Managing feedback expectations at PhD level

[Marasme]

I am sure we've discussed this before, but I am kind of stuck.
I have a large-ish team with 1 PDRA, 2 RAs and ~6 PhD students at various stages of completion. My students have historically all performed very well (prizes, papers, opportunities) - I select them as carefully as I can, and nurture them to their full potential. All are co-supervised as per uni rule, although the 2nd supervisors are mostly piggy-backing for papers, to my great annoyance and that of students. This is another matter altogether. We do PhD expectations as per Vitae guidelines early in the PhD, so have some foundations for our interactions.

Out of the 6 students, I have one who is bright, but also terribly demanding. He writes and writes and writes, and is avid on feedback, regardless of who else is submitting at the same time, whether a team member is in distress, or whether I am sick (as currently am). He also sadly subscribes to the school of thought of a certain Australian #ECR guru on twitter who advocates for "better supervisory practice" and fast feedback. I just feel like a provider to this person, who fails to acknowledge that I put a disproportionate amount of effort in his supervision.

I have tried delegating tasks to him to get him to grasp supervisory/academic challenges, and have provided him with opportunities to teach/supervise undergrads, to disastrous consequences (students complained about how they were treated as slaves on numerous, separate occasions). I have tried feedbacking light and prompt, but this just increases my workload as the draft just return faster.

I get that it is my duty to support this guy (who also has qualities) through the PhD finishing line, but it is taking its toll, and I am not sure if I have another 12 months of this left in me...

If he's a bully then it is almost a game to him. Game where he must win and you must lose. Realising that might make it easier for you to cut him off.

Do the schedule/appointments thing. Get second supervisor on side in advance, have a party line about time allocation, independence, etc and what personal time management skills he has to work on if he wants good references later. Ignore victim tweets. Write a blog/article about PhD students and independence. Appeals are annoying but less annoying than time vampirism every bloody day.

If this is about bullying you have to recognise that he won't go quietly but if you rollover then it will only get worse. It will be like Whack-a-Mole pushing back on him but at least that will be better for your mental health in the long term that him whacking you over the head repeatedly with the time theft.

I'm in the sciences too and my supervisor co-authors all my papers. We have a lab meeting once a week where we all chat, and of course we might have ad-hoc meetings particularly when reviewing drafts etc, but these are at his convenience around his schedule. Typically these happen once a week if I'm working on something time critical - like setting up an experiment or sending off a draft - but otherwise most of the big stuff is left for the once a month meeting.

I think the bigger point is that it's possible to be a super supportive mentor and supervisor, without being beholden to a student's schedule. I rarely have anything else other than my PhD to do. We don't teach unless we want to for extra money, and have no other real responsibilities academically. So it's up to me to fit around my supervisor's schedule of conferences and grant writing and other commitments, not for him to be at my beck and call.

thanks all - it is whack a mole!
I am in STEM and anything less than a meeting every 2 weeks is considered neglect in my uni ;)

on another note the tweeting australian is out in force today, exhorting students to turn in those drafts for feedback...

When i did my PhD several years ago we signed contracts which outlined contact time etc / twice a term face to face email or phone and reviews with supervisory team twice a year. Any more contact was at the supervisor's discretion.

Can't you just say no it's not fair to all my other students (including under grads) and keep a log to show his other tutor how he is pa bullying you, or send him to him/her for some of his supervision, might not be so eager to back him up if they see what he is like!