What comes to mind when you hear the word “supervisor”? That was a question posed to several other incoming graduate assistants and me during our onboarding. Many of the initial reactions were less than positive, ranging from the person who conducts your evaluation to the person who can terminate you from your job. What a first impression for one of your closest working relationships!
Our first experiences in residence life supervising typically come from interactions with student staff. In my experience, most of my peers supervised resident assistants, while I supervised an undergraduate intern in the residential education section of our department. At first, yes, I admit I thought my job was to assign tasks, ensure they were completed, sign timesheets, and submit annual evaluations. At its core, supervision in residence life involves managing task completion and accountability, especially with student staff, but we often overlook the developmental and learning potential in all supervisor-supervisee relationships. What truly sparked the change for me was applying my educator mindset to every interaction, and that’s how I began to think of myself as a mentor rather than just a supervisor.
Supervision is focused on tasks; mentorship is focused on development. For most of us, it would be easy to recall the responsibilities that naturally come with supervision, a few of which we already brought up, but what about mentorship? Mentorship comes with the responsibility of being a guide and focusing more on capabilities than objectives. In a nutshell, helping others to find new pathways and discover the world around them. The challenge is that most of us already believe we’re mentoring our students. Yet good intentions alone don’t create developmental experiences. If supervision answers the question, “How do I ensure the work gets done?”, mentorship asks, “How can this experience contribute to growth and better understanding?” For me, embracing that question required a more intentional approach to how I structured conversations, delegated responsibilities, and supported reflection.
One approach I’ve utilized is the developmental model of mentoring, which focuses on empowering others to take charge of their own development. The table below from the Academy of Medical Sciences describes how developmental mentoring differs from the more traditional structured mentoring:
| Developmental Mentoring | Structured Mentoring |
| The mentor is more experienced in a relevant field but ideally independent of the mentee’s direct professional life. | The mentor may have a hierarchical influence over the mentee and their career progression. |
| The mentor helps the mentee to discover their own wisdom and do things for themselves. | The mentor can promote and escalate the career of the mentee. |
| The mentor’s experience and wisdom are not necessarily passed on, but can be accessed when needed. | The mentor gives advice and guidance and the acquisition of skills or knowledge is paramount. |
| There is a recognition of mutual growth and learning together despite the different levels of experience. | The learning is one way; from mentor to mentee. |
| The primary focus is on the development of the mentee and their personal journey. | The primary focus is on career development for the benefit of the organisation. |
| Great questions are central. | Great advice is the focus. |
When I started supervising my second intern, I began our relationship by talking about goals, interests, and skills that they wanted to develop. To have an in-depth discussion about existing and aspirational skill sets, we used self-assessments from our institution’s career center that were based on the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) competencies.
Both of the interns I supervised during my time as a graduate assistant were former resident assistants; they knew the how of our daily work with residents, but not as much the why and where the work was going. I needed to share the reasoning behind decisions and processes and include them in meetings, planning discussions, or assessment conversations so they could have a full picture of the department and how they could contribute. We focused a lot of our time on discussing how the work was happening in our residential communities, then thinking through ways to enact small improvements at each level of the department. This gave way to building projects that were centered on the intern’s specific curiosities and interests. The conversations that I had with my interns were not “status updates” but dialogues. When we concluded projects, meetings, and workshops, we always engaged in reflection: What went well? What would you do differently? What did you learn? I rarely said “no” to an idea an intern had but rather focused my feedback on expanding their perception. This still meant that we had conversations about expectations and shared standards for our work, but they also focused on the future aspirations and how someone might want to show up in a future work environment.
Ultimately, none of these practices are particularly complicated. What matters is the mindset behind them. When we view supervision as an opportunity for development rather than simply oversight, even routine interactions can become meaningful learning experiences.
Some of the most meaningful outcomes of student employment or any employment are often the least visible. The projects were completed, deadlines were met, and goals were achieved, but those are not the moments that stand out most. What remains are the conversations about career aspirations, the growth in confidence, the willingness to take initiative, and the development of a professional identity that will extend far beyond a single internship experience.
Residence life professionals occupy a unique position in students’ lives. We are not only supervisors responsible for managing work; we are educators with opportunities to influence how people understand themselves, their strengths, and their potential. When we approach supervision through a developmental mentorship lens, everyday interactions become opportunities for learning, reflection, and growth. The next time you meet with an employee, consider this question: Are you simply helping them complete a job, or are you helping them become the professional they hope to be? The answer may shape not only their experience but also the lasting impact of your work as an educator and the way you see your own role.
