What role can a horizontal mentor play in your professional development? Have you ever even heard of a horizontal mentor? Horizontal Mentors are those professional peers to whom one can turn for deeper and more frank discussions, whose advice and judgment about professional and career questions one seeks and values, and whom one can call on for support. The recent rise of "horizontal" mentoring provides the opportunity to build multiple relationships within a professional network and gain insights and advice from colleagues and peers in various capacities. Members of the Getty Leadership Institute's NextGen Class of 2011 led a roundtable discussion during the American Alliance of Museums 2013 Annual Meeting on this topic. Discussion facilitators: Dana Allen-Greil David Heiser Julie Johnson Kathryn Speckart Laurie Fink Megan Smith Ryan Hill Stephanie Parrish Suzanne Sarraf Victoria Glazomitsky Virgil Talaid

1. +
Horizontal Thinking in a
Vertical World
May 22, 2013 | 10:15 am-11:30 am
Baltimore Convention Center , 328
The Getty Leadership
Institute’s NextGen
Class of 2011 will
facilitate a
discussion about
horizontal mentoring.

2. Moderator:
Julie
I
Johnson,
Co-­‐Founder
and
Owner,
J2R2
Leadership,
&
Change
Associates,
LLC
Presenters:
Laurie
Fink
-­‐
Director
of
Science
Programs,
Science
Museum
of
Minnesota,
Saint
Paul,
MN
Stephanie
Parrish
-­‐
Associate
Director
of
EducaGon
&
Public
Programs,
Portland
Art
Museum;
David
Heiser
-­‐
Head
of
EducaGon
and
Outreach,
Yale
Peabody
Museum
of
Natural
History,
New
Haven,
CT
Kathryn
Speckart
-­‐
CollecGons
Manager,
U.S.
Diplomacy
Center
Department
of
State;
Victoria
Glazomitsky
-­‐
Special
Projects
Assistant
to
CEO,
Peabody
Essex
Museum;
Ryan
Hill
-­‐
ART
LAB
+
Program
Specialist,
Hirshhorn
Museum
and
Sculpture
Garden
Smithsonian
InsGtuGon,
Washington,
DC
Megan
Smith
-­‐
EducaGon
Specialist,
NaGonal
Museum
of
American
History,
Washington,
DC
Suzanne
Sarraf
-­‐
Web
Designer,
NaGonal
Gallery
of
Art,
Washington,
DC
Dana
Allen-­‐Greil
-­‐
EducaGon
Technologist,
NaGonal
Gallery
of
Art,
Washington,
DC

3. +
The Challenge
Museum professionals in
both large and small
institutions may sometimes
feel isolated, lost in the
bureaucracy, or unsure of
how to take the next steps in
their career paths.
“The professional
environment is less
of a ladder and
more of a jungle
gym”
—Sheryl Sandberg

4. +
The Solution? Mentoring
A mentor is often thought of as someone with great knowledge and significant
experience in his/her specialty who takes on an apprentice to train and bring up in
the profession. This traditional form of vertical mentoring is becoming less
common as more and more new and mid-level professionals seek out peer or
horizontal mentors.

5. +
What is a Horizontal Mentor?
Horizontal Mentors are those professional peers to whom one can turn for deeper
and more frank discussions, whose advice and judgment about professional and
career questions one seeks and values, and whom one can call on for support.

6. +
Survey
n Goal: To collect input on the
state of mentoring in the
museum field.
n Open March 28-May 25, 2013
n Promoted on platforms for
museum professionals:
n LinkedIn
n Facebook
n Twitter
n Listservs
n 275 responses

7. +
Have you ever had…
Any type of significant mentor? A horizontal mentor?
Yes
73%
No
27%
Yes
59%
No
26%
Not
Sure
15%

8. +
Why so many unsure?
n I have colleagues I ask for advice on specific topics, but don't
think of them as mentors. Just another eye on a singular topic,
not long term peer mentoring relationships. I think of them as
friends.
n I have colleagues at my institution and others who inspire me,
and who I go to for guidance, but I don't know if they'd qualify as
"mentors."
n I think professional peers are all horizontal mentors.
Lack of clear definition

9. +
Those who have not had a horizontal
mentor said:
No one
who will
fit that
role.
53%
Other
47%
n Have not sought it out / given it much
thought
n I didn’t know this was something
people did
n Not sure whom to approach or how to
frame request
n Hard to find the right person with time
and energy
n Not sure how to cultivate the
relationship into an effective one
n Takes time
n Hard to network without funds for travel

10. +
Which topics would you be likely to
seek guidance on?
0 50 100 150 200 250
Career growth
Technology
Transparency in museums
Demographic changes/museum audiences
Other
Fundraising

11. +
“Other” topics
n Work/life balance
n Managing up, across, and down
n Incompetent/ineffective leadership
n Navigating office politics
n Problem-solving
n Different perspectives
n Networking
n Program ideas
n Strategic planning
n Community engagement
n Marketing
n Sustainability
n Museum operations
n Social media strategies
n Evaluation
n Collections management
n References for contractors
Soft Skills Specifics

12. +What is the primary benefit of seeking
and cultivating horizontal mentors?
n Safe, less intimidating
n Honest discussion, no judgment
n Keep pace with what’s changing in the field
n Mutually beneficial
n Objective advice
n Access a knowledge base
n Feel more connected, less isolated
n Helpful to see how similar issues play out in different institutions
n ·Foster greater collaboration
n Source of new ideas

13. +
How?
-Technology
-Work Life Balance
-Horizontal Mentoring Through Generations
-Horizontal Mentoring Group (vs. one-on-one)

14. +
How? Technology
-Linkedin
-Blogs
-Twitter
-Facebook
-Wiggio
-Google

15. + How? Work Life Balance

16. + How? Horizontal Mentoring Through
Generations

17. +
How? Horizontal Mentoring Group (vs. one-on-one)
-

18. +
Break Out Groups
How can you use what you have, what you have learned, and what you know to
facilitate a mentoring relationship and environment?

19. +

20. +
Reflection
• Has this conference session made you think differently about mentoring?
• What are you getting out of your mentoring relationships?
• What are you giving?
• Can you foresee evolving your relationships into stronger horizontal
mentorship?

21. +
Wrap Up

22. +
Did you know…?

23. +
Horizontal Thinking in a
Vertical World
May 22, 2013 | 10:15 am-11:30 am
Baltimore Convention Center , 328
Thank
you!