best thoughts arrive after my team meetings. When I don't understand a member of my team, should I ask in the meeting or after? When I disagree, how should I do it?

For decisions, several factors affect how hard it is to adapt to change, but our teams should be open to change. When an issue arrives in a meeting, we rarely need it to be resolved immediately. I might not be at my best when confronted with something outside my expectations (surprise! - UHF Clip) during my meeting. If we establish a rule allowing us to reflect and inquire further on most decisions in reasonable time, we prime the pump for the necessary adaptation of Senge The Fifth Discipline Chapter V, X.

For disagreement, lack of understanding, and misunderstanding, one of the root problems is ensuring that one’s mental model accurately understood the original statement. To respond, I recommend the Rapoport Rules (aka Dennett’s Rules) to avoids burning bridges: 1) restate clearly, 2) list agreements, 3) acknowledge what you learned, and then 4) express any significant difference in your opinion for the group. This helps the originator remain receptive to refining the idea. For research organizations, using disagreement to highlight assumptions through dialogue or discussion is key to aligning team members (Bennet et al Chapter 10).

Unfortunately, what I have learned is that it is quite challenging to switch from habits to agreed upon terms. Therefore, it becomes easier if the terms are commonly reused, making them part of the organization's routine (noted by Edmonson & Harvey). I recommend every organization provide a standard team charter, which an individual team can augment or vary. Often organizations do this for legal agreements, offering default positions, standard alternatives, and disallowed fallbacks, making negotiating much easier. Per many, available services, easier negotiation is desirable.