supervisory positions to them at their schools. Mentoring programmes can assist women to make career choices and thus promote advancement in their careers (Quimby & DeSantis, 2006). However, none of the participants refer to schools as having formal mentoring programmes for aspiring managers. Rather, colleagues in a supervisory position to the participants became guides to orientate the participants when they enter the school as new educators. Although such mentoring is informal in nature, it encompasses both aspects of the mentor functions, career development and psychosocial functioning. The participants, who were informally mentored at school, received both career development and psychosocial support from their mentors, although the type and amount of mentoring may have varied among the participants.
Their letters to the mentors suggest that a close relationship was formed between the participants and their role models and mentors and this provided the opportunity for them to develop the capabilities of affiliation, integrity, knowledge, imagination and practical skills.
6.3.1 “How Important You are to Me”
Women middle managers learnt to feel a sense of obligation for others and be responsible, ethical and accountable for other people from their mentors. These are dimensions of the capability of affiliation and integrity (Walker et al., 2010).
Mandisa‟s mentor and role model was an unnamed colleague at school whom she addressed simply as “Dear Sir”. Despite the anonymity in this nomenclature, the salutation is infused with respect and deference as well as some warmth and affection.
Her letter shows that the mentoring relationship developed Mandisa‟s capabilities of affiliation and integrity. She writes that her mentor displayed concern for others and his ability to interact socially with other people inspired her. He developed in Mandisa the capability of being responsible and accountable to the teachers with whom she works. She writes to her mentor explaining how he had mentored and inspired her at school:
As a teacher you showed me that teaching goes beyond standing in front of the learners, marking scripts, compiling progress reports, but it‟s caring, pasturing, mentoring and raising up a full individual to become a responsible and accountable citizen of tomorrow. As teachers, we have an eye of an eagle that penetrates what cannot be seen by parents. You taught me that always willingly go the extra mile to better the lives of our learners who become like our own children (Mandisa, Unsent letter).
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Through reflecting on the mentoring relationship, Mandisa was able to consider her role as a teacher, not only in terms of the administrative and technical aspects of the role, but also in terms of the caring nature of the role. Her mentor was also her role model at school and, as she observed, his pastoral care of learners was an important aspect of teaching. Mandisa views educators as being highly intuitive, perhaps more so than parents. Thus she wrote about her role not being restricted to teaching, but also one that encompassed being nurturing and caring towards the learners, like that of a parent. Her mentor taught her to be mindful of the collective good of others and that, as an educator, she should help to improve the lives of the learners by going “the extra mile”.
Within the mentor/protégé relationship, a caring attitude of the role model or mentor helps to build the protégé‟s confidence. The letters point to the support and
encouragement given to the participants by their mentors and role models, as well as to the fact that this helped them to progress in their careers. Thembi mentions this in her letter. She writes that, when her former HoD, who also acted as her mentor, had greeted her with a caring and warm welcome when she had first arrived at her new school, she felt inspired to develop as an educator.
You‟ll never begin to understand how important you are to me. I wouldn‟t be where I am now were it not for you. I remember the first day I came to this school, you greeted me with a smile and you showed me around. That may seem just a petty thing to other people, but to me, it made such an impression (Thembi, Unsent letter)
Thembi‟s mentor developed in her the capability of affiliation when she taught her to care and respect other people from their first encounter. Having this affiliation capability enables women middle managers to have an idealised influence in their department because they become admired and respected by their colleagues. Although the psychosocial support may not help the career advancement of women (Tharenou, 2005), the participants in this study refer to the friendship they received from their mentors and role models as having inspired them in their roles as middle managers. In the psychosocial sphere, the mentor offers role modelling, counselling, confirmation and friendship that help the protégé develop a sense of professional identity and competence (Kram, 1985). Therefore, learning to have a caring and kind attitude helped the female HoDs to be more considerate towards the educators in their department.
153 Your humane attitude towards educators and learners has inspired me to look at the personal circumstances of those with whom I work without becoming a „softie‟. I am able to execute my administrative tasks effectively, often before due dates. My interaction with members of my team is characterised by fairness, firmness and friendship. (Neelam, Unsent Letter)
In her letter Neelam writes that she is able to use a humane attitude towards the educators in her department. This means that she is concerned not only with their effectiveness as educators but also with their sense of well-being. This is evidence that Neelam has developed the capability of affiliation because she was able to show concern and respect for the teachers with whom she worked. This caring attitude is generally associated with women (Gilligan, 1982). Neelam, however, realised that being viewed as a caring manager can imply having a feminine style of management, and this could be construed as being less effective than a more masculine management style. Thus in her letter she distances herself from being a “softie” and takes on the more masculine attributes of being firm and fair. Unlike her mentor, who may have been viewed as a “softie”, Neelam implies that she manages her department using an androgynous style of management whereby she is caring and friendly, yet firm and fair. It is clear that Neelam, as a manager, is not a carbon copy of her mentor and role model, but has developed her own style of management.
Not modelling themselves completely on their role models is a sign that some women managers are able to shape their own development as managers. As agents, they are able to identify their own values and objectives in shaping their development as managers. This suggests that they are able to actively engage with their own thoughts in choosing their sense of well-being. In the next section I will show how the
capability of sense, imagination and thought was developed for some of the women participants by their mentors and role models.
6.3.2 “You’ve Taught Me so Much”
In Thembi‟s letter to her role model and mentor she attributes her capability of knowledge, imagination and practical skills to her. Thembi says that, not only did her mentor inspire her through her psychosocial support, but she also supported her career development. Her mentor taught her the skills needed for teaching and also showed her the technical aspects of the job.
Coming to what brought us together, educating our learners, you‟ve taught me so much. I thought I knew everything when I arrived, little did I know I still had so much to learn. Through you I learnt that I can make learners write tests fortnightly instead of once a month as I used to. I
154 did it and it worked. I learnt about the importance of remedial periods. I never had those before.
It worked wonders. I learnt that when you have been absent, when you come back you announce your presence; you don‟t just head straight to the staffroom. ___________, I can go on with my praises as the list of things that I learnt from you is endless. (Thembi, unsent letter)
Thembi‟s mentor imparted professional knowledge and conduct to her and she was able to integrate the theoretical knowledge she had about teaching into her practice.
Having guided Thembi in the technical aspects of the job, her mentor also ensured that she developed professionally as an educator. The knowledge and skills that Thembi gained led to her being an effective middle manager. The guidance and feedback she received from her mentor during her early years as an educator became part of Thembi‟s own management style and she applied what she learnt to her own management role. Thembi‟s readiness to learn from her mentor shows the type of relationship that has existed between the two of them - one being the novice and the other being the mentor and guide with more experience in the field. Although Thembi had come to the school having thought that she “knew everything”, her willingness to learn more from the mentor and role model she admired contributed to her
development as a HoD. Because the capability of knowledge, imagination and practical skills was developed in Thembi she had the competence to intellectually stimulate the members in her department and set high performance standards for their performance.
Like Thembi, other participants were also supported in their career development by their mentors at school. However, some had mentors who led by example through their own management style and practical leadership skills and these women middle managers expressed the desire to emulate their mentors and manage their departments as their mentors had done.
As a manager, you did not hesitate to offer praise for hard work. Your preparation (administrative and curriculum related) was always thorough. Your ability to be honest with educators who shirked in their responsibilities has impacted on my tasks as a manager. I have understood the value of effective planning and ensuring that the tasks are not postponed unnecessarily. You have taught me about the dangers of procrastination which can cause a manager to become „snowed under‟ very rapidly in a school situation. (Neelam, unsent letter)
Neelam‟s mentor had inculcated in her the skill of good time management and the benefits of effective planning and preparation for a job. Thus Neelam‟s role model and mentor developed in her the capability of knowledge and practical skills for her
teaching and management role. Neelam acknowledges in her letter that the duties of a
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middle manager can be intimidating and therefore, to function effectively, she had to have the knowledge and practical skills for the job. Not only does the job entail having knowledge about the learning area or subject being managed, it requires practical skills and knowledge to cope with management tasks. Rita wrote about this in her letter:
Your role as a HOD has inspired me for the manner in which your administrative and record keeping was done. I have tried to emulate you to keep a written record of all books and equipment that leaves my laboratory on a daily basis. Can you remember how you asked me for a book after you lent it to me for two years prior to the date of your asking and I said I do not have it? You asked me to look in my garage and yes, I did find it. I am battling a bit to be meticulous about this, and many other things creep into my day and disrupt my plans to keep proper records. Nevertheless, I catch up after a few days to ensure that proper records are kept.
(Rita, Unsent letter)
Both Neelam and Rita were inspired by the administrative and technical functions of their mentors. Some of the qualities of a good manager that they outlined were having good time management skills, being well-prepared for the tasks of a manager and being organised by keeping detailed records. Through their interaction with their mentors, both participants and their mentors grew to know and understand each other.
Neelam writes that her mentor had shown her the “dangers of procrastination”
particularly as a manager, and Rita commends her mentor for showing her the
importance of being organised and keeping meticulous records. The mentors helped to develop the women HoDs in the areas in which they needed to improve, and this was possible through the collaborative relationship that existed between them as mentors and the protégés where neither party held power over the other. The relationship should rather be seen as a supportive and friendly one (Fairbanks, Freedman, & Kahn, 2000, p. 102).
The supportive relationship and encouragement that some of the participants received from their mentors and role models inspired them to improve themselves in their careers. Most of the participants refer to studying further to improve their professional qualifications. Neelam and Rita are two examples of this.
I owe much of my drive to improve my qualifications, as well as the quality of my classroom delivery to you. You served as an excellent role model. Your recognition of my enthusiasm and acknowledgement of my efforts spurred me on. I draw strength from your encouragement up to this day. (Neelam, Unsent letter)
Your thirst for knowledge has kept me wanting to do the same. I have proceeded to do the B.Ed.
(Curriculum Development in Biology) and am engaging in research based on science teachers‟
identities within the new curriculum (Rita, Unsent letter)
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Having a senior colleague as their role model or mentor helped these two women to advance in their careers. Higher academic qualifications are needed for career
advancement in many professions, including education. The women middle managers developed the capability of knowledge, imagination and practical skills by having a sound and critical grounding in disciplinary academic knowledge. A sound grounding in academic knowledge enabled women middle managers to intellectually stimulate the teachers and learners in the departments. Their mentors encouraged the women managers in this study to further their studies. In a study by Levinson, Kaufman, Clark
& Tolle (1991) on women in academic medicine, it was found that the women with mentors had more publications in peer-reviewed journals, spent more time on research and had greater career satisfaction than women without mentors. Burke and McKeen (1997) found that the professional women who were mentored in their study
experienced greater career satisfaction than women managers who were not. Neelam and Rita‟s letters are consistent with findings documented by Levinson (1991) and colleagues and Burke and McKeen (1997).
Ragins (1997) proposes that mentors‟ power in an organisation influences their ability to provide their protégés with career development functions such as sponsoring their opportunities within the profession regarding higher ranking positions, protecting them from adverse forces and giving them much needed exposure in the workplace.
Through the guidance that Rita received from her male mentor, she was able to become very proficient as a HoD. Through her exposure as a highly skilled HoD, her capabilities did not go unrecognised by the education authorities and she reports being nominated to be a provincial examiner. As Rita states in her letter:
My compliments to you for guiding me on how to set an exam paper. This has ensured that the department I control also follows the proper procedures as set out the National department. You would be glad to know that due to your guidance, I was nominated to be the examiner for the Grade 12 Common Testing programme in KZN (where I set the March controlled test, June examination and the trial by examinations) and as Provincial Examiner for the KZN Senior Certificate exams. (Rita, Unsent letter)
Like Rita, Hema was also supported by her mentor and introduced to sports
administration. The capability of knowledge, imagination and practical skills were not confined to the school context, but into the larger educational context, thus enabling the development of the women middle managers in other areas of leadership apart
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from school based middle management. Hema‟s senior female mentor was involved in non-racial sports administration at national level for many years and being a female in a highly competitive, male-dominated arena, she was also a role model and mentor for Hema. This informal mentoring relationship developed spontaneously, with Hema‟s mentor willingly taking her under her wing and developing and guiding her in the field. This is outlined in Hema‟s letter to her mentor who was the matron at her school hostel:
...everyone was excited to have a Provincial Sports Official to take over the running of the school hostel. You were a real „matron‟ who ruled with an iron fist. You taught me planning, organisation and management skills and I will always be indebted to you. I was introduced to the administration of non-racial sport at regional, provincial and national level. At times I was the only woman sitting at meetings dominated by men only. I earned their respect and trust. I was able to express my political convictions and energy in a constructive way by promoting and developing non-racial sport. This is my contribution to a changing society. You groomed me for those meetings; that‟s where you were before you retired. ..Your generosity to give and share, I will never forget. (Hema, Unsent letter)
This extract highlights the influence Hema‟s mentor had in developing her as a transformational leader because she was instrumental in “promoting and developing non-racial sport” in a “changing society”. Hema‟s mentor introduced her to sports administration through sponsorship and networking. Having herself being a highly ranked sports administrator, had made it easier for her protégé, Hema, to enter this field as a woman. Tharenou (2005) makes a point that relates to what is illustrated here, which is that career support for women from female mentors translates most into advancement, perhaps because they gain from being sponsored, challenged and coached by someone like themselves, a person who had encountered the same difficulties that confront them. Thus, Hema could enter the field of sports
administration with relative ease because of the support she received from her female mentor.
In her letter it seems that Hema‟s political convictions about gender are sidelined and channelled into the “constructive” issue of race and sport. She writes that sport and race were viewed as the more acceptable issues by her peers in meetings rather than gender issues which may have been viewed as “destructive” by her male peers who were in the field of sports administration. Within the context of a changing society, where race issues rather than gender issues are given more importance, Hema, through her promotion of non-racial sport was accepted and respected by her male peers.
Hema‟s female mentor and role model appears to have decided to toe the line in order