ATTRIBUTES OF EFFECTIVE ADVISORS
In my research, women doctoral students and Ph.D. graduates described a number of attributes they believe are characteristic of effective advisors and advising strategies. I identified five categories into which these attributes could be classified, including subject knowledge, work habits, personal attributes, advising practices and attitudes toward students. When aggregated in this fashion, these attributes represent an ideal - not the sum characteristics any of the study participants would realistically expect to find in an advisor. None of the women in my study characterized relationships with their advisors as falling solely within a single domain, either positive or negative.
Attributes of Effective Advisors
Subject Knowledge
- demonstrates expertise in subject;
- shows genuine interest in subject;
- has interesting ideas; is someone you can learn from.
Work Habits
- organized;
- attentive to detail;
- efficient: gets things done; attends to deadlines.
Personal Attributes
- bright;
- enthusiastic;
- patient;
- compassionate; empathetic;
- displays integrity;
- flexible;
- sensitive;
- trustworthy;
- forthright when dealing with conflict
Advising Practices
- provides clear expectations;
- recommends readings;
- makes time for the student; reviews student work in a timely fashion;
- creates an atmosphere conducive to learning; engages students' ideas; knows how to inspire and encourage students;
- challenges students to think more deeply and to understand different perspectives;
- provides constructive comments and appropriate feedback, including positive feedback when appropriate;
- provide advice, wise counsel and direction to students;
- mutually negotiates tasks and schedules;
- helps students to negotiate the system;
- encourages participation in professional organizations;
- provides letters of recommendation;
- guides students in making grant applications.
Attitudes toward Students
- wants student to succeed;
- believes in the student's ability;
- trusts the student will do what needs to be done;
- respectful of students needs, efforts, interests and choices;
- nurtures the student's self-image as an emerging scholar:
- supports students' interests and passions;
- nurtures students' sense of ownership of their work;
- fosters an egalitarian relationship that is neither intrusive nor presumptuous;
- appropriately acknowledges students' contributions and accomplishments;
- sees the student as a colleague, not a competitor and uses authority and power to serve student interests;
- maintains appropriate role boundaries:
- student's role as an emerging researcher is clearly defined;
- advisor's self-image is not that of a parent, but a colleague who expresses support and confidence in the student's abilities;
- does not expect to be 'parented' by the student;
- able/willing to negotiate a compromise in the face of disagreement or conflict;
- assumes responsibility for political or interpersonal issues that arise among committee members and intervenes on student's behalf;
- shows respect for the multiple role demands placed on women as both scholars and mothers.
Other factors that contribute to positive relationships with advisors include sharing common interests, shared perspectives of about research paradigms, a mutually flexible approach to the relationship in which both advisor and advisee are able to accommodate a range of tasks and a mutual respect for one another that culminates in a relationship that is professional, collegial and egalitarian.
Attributes of Ineffective Advisors
The women also described attributes of their advisor/advisee relationships that added stress to their doctoral experiences which I classified in three categories, including personal attributes, advising practices and relationship management.Personal Attributes
- cold; impersonal
- autocratic
- pompous; overbearing
- gruff
Advising Practices
- hypercritical
- unavailable; does not respond in a timely way to student requests or messages
- uses student work for personal benefit
Attitudes Toward Students
- manipulative
- lack of respect for alternate perspectives of research paradigms
- wants to shape student thinking in accordance with one's own views
- controlling, resulting in friction when students speak their minds
- abusive and cruel: belittles students; makes snide remarks
- intimidating: attacks students' beliefs and is constantly testing the student
- uses positional power and authority to silence the student
- view emotions as a weakness
- blurred role boundaries in which the student provides an audience for the advisor's personal and/or departmental issues
- creates conflict among committee members
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